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Sending a powerful message requires a powerful tool. And the mail is one of the most powerful - and easily accessible - communication tools available today. A single postage stamp is the only investment you need.
Since the first postage stamps were issued more than 150 years ago, just about every one of them has also carried a message about our shared heritage, our diverse culture and the people and events that have helped build a great nation.
Women have had a strong and lasting impact on American history. The Postal Service is proud to honor their influence and achievements through our stamp program. They are artists, abolitionists, national leaders and physicians. They are war heroes, pioneers, authors and performers.
They are American painter and printmaker Mary Cassatt, a home-grown and world-renowned
Impressionist; Harriet Tubman, who personally led over 300 individuals from
slavery to freedom; Patsy Cline, whose plaintive voice personifies the sound
of country music; and Eleanor Roosevelt, the vocal and progressive First Lady,
who became a champion for social reform and human rights.
For more than a century, since 1893, when a woman first appeared on a United
States postage stamp, the Postal Service has proudly honored women and their
achievements. We will continue to tell their story, and the story of America,
through our stamp program.
The United States Postal Service has bound the nation together through its personal and business communications for more than two centuries. We have continually evolved to serve a growing nation more efficiently and effectively - without operational subsidies. And we continue that process today, as we transform ourselves to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
John E. Potter
Postmaster General
Queen Isabella
(1451-1504)
Queen Isabellas special patronage of Christopher Columbus made possible
his first voyage to America in 1492 and opened the way for new discoveries and
worldwide trade.
Issued: 1893 and 1992
Martha Washington
(1731-1802)
The 8-cent stamp portraying Martha Washington was the first U.S. postage stamp
honoring an American woman. As the wife of George Washington, the first president
of the United States, she was the first first lady of our country.
Although she would have preferred a quiet family life on their farmland, she
often accompanied and supported her husband and his troops in the field during
the American Revolution, and then served graciously as the official hostess
for the country during the first presidential administration.
Issued: 1902, 1923, and 1938
Pocahontas
(ca. 1595-1617)
Pocahontas was a princess of the Algonquian Indians in the area around the settlement
of Jamestown, Virginia. According to legend, she saved the life of Captain John
Smith after he had been captured by members of her tribe. Pocahontas later married
the Englishman John Rolfe, and by these and other actions, she helped to pacify
the relationships between the people of the New and Old Worlds.
Issued: 1907
Mothers of America
Issued in tribute to the mothers of the nation, this stamp replicates the famous
painting often called Whistlers Mother - its actual title
is Arrangement in Gray and Black, No. 1: Portrait of the Artists Mother,
by James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
Issued: 1934
Susan B. Anthony
(1820-1906)
Susan B. Anthony was a reformer and feminist who spent more than 50 years making
major contributions to the woman suffrage cause, despite continuous opposition.
Although she did not live to see the success of this movement, in 1920 the 19th
amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensured that women would not be denied the
right to vote as U.S. citizens because of their sex. In honor of her efforts
for this cause, the 19th amendment has often been called the Anthony amendment.
Issued: 1936 and 1955
Virginia Dare
(1587-?)
Virginia Dare was the first child born of English parents in the New World,
in the settlement of Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina. But nothing
else is known about the rest of her life - or those of the settlements
other members, who are known as the Lost Colony. When supply ships
arrived at the settlement several years later, the only trace of the colonists
was the word Croatoan carved on a tree - to this day, their fate
is uncertain. Virginia Dare symbolizes both the hope and the uncertainty that
all pioneers and immigrants face in new lands.
Issued: 1937
Louisa May Alcott
(1832-1888)
Louisa May Alcott is best known for her book Little Women, a story of four sisters
that is loosely based on her own family life. Another of her published works
is Hospital Sketches, a recollection of her experiences as a nurse in the Civil
War. Alcott also was engaged in many social reforms of the day, such as abolition,
temperance, and woman suffrage.
Issued: 1940
Frances E. Willard
(1839-1898)
Frances E. Willard was a renowned and successful American educator, reformer,
lecturer, and suffragist. She helped found the Womens Christian Temperance
Union and served as its president from 1879 to 1898. In 1905, Willard was the
first woman to be honored with a statue in the National Statuary Hall of the
U.S. Capitol.
Issued: 1940
Jane Addams
(1860-1935)
Jane Addams was the founder of Chicagos Hull House, which was part of
the settlement house movement that provided much-needed social services in poor
and working-class neighborhoods. She also was the first president of the Womens
International League for Peace and Freedom, serving from 1919 to 1929. For her
efforts, Addams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, the first American
woman to receive this honor.
