April Birthdays

Post date: Apr 15, 2013 1:01:08 AM

April 1, 1895 (1984) - Alberta Hunter, blues and cabaret singer (1911-79), made recordings from 1921 into the 1980s, also starred in "Showboat" with Paul Robeson in London, made stunning musical comeback on TV, sang for President Carter April 1, 1911 (1998) - Augusta Baker, renowned storyteller in New York public libraries, created bibliography in 1939 of suitable children's books to represent African-American history and culture April 3, 1898 (1997) - Katherine Esau, botanist, emigrated from Germany in 1918, settled in California in 1922, studied viruses in celery, pears and carrots with use of electron microscope until 1991, wrote classic 735-page "Plant Anatomy" (1953) April 3, 1899 (1979) - Katherine Ordway, wealthy entrepreneur of St. Paul, Minnesota, established the Goodhill Foundation at age 65, which funneled grants through the Nature Conservancy to save natural land in Minnesota, Kansas, and South Dakota, bequeathed more than $65 million April 3, 1934 - Jane Goodall, primatologist and conservationist, world's foremost authority on chimpanzees April 4, 1928 - Maya Angelou, author, poet, civil rights activist, actress, read poem she composed at President Clinton's inauguration (1993) April 5, 1901 (1968) - Hattie Alexander, pediatrician and microbiologist, identified and studied antibiotic resistance caused by random genetic mutations in DNA, first woman elected president of the American Pediatric Society (1964) April 5, 1908 (1989) - Bette Davis, movie star, began with "Of Human Bondage" (1934) and "Dark Victory" (1939) and ended with "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" (1962), won Academy Awards for "Dangerous" (1935) and "Jezebel" (1938) April 5, 1938 (1981) - Lourdes Casal, poet and critic, born in Cuba, American citizen in 1962, organizer and activist, earned a Ph.D. for social work (1975), tried to build bridges for Cubans and other Americans April 5, 1949 (1986) - Judith Resnik, engineer, astronaut, one of six qualified women chosen as mission specialists in 1984, second American woman in space, perished in the Challenger explosion April 7, 1890 (1998) - Marjory Douglas, writer, suffragist, women's rights advocate, environmentalist, championed culture of first Americans, created "Friends of the Everglades" with a million acres established in 1978 as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness Area April 7, 1891 (1978) - Martha Eliot, pediatrician, researched and proved the beneficial effects of cod liver oil and sunbaths to prevent rickets while working with the Children's Bureau, wrote provisions for dependent and crippled children in the 1935 Social Security Act, only woman to sign the constitution of the new World Health Organization in 1947 April 7, 1915 (1959) - Billie Holiday, jazz singer, began her career in Harlem in 1931, toured with Count Basie and Artie Shaw, use of heroin and opium led to ten months in Alderson Prison, hailed as "Lady Day," the most influential female jazz singer in America April 7, 1944 (2002) - Julia Miller Phillips, film producer, first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Picture for "The Sting" (1973) as a producer, also produced "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "The Sting" (1973) as a producer, also produced "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Taxi Driver" April 8, 1892 (1979) - Mary Pickford, most successful actress in silent films, started in Toronto (1898) then moved to New York (1909), starred in 42 films by D. W. Griffith then 32 in Hollywood (last silent movie in 1927), won Academy Award for "Coquette" (1929), created United Artists production company with five others April 9, 1887 (1953) - Florence Price, first African-American woman symphony composer April 9, 1936 (1988) - Valerie Solanas, feminist provocateur, wrote " SCUM Manifesto" seeking to eliminate all men except those who "do good," shot artist Andy Warhol in 1968, revised the Manifesto after prison term April 10, 1880 (1965) - Frances Perkins, first woman cabinet member, Secretary of Labor (1933), key contributor to the Social Security Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act April 10, 1926 (1995) - Johnnie Tillmon, director of the National Welfare Rights Organization (1963-72), worked with Gloria Steinem and Aileen Hernandez on "Women, Welfare and Poverty" at the National Women's Conference in Houston (1977) April 10, 1930 - Delores Huerta, Chicana activist, labor organizer, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union April 11, 1910 (1997) - Annie Dodge Wauneka, elected to Navajo Tribal Council (1951-78), worked on tuberculosis epidemic using Navajo and the Bureau of Indian Affairs ideas, demanded funding for child health programs, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1963) April 12, 1883 (1976) - Imogen Cunningham, photographer specializing in portraits, worked primarily at Mills College after studying in Germany, also taught at California School of Fine Arts April 12, 1903 (1987) - Justine Polier, daughter of rabbi Stephen Wise, first woman in New York Workmen's Compensation Division, Domestic Relations Court Judge (1935-73), fought against inferior education for black students April 12, 1909 (2001) - Eudora Welty, writer, photographer, won Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1973), awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Literature, and the French Legion d'Honneur April 12, 1915 (1984) - Soia Mentschikoff, attorney, Russian emigrant, one of the first women partners in a large Wall Street law firm (1945), worked on Uniform Commercial Code (1941), University of Chicago Law School professor (1951), candidate for Supreme Court April 12, 1917 (1991) - Marietta Tree, born Mary Endicott Peabody, militant for civil rights issues, famous for hosting dinners and calling for reforms in the Democratic Party April 13, 1892 (1990) - Clara Beyer, labor lawyer, worked with Frances Perkins and Molly Dewson on the Social Security Act of 1935, campaigned to abolish child labor and to secure minimum wage and maximum hour scales April 13, 1919 (1995) - Madalyn Murray O'Hair, outspoken atheist behind the 1962 Supreme Court's 8-1 ruling that organized Bible reading in public schools was unconstitutional, in 1995 kidnapped and later murdered by a former employee April 14, 1866 (1936) - Anne Sullivan Macy, famous teacher of Helen Keller who was blind, deaf, and mute, the two worked and traveled together April 15, 1894 (1937) - Bessie Smith, began career about 1902, learned country blues from Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, made 160 recordings, billed as the "Empress of the Blues," career declined by 1931 amidst economic depression and the advent of radio April 15, 1896 (1980) - May Edward Chinn, first black woman doctor in Harlem (1936-80), worked with George Papanicolaon on the Pap smear to identify cervical cancer, Kuwana Haulsey wrote "Angel of Harlem," a novel based on her life (2004) April 16, 1971 (1995) - Selena, singer, popularized the Tejano sound of Mexico with siblings on bass guitar and drums in the 1990s, turned to original fashion designs, mourned by thousands after being fatally shot by manager of the fashion store, Texas governor George W. Bush declared April 16 as Selena Day April 17, 1913 (1997) - Dorothy Fosdick, worked as federal official from 1942 to 1953 developing the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, advised on national security and wrote speeches for Henry "Scoop" Jackson (1955-83) April 18, 1897 (1989) - Angna (Anita) Enters, modern concert dancer, painter, sculptor, began arranging music for her solo performances of characters in 1923, created more that 250 dance mimes, performed in the White House (1940) April 18, 1898 (1990) - Ruth Bunzel, anthropologist, with Ruth Benedict studied the art and culture of southwest Indian women starting in 1924, learned Zuni language, pottery and sewing to understand and preserve the culture April 18, 1947 (1997) - Kathy Acker, self-published novelist, dealt with sex as the making of power and identity, won the Pushcart Prize (1981), rewrote classics "Don Quixote" and "Great Expectations" April 19, 1917 (2007) - Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, defied bus driver in 1944 who ordered her to give up her seat and move to the segregated back, kicked the sheriff when arrested, Thurgood Marshall won her case (6-1) on grounds of promoting and protecting national travel, awarded Freedom Medal by President Clinton who said she "took the first step on a journey that would change America forever" April 20, 1890 (1983) - Carmelita Hinton, secretary to Jane Addams for two years, committed to John Dewey's education philosophy, environmentalism, internationalism and arts and crafts, founded Putney co-ed boarding school in Vermont (1935) April 20, 1895 (1986) - Mary Pukul, descendant of native Hawaiian high priestesses, researched and collected stories and oral histories, became translator at the Bishop Museum, wrote songs and gave hula demonstrations in schools in the 1950s April 22, 1891 (1979) - Laura