Issued: 1940
Progress of Women
Issued in the centennial year of the first womens rights convention in
Seneca Falls, New York, this stamp pictures Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902),
a pioneer reformer for woman suffrage and womens rights; Carrie Chapman
Catt (1859-1947), a suffrage reformer and first president of the League of Women
Voters; and Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), an abolitionist, an early advocate for
womens rights, and an organizer of the 1848 convention.
Issued: 1948
Clara Barton
(1821-1912)
Serving as a nurse during the Civil War, Clara Barton became known as the angel
of the battlefield for her efforts to care for the wounded of both sides.
In 1881 she founded the American Red Cross, becoming its first president and
serving from 1882 to 1904.
Issued: 1948 and 1995
Gold Star Mothers
During World War II, many families displayed a banner with a blue star for each
family member serving in the armed forces and a gold star for any member who
had paid the supreme sacrifice in the war. Accordingly, the term gold
star mother referred to any woman who had lost a child in defense of the
country. These stamps were issued in tribute to all those mothers and the sacrifices
they and their children had made.
Issued: 1948 and 1993
Juliette Gordon Low
(1860-1927)
In 1912 in Savannah, Georgia, Juliette Gordon Low started the organization that
would become the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. She was enthusiastic, energetic,
and totally committed to the group, wearing her Girl Scout uniform and promoting
the group wherever she went. In 1979, Low was inducted into the National Womens
Hall of Fame.
Issued: 1948
Moina Michael
(1869-1944)
Moina Michael is the person most responsible for establishing the symbol of
the red poppy as a memorial to those who served in World War I. As a volunteer
for the YMCA Overseas War Workers in 1918, she was inspired by a poem describing
poppies growing on a battlefield cemetery in France, and she promoted this symbol
to many national organizations. In 1920, the American Legion adopted this symbol,
and with the help of the American Legion Auxiliary, disabled veterans made and
sold silk poppies to raise funds for their support and rehabilitation. For her
efforts to help and honor veterans, Michael received several tributes from the
American Legion and her home state of Georgia.
Issued: 1948
Betsy Ross
(1752-1836)
Legend states that Betsy Ross made the first American flag having the familiar
stars and stripes design. Whether one views this legend as fact or fable, historical
accounts prove that Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress and acquaintance of George
Washington, was a patriot of the new country and did indeed provide some flags
to the government. There are only a few locations in the nation where, by Executive
Order, the U.S. flag flies 24 hours a day - the Betsy Ross House is one of those
locations.
Issued: 1952
Women in Military Service
Nearly two million women have served in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air
Force, and Coast Guard with dedication, courage, and patriotism in times of
conflict and peace. Women have served in defense of our nation since the American
Revolution and they continue to do so today. The 1997 stamp was issued at the
dedication of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington
National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Issued: 1952 and 1997
Sacagawea
(ca. 1788-1812)
Sacagawea was the only woman to accompany the Lewis and Clark Expedition of
1804-1806 through the Pacific Northwest. Being a young woman with a child, she
was a sign to the American Indian tribes that the exploring party had peaceful
intentions. But Sacagawea also provided invaluable assistance in interpreting
and trading with tribes, finding food and medicinal herbs, understanding the
landscape, and finding usable trails. In his journal, Clark praised her for
contributing fully to the expeditions success.
Issued: 1954 and 1994
The American Woman
This stamp honors the countless contributions and achievements that American
women have made in civic affairs, education, industry, and the arts, as well
as their vital role in the home by providing guidance, strength, support, and
commitment to American youth.
Issued: 1960
Camp Fire Girls
Founded in 1910, Camp Fire Girls sought to promote the health and spirit of
girls, often through outdoor activities such as hiking and camping that traditionally
were not available to them. The organization also advocated other nontraditional
ideas such as measuring and creating standards for womens work, promoting
teamwork among girls, and preparing women for new economic conditions. It officially
opened its membership to boys in 1975 and is now known as Camp Fire USA.
Issued: 1960 and 1985
Nursing
The profession of nursing has always provided a crucial function in the medical
community and to society as a whole. Nurses bring care and comfort to the sick
and the recuperating, they nurture and support everyone from infants to the
aged, and they assist doctors in analyzing and treating patients and performing
operations. Nurses also perform a variety of other beneficial services including
research, health education, and patient consultation.
Issued: 1961
Girl Scouts USA
Formed in 1912 and originally known as the Girl Guides, the Girl Scouts of the
USA has used a variety of outdoor activities to promote self-reliance and resourcefulness
among young girls. Since its inception, the organization has helped more than
50 million girls learn new skills, gain confidence in themselves, share camaraderie
with their peers, and provide service to others. (See also Juliette Gordon Low,
page 5.)
Issued: 1962, 1987, and 1998
Amelia Earhart
(1897-1937)
Amelia Earhart achieved many firsts as a female pilot - she was
the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and across the U.S. continent
(both in 1932), and across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to California (1935).
For her trans-Atlantic flight, Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying
Cross. In addition to her aviation career, Earhart also served as a nurse during
World War I and as a womens career counselor at Purdue University in the
mid-1930s. Her achievements were inspiring not only to women but to all of America
struggling through the Depression. Her mysterious disappearance in the Pacific
while attempting to fly around the world in 1937 seems only to add to her reputation
as an adventurous trailblazer.
Issued: 1963
Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884-1962)
Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most influential people of the 20th century,
not only during her years as the countrys first lady when
her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was president, but also before and after.
During World War I, she worked for several organizations that provided assistance
to service personnel, and after the war, she was active in the League of Women
Voters and served as a translator for the International Congress of Working
Women. When her husband was stricken with polio, she helped him in his rehabilitation
and encouraged and assisted him in continuing his political career. While in
the White House, she held press conferences and wrote a newspaper column, helped
develop several New Deal social programs, promoted improved race relations,
and visited overseas troops in World War II. After the war, she served the country
for many years in the United Nations, chairing the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
Issued: 1963, 1984, and 1998
Homemakers
This stamp was issued to salute American women for making a house a home.
The stamp also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1914 Smith-Lever Act,
which helped improve home life throughout America by providing home economics
experts to advise women on better ways to feed and clothe their families.
Issued: 1964
General Federation of Womens Clubs
This stamp was issued in recognition of the 75 years of service of the General
Federation of Womens Club. Founded in 1890, the organization is comprised
of and provides support to community-based volunteer womens clubs dedicated
to community service. The clubs areas of activity include education, conservation,
the arts, home life, international affairs, public affairs, and any special
needs affecting the community. With more than one million members worldwide,
it is one of the worlds largest womens volunteer service organizations.
Issued: 1966
Mary Cassatt
(1844-1926)
Considered the greatest American female artist of her time, Mary Cassatt is
famous for her paintings that capture the intimacy between mother and child
in simple yet fresh moments. Born to a wealthy Pennsylvania family, she spent
most of her life in France working closely with Impressionist artists including
Edgar Degas, Paul Monet, and Pierre Renoir. Cassatt created the mural called
Modern Woman for the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago. She
also helped shape American art collections by influencing several patrons to
purchase works from newer artists as well as the traditional masters. Cassatt
was depicted on a stamp in 1988, and six other stamps show reproductions of
her paintings The Boating Party, Breakfast in Bed, Young Mother, Children Playing
on the Beach, On a Balcony, and Child in a Straw Hat.
Issued: 1966, 1988, 1998, and 2003
Lucy Stone
(1818-1893)
Lucy Stone was one of the earliest and most influential advocates of womens
rights in America, as well as a staunch proponent of abolition. She was the
first woman in America to keep her own name after marriage, and other women
who followed this practice were sometimes called Lucy Stoners. Claiming
taxation without representation, Stone was also the first woman
to refuse to pay property taxes because she was not allowed to vote. She helped
organize the national womens rights convention in 1850, the American Equal
Rights Association in 1866, and the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.
In 1870 Stone also founded Womans Journal, a weekly suffrage newspaper,
and later became its editor.
Issued: 1968
Grandma Moses
(1860-1961)
One of Americas best-known and best-loved artists, Anna Mary Robertson
Grandma Moses took up painting in her seventies, after she had retired
from a life of farmwork. A self-taught artist, she produced about 1,600 paintings,
including several after her 100th birthday. Her works depict the landscapes
and traditional activities of rural life, often evoking memories of simpler
times while nurturing hope for the future. This stamp reproduces her 1951 painting
July Fourth.
Issued: 1969
19th Amendment
In 1848, at the first womens rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York,
the delegates passed a resolution seeking the right to vote for women. For more
than 70 years, suffragists campaigned vigorously for this right, which was finally
realized when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment to
the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920. On the 50th anniversary of ratification,
the Postal Service issued the Woman Suffrage stamp in Adams, Massachusetts,
the birthplace of suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony. It also issued a 32-cent
stamp on the 75th anniversary of ratification, as well as another stamp honoring
the amendment in its Celebrate the Century series.
Issued: 1970, 1995, and 1998
Emily Dickinson
(1830-1886)
Emily Dickinson is considered the greatest American female poet of the 19th
century - and one of the finest and most influential American poets ever. But
only a few of her 1,700 poems were published in her lifetime, and those anonymously
and without her consent. Her style of using short phrases set off with dashes
was unconventional and complex. Her themes focused on intense extremes of life
and death, grief and ecstasy, love and loneliness, religious salvation and sensual
romance. Although Dickinson lived a secluded life, rarely leaving her house
after her late twenties, her powerful poetry has touched generations of readers.
Issued: 1971
Willa Cather
(1873-1947)
Willa Cather is one of the most distinguished American novelists of the 20th
century. Setting many of her works in the Great Plains and the American Southwest,
Cather writes of the conflict between the frontier pioneers and the emerging
modern world, of the clash between independent, adventurous spirits and the
restrictions of urbanization and materialism. She imbues her characters, including
many women, with the strength and determination needed to face despair and disillusionment.
Cather won the Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for her novel One of Ours, about a young
Nebraskan in World War I, and in 1930 she won the Howells Medal from the American
Academy of Arts and Letters for her 1927 novel Death Comes to the Archbishop.
Some of Cathers other acclaimed novels are A Lost Lady, My Antonia, The
Song of the Lark, and O Pioneers!
Issued: 1973
Elizabeth Blackwell
(1821-1910)
In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive a medical degree,
graduating first in her class at Geneva Medical College in New York. She continued
her education in Europe before returning to New York City, where she opened
her own practice and also the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children,
which had an all-female staff. Because women were having difficulty getting
accepted to medical schools, she added the Womans Medical College of New
York to the Infirmary in 1868, and in 1869 she founded a similar school in England.
During the Civil War, she and her sister Emily, who was also a physician, helped
create the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which trained nurses and cared for the
wounded.
Issued: 1974
Sybil Ludington
(1761-1839)
Like Paul Revere before her, Sybil Ludington rode through the night to call
the American militia to arms in defense of liberty. On April 26, 1777, the British
attacked Danbury, Connecticut, burning the town and destroying the American
armys supplies. Sybils father was the commander of the local militia,
and when he received word to organize his forces for battle, 16-year-old Sybil
volunteered to ride all night to spread the alarm. In the dark, through rain
and dense woods, over roads patrolled by British troops, loyalist sympathizers,
and marauding highwaymen, Sybil successfully roused the countryside. Spurred
by her heroic ride, the militia gathered at her fathers house by daybreak,
marched on Danbury, and defeated the British.
Issued: 1975
International Womens Year
The United Nations General Assembly designated 1975 as International Womens
Year, focusing on the themes of equality, development, and peace. Many events
were held to promote womens rights and to increase womens participation
in political activities and social issues in the community, the country, and
the world. The Postal Service issued this stamp in Seneca Falls, New York, site
of the first womens rights convention in the United States.
Issued: 1975
Clara Maass
(1876-1901)
While serving as a nurse in Cuba during the Spanish-American War of 1898 and
in the Philippines in 1899, Clara Maass saw firsthand the fatal effects of yellow
fever, which killed more soldiers than combat did. During a second mission to
Cuba, Maass volunteered for a medical experiment and allowed herself to be bitten
by mosquitoes, which were suspected of transmitting the disease. At first, she
recovered from a mild form of yellow fever, but after volunteering again to
receive more bites, the illness proved fatal. Her unselfish sacrifice advanced
medical science by helping to indicate how the disease was spread. In 1976,
the centennial year of her birth, Maass was inducted into the American Nurses
Association Hall of Fame and honored on a stamp by the Postal Service.
Issued: 1976
Seamstress
Even as civilians rather than soldiers, many Americans proved essential in the
Revolutionary War by using their skills to support the struggle for independence.
Women often worked as seamstresses, sewing flags, uniforms, blankets, and other
equipment for troops in the field. Perhaps the most famous seamstress is Betsy
Ross, but there were countless other women who contributed to victory by employing
their craft for their countrys benefit. This stamp was one of four in
a series called Skilled Hands for Independence.
Issued: 1977
Harriet Tubman
(ca. 1820-1913)
Born a slave, abolitionist Harriet Tubman earned the nickname the Moses
of her people for helping over 300 slaves, including her own family members,
escape to freedom on the famed Underground Railroad before and during the Civil
War. She also served the Union Army as a spy, scout, and nurse. When she was
in her eighties, she donated land and helped establish the Harriet Tubman Home,
which provided assistance to aged and indigent African Americans. Tubman was
the first African-American woman to be honored on a U.S. Postage stamp.
Issued: 1978 and 1995
Frances Perkins
(1880-1965)
Frances Perkins was the first female member of a presidential cabinet, serving
as secretary of labor for Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945. She devoted
her career to social reform and improving working conditions for Americans,
serving on many commissions in New York City and New York state before heading
the Labor Department. As the integral force behind the Social Security Act of
1935 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Perkins helped set standards
for minimum wages, working hours, worker safety, social security and unemployment
benefits, and other labor issues.
Issued: 1980
Dolley Madison
(1768-1849)
Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison, is perhaps best known for
saving Gilbert Stuarts portrait of George Washington before the British
burned the White House in 1814. While many others fled the city, she bravely
stayed until the last possible moment to secure important government documents
and other items, including the famous portrait. Madison is also well known for
her gracious charm as a White House hostess, often soothing tensions during
times of intense political differences.
Issued: 1980
Helen Keller
(1880-1968)
Anne Sullivan
(1866-1936)
With Anne Sullivan as her teacher and constant companion, Helen Keller overcame
the challenge of blindness and deafness to show the world that people with disabilities
can lead full lives, make outstanding contributions, and bring hope to everyone.
After graduating from Radcliffe College, Keller devoted her life to helping
others, writing and speaking on behalf of the disabled and on other social issues
such as womens rights and racial equality. In 1924, Keller and Sullivan
started their association with the American Foundation for the Blind, serving
together as counselors and advocates for the rest of their lives.
Issued: 1980
Edith Wharton
(1862-1937)
In 1921, Edith Wharton became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize,
awarded for her novel The Age of Innocence. In that work and many others, Wharton
portrayed a monied, materialistic society whose conventions restricted and destroyed
the desires of its members. Although best known as an American novelist, Wharton,
who spent most of her adult life in France, also received the French Legion
of Honor for her extensive work helping refugees and others during World War
I.
Issued: 1980
Emily Bissell
(1861-1948)
Emily Bissell started the American tradition of using Christmas Seals to help
fight lung diseases. When Bissell, an active social worker in Wilmington, Delaware,
was asked in 1907 to help raise funds for a small facility aiding tuberculosis
patients, she began a campaign based on the Danish practice of adding charity
stamps to holiday greeting cards. Her efforts were so successful that the campaign
was taken nationwide the next year, and Christmas Seals have been used every
year since then to raise awareness and funds.
Issued: 1980
Blanche Stuart Scott
(1889-1970)
Introduced to flying in 1910, Blanche Stuart Scott is often credited with being
the first woman to make a solo flight. But this first solo was unexpected -
as a student pilot, she was attempting to taxi down the runway when a gust of
wind made her airborne. Soon Scott joined the barnstorming circuit, performing
as a daredevil pilot billed as the Tomboy of the Air. In 1912, she
became the first female test pilot when she signed a contract to fly prototype
aircraft. After World War II, while working for the U.S. Air Force Museum, Scott
became one of the first women to fly in a jet.
Issued: 1980
Rachel Carson
(1907-1964)
Both an exacting scientist and an eloquent writer, Rachel Carson won the National
Book Award in 1951 for The Sea Around Us. But in 1962 Carson shocked the world
with her book Silent Spring, which touched off an international controversy
over the deadly effects of pesticides. Entrancing readers with basic scientific
information, the book remained a best-seller for more than a year. Her groundbreaking
work against the governments approval and use of harmful chemicals raised
ecological consciousness and helped spark the environmental movement of the
late 20th century.
Issued: 1981
Edna St. Vincent Millay
(1892-1950)
In 1923, Edna St. Vincent Millay became the first woman to win the Pulitzer
Prize for poetry. Born in Rockland, Maine, she began writing poetry early, and
one of her poems, Renascence, won her a scholarship to Vassar College.
Many of her poems celebrated the freedom of the bohemian lifestyle she led in
New York City and Europe, and she mastered the traditional sonnet form. In the
late 1930s, as the world lurched toward war, she wrote many poems decrying fascism
and urging people and governments to rise against it.
Issued: 1981
Babe Zaharias
(1911-1956)
Mildred (Babe) Didrikson Zaharias was acclaimed by the Associated
Press as the Woman Athlete of the 20th Century. She was an All-American basketball
player from 1930 to 1932, leading her team to the national championship in 1931.
In the 1932 Amateur Athletic Union championships, she placed first in six of
ten events - thereby winning the team title by herself! - and at the Olympic
Games that followed, she won two gold medals and a silver medal. Zaharias started
her golfing career in 1933, and in the following 22 years, she helped found
the Ladies Professional Golf Association and won 55 tournaments, including 17
in a row, 3 U.S. Womens Opens, and the British Womens Amateur. By
competing against established norms for women, hurtling barriers, and triumphing
over restrictive stereotypes, Zaharias was a leading womens pioneer not
just in sports but in society.
Issued: 1981
Ethel Barrymore
(1879-1959)
Known as the first lady of the American theater, Ethel Barrymore
was one of several siblings who were renowned actors in the early 20th century.
(Also pictured on the stamp are her two brothers, John and Lionel.) Continuing
in a long line of entertainers, Barrymore performed on stage and radio and in
films and television. To get her to star in a new play in 1927, a leading New
York theatrical organization built a theatre and named it in her honor, and
the Ethel Barrymore Theatre is still operating today. In 1944, she won an Academy
Award for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart.
Issued: 1982
Dr. Mary Walker
(1832-1919)
Dr. Mary Walker was the first (and so far only) woman to be awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor, in 1865. After becoming the second woman in the U.S. to receive
a medical degree, Walker volunteered for the Union Army during the Civil War,
serving near the front lines as a field surgeon for several years. In addition
to treating wounded soldiers, she often crossed the front lines to treat civilians
also affected by the war. On one such occasion, she was captured by Confederates
and spent four months as a prisoner of war. Walker devoted much of her life
to advocating womens rights, including dress reform - at a time when most
clothing for women was uncomfortable and physically restrictive, she wore trousers.
In 1917 Walkers medal was one of more than 900 that the U.S. Army rescinded,
but she defiantly refused to return it. In 1977 the award was reinstated.
Issued: 1982
Dorothea Dix
(1802-1887)
Social and political activist Dorothea Dix was a crusader for the mentally ill
and for prison reform. After being a teacher for 20 years, Dix campaigned to
improve the appalling conditions in prisons, which at the time housed the mentally
ill as well as criminals. Dix lobbied many state legislatures to provide better
care for prison inmates and to build hospitals devoted to the mentally ill.
She was directly responsible for founding more than 30 mental hospitals throughout
the country, and more were established because of the awareness she raised.
During the Civil War, Dix served as the Union Armys superintendent of
women nurses and helped to markedly improve the care provided to wounded soldiers.
Issued: 1983
Pearl Buck
(1892-1973)
Pearl Buck was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Buck was the daughter of American missionaries to China, and she spent most
of her first 40 years in that country. It was the setting for her famous novel
The Good Earth, which was the first book in a trilogy about the travails and
successes of a Chinese farm family. This novel earned her the Pulitzer Prize
in 1932 and the Howells Medal in 1935, and she won the Nobel Prize in 1938 for
the trilogy as well as for biographies of her parents. When she moved to the
U.S. in 1934, Buck became active in social and political causes, working to
improve East-West relations and creating foundations to help children in need.
Issued: 1983
Lillian M. Gilbreth
(1878-1972)
A pioneer in industrial engineering and scientific management, Lillian Gilbreth,
together with her husband and business partner, Frank, developed theories and
practices to increase both labor efficiency and worker satisfaction in industry
as well as at home. In 1930, Gilbreth headed the Presidents Emergency
Committee for Unemployment Relief, helping industry and the workforce overcome
the effects of the Depression. Gilbreth was the first woman elected to the National
Academy of Engineering and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Her
life as a professional and mother of 12 is celebrated in the book and movie
Cheaper By the Dozen.
Issued: 1984
Big Sisters
In 1905, an organization of women in New York City reached out to young girls
whose personal development was put at risk because of poverty, inadequate education,
delinquency, or other trials. The women developed one-on-one relationships with
the girls to build friendship and trust leading to hope and better opportunities.
Over the years similar groups were established in many communities, and in 1970
Big Sisters International was chartered. In 1977, it merged with a similar organization
directed at boys to form Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, which now has
more than 500 affiliated agencies nationwide.
Issued: 1985
Abigail Adams
(1744-1818)
Even had she not been the wife of one U.S. president and the mother of another,
Abigail Adams would probably still be remembered today as one of the American
colonial eras most learned women and leading female letter writers. Self-taught
from her youth through her own avid reading, Adams reveals her keen intelligence
and expressive writing style in the long years of correspondence with John Adams,
her husband and one of the countrys founding fathers. The letters convey
strong support for womens education and legal rights, opposition to slavery,
insights into the political ideals of the times, and descriptions of the daily
struggles of running a household and farm during the Revolution. And because
her letters also show the strong bonds of affection between life-long companions,
one of them was chosen as the background for the 55-cent Love Letter
stamp.
Issued: 1985 and 2001
Mary McLeod Bethune
(1875-1955)
Mary McLeod Bethune was a noted educator and social activist. In 1904 she founded
the school that eventually became Bethune-Cookman College, serving as its president
for almost 40 years. Bethune also founded the National Council of Negro Women
in 1935 to advance issues affecting African Americans. Bethune served several
U.S. presidents as an advisor on issues such as child welfare, and in 1936 she
became the first African-American woman to head a federal agency when President
Roosevelt appointed her as a director of the National Youth Administration.
In 1945, at the request of President Truman, she attended the United Nations
organization meeting.
Issued: 1985
Sojourner Truth
(ca. 1797-1883)
One of the most inspirational and widely known African Americans of the 19th
century was Sojourner Truth. She was born Isabella Bomefree (also spelled Baumfree)
about 1797, a slave in New York, but she received her freedom in 1828. In the
1830s, she became involved in evangelical movements, and in 1843 she changed
her name to Sojourner Truth and began traveling and preaching. Her autobiography,
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave, was published in 1850, and
her speeches against slavery and for woman suffrage drew large crowds. In 1864,
President Abraham Lincoln received her at the White House, and from 1864 to
1868 she worked with the National Freedmens Relief Association to advise
former slaves as they started new lives.
Issued: 1986
Belva Ann Lockwood
(1830-1917)
Attorney and activist Belva Ann Lockwood was a pioneer in securing many legal
rights for women. Even before receiving her law degree in 1873 (she was one
of the first women to earn one), Lockwood drafted a bill that Congress passed
in 1872 providing female government employees with equal pay for equal work.
She also drafted the 1879 legislation allowing women to practice before the
U.S. Supreme Court, and then became the first woman to do so. In 1903, when
Congress received statehood bills for Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, Lockwood
wrote amendments to the bills granting voting rights to women in those states.
She also was the first woman to campaign for the presidency, running for the
National Equal Rights Party in 1884 and 1888.
Issued: 1986
Margaret Mitchell
(1900-1949)
Margaret Mitchell wrote only one novel, but Gone With the Wind became a publishing
phenomenon, setting sales records immediately and for decades to come. It won
her the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 and is considered one of the finest novels of
the 20th century. Before writing her famous book, Mitchell was one of the first
women to work as a reporter and columnist for the Souths largest newspaper,
the Atlanta Journal. After winning worldwide acclaim, she spent most of her
time on philanthropic causes, such as funding libraries in her home state of
Georgia, sponsoring scholarships at Morehouse College, and working for integration
and improved race relations.
Issued: 1986
Mary Lyon
(1797-1849)
Mary Lyon was the foremost person responsible for establishing womens
higher education in America and elevating it to a level equitable to that available
to men. In 1837, after teaching for more than 20 years, Lyon founded Mount Holyoke
Female Seminary and served as its president for the rest of her life. She made
the school unlike other womens schools at the time by developing a curriculum
with science, mathematics, history, and Latin. Many graduates of the school
(now called Mount Holyoke College) then followed Lyons example and extended
education to other women by starting schools elsewhere in the country and the
world.
Issued: 1987
Julia Ward Howe
(1819-1910)
Julia Ward Howe is best known for writing the words for The Battle Hymn
of the Republic, the Unions anthem during the Civil War and still
one of the countrys great patriotic songs. Before the war, Howe helped
her husband publish the antislavery newspaper The Commonwealth, and during the
war she worked with the U.S. Sanitary Commission, an organization that helped
save lives by reforming health and sanitary conditions in army camps. In the
late 1860s, Howe turned her energies to woman suffrage, helping to found the
New England Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association,
and in 1870 she became the editor for Womans Journal. Howe, who had published
several volumes of poetry in the 1850s, continued to write poems and other works
throughout her life, and in 1907 she was the first woman elected to the American
Academy of Arts and Letters.
Issued: 1987
Hazel Wightman
(1886-1974)
In the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, 38-year-old Hazel Wightman won gold medals
in womens doubles and mixed doubles, and she considered these victories
among her greatest thrills. During her long career, Wightman won dozens of tennis
titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles competition, including U.S. championships
in all three categories for three consecutive years from 1909 to 1911, and winning
her last national title, in doubles, at the age of 56. She is credited with
developing the volley game of hitting the ball out of the air near
the net rather than on a bounce near the baseline, and she helped initiate the
annual womens tennis tournament between the United States and Great Britain,
which became known as the Wightman Cup, playing several times and serving as
captain for many years. Wightman was inducted into the International Tennis
Hall of Fame in 1957.
Issued: 1990
Helene Madison
(1913-1970)
Helene Madison stood on the top step of the victory stand three times during
the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles to receive gold medals in swimming, setting
records in each event. Madison set an Olympic record in the 100-meter freestyle
and a world record in the 400-meter freestyle, and she helped the U.S. team
set another world record in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. Madison started
competing in international swimming events when she was 15 years old, and during
her career she set more than a hundred national and world records. In fact,
at one point in her career, Madison held all the U.S. records in womens
freestyle swimming - a feat never duplicated.
Issued: 1990
Marianne Moore
(1887-1972)
Considered one of the finest American poets of the 20th century, Marianne Moore
won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Bollingen Prize from
Yale University in 1952 for her work Collected Poems. Moores poetry was
acclaimed for precise descriptions, concise language, and the ability to create
many images and themes from just one item. She used the free-form verse characteristic
of modernist poets, and she often used imagery of animals and nature to reflect
themes such as courage, patience, and perseverance. Moore also influenced other
artists while serving as the editor of the prestigious literary and arts magazine
Dial from 1925 to 1929.
Issued: 1990
Ida B. Wells
(1862-1931)
Ida B. Wells devoted her life to educating people about the appalling aspects
of discrimination against women and African Americans. Her first job was as
a teacher, but she became a journalist when she started to write about her experiences
of suing a railroad company for racial discrimination. Much of her journalism
career centered on the antilynching crusade and promoting voting rights for
women. In 1909 Wells was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP), and in 1910 she founded the Negro Fellowship League,
which provided services to people moving from rural areas to Chicago looking
for work. In 1913, Wells founded Illinois first suffrage club for African-American
women, the Alpha Suffrage Club.
Issued: 1990
Harriet Quimby
(1875-1912)
In 1911, Harriet Quimby became the first American woman to receive a pilots
license and, in 1912, the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel.
Quimby combined her adventurous spirit with dramatic style, wearing her trademark,
self-designed purple satin flying outfit while performing in aviation exhibitions
in North America and Europe. She was also a successful and well-known journalist
in San Francisco and New York City, and after she became a pilot, she chronicled
her flying exploits in many newspaper articles, allowing readers to soar with
her. Although Quimby died in an aviation accident, her daring accomplishments
encouraged others to also venture into uncharted areas.
Issued: 1991
Fanny Brice
(1891-1951)
Fanny Brice was one of the most popular vaudevillians with the famous Ziegfeld
Follies theatrical shows in the first several decades of the 20th century. As
a comedian, Brice performed hilarious satires, parodies, and lampoons of celebrities,
and she also created a character named Baby Snooks, whose mischievous
antics amused audiences in theaters and later on Brices own long-running
radio show. Brice, whose life is portrayed in the Broadway musical and Hollywood
film Funny Girl, could also step out of her comic role and sing passionate,
poignant songs such as My Man and Rose of Washington Square.
Issued: 1991
Dorothy Parker
(1893-1967)
Dorothy Parkers wide-ranging literary works include poems, short stories,
book and drama reviews, magazine articles, theatrical plays, and screen plays.
In 1927, Parker won the prestigious O. Henry Award for her short story The
Big Blonde, and in 1937 she won an Academy Award for her work on the movie
A Star Is Born, both of which depict women facing difficulties. A member of
the famed Algonquin Roundtable, an informal group of artistic intellectuals,
she had a sarcastic, satirical wit that was bitingly humorous and that often
conveyed cynicism and pessimism. In 1959, Parker was inducted into the American
Academy of Arts and Letters.
Issued: 1992
Women Support America in World War II
When Americas men left home to join the armed forces during
World War II, millions of women filled the empty posts in factories and other
workplaces to sustain the effort required for victory. Images of Rosie
the Riveter, with rolled-up sleeves and determined gaze, both portrayed
and applauded the support provided by American women, who during the war comprised
almost one-third of the civilian workforce. The women who answered their countrys
call and entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers not only displayed their
patriotism and performed vital functions, but they forever changed womens
role in the American labor market.
Issued: 1992 and 1999
Grace Kelly
(1929-1982)
Crowned a princess of the silver screen because of her beauty and talent, Grace
Kelly actually did become royalty when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco
in 1956. Beginning her film career in 1951, Kelly starred in classics such as
High Noon, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, and High Society, and she won the
Academy