Gilpin, photographer, won acclaim for mastery of platinum printing process in early 1920s, her early work with autochromes of still-life and portraits allowed her to record 35 years of vanishing rural America, elected an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (1930), wrote "The Enduring Navaho" (1968) April 22, 1901 (1995) - Vera Maxwell, sportswear clothing designer whose popular and practical styles starting in 1947 permitted greater freedom of motion, favored by Lillian Gish, Martha Graham and Pat Nixon, subject of two retrospective exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution (1970) April 23, 1928 - Shirley Temple Black, cheerful and curly-haired child actor, singer and dancer whose career as a movie star spanned the Depression and World War II eras (1932-50), appointed U.S. Ambassador to Ghana (1974) and Czechoslovakia (1988) April 24, 1902 (1989) - Jane Lee, Chinese activist in revolution of 1911, came to San Francisco on student visa in 1922 to Mills College, became a translator and journalist, worked in 1930s with the YWCA to find jobs for Chinese women April 24, 1934 - Shirley MacLaine, veteran film and theater actress, dancer, latest appearance in British television on "Downton Abbey" April 24, 1940 - Sue Taylor Grafton, author of the alphabetic detective novel series featuring Kinsey Millhone, from "A is for Alibi" to "V is for Vengeance" (2011) April 24, 1942 -Barbra Streisand, singer, actress, director and producer, won two Academy Awards for "Funny Girl" (1968) and one for lyrics (to "Evergreen") in "A Star is Born," produced 51 gold albums, 30 platinum records, and 13 multi-platinum albums April 25, 1917 (1996) - Ella Fitzgerald, "First Lady of Song," internationally renowned jazz singer, winner of 13 Grammy Awards April 26, 1888 (1981) - Anita Loos, novelist, screenwriter, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1925), wrote screenplays for Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, wrote memoirs and "Twice Over Lightly" with Helen Hayes (1972) April 26, 1889 (1982) - Margaret H'Doubler, dance educator, founder of dance in the American university, started college dance class using John Dewey's principles at the University of Wisconsin (1917), wrote "Dance: A Creative Art Experience" (1940), the most widely used text in American dance education April 26, 1907 (1991) - Julia Godman Ruuttila, union recruiter, activist and journalist, worked for the CIO's International Woodworkers of America during the eight-and-a-half-month lock-out in 1937, raised community support, protested the Vietnam War, still walked in picket lines at 80 despite asthma, ulcers, arthritis and angina April 26, 1933 - Carol Burnett, popular actress, comedian, singer, writer with a 50-year career in television, presented many classic sketches and legendary guests April 27, 1906 (1993) - Alice Dunnigan, first African-American journalist accredited to cover Congress (1947) and the White House, Supreme Court and State Department, documented Klan actions when no "white" newspaper covered them, first journalist of color to travel with President Truman on his train (1948) but had to pay her own way, appointed to the staff of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (1961) April 27, 1927 (2006) - Coretta Scott King, civil rights, human rights, and peace activist April 29, 1913 (1999) - Margaret Owings, California artist, writer, environmental activist, founder of Friends of the Sea Otter (1968), assisted the Environmental Defense Fund April 30, 1909 (1990) - Eve Arden, actress, began with roles in stock theater (her first love) in the 1920's then movies in the 1930's, Academy Award nomination for playing Joan Crawford's best friend in "Mildred Pierce" (1945), best remembered as "Our Miss Brooks" in radio (1948) and television (1952-56) April 30, 1939 - Ellen Zwilich, first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music (1983) Reproduce freely. Compiled by the National Women's History Project. Visit us on Facebook or at nwhp.org. Which Great Woman Was Born On Your Birthday? Watch people crowd around to see whose birthday they share. 750 women from U.S. history are named on this oversized poster with day by day listings, colorfully bordered with images representing their many activities. Alphabetical list included for cross reference. 24" x 37" Celebrate Women! Poster Created and Research by Margaret Zierdt Celebrate Women Poster+Index National Women's History Project 730 Second Street #469 Santa Rosa, CA 95402 http://www.nwhp.org (707) 636-2888 nwhp@nwhp.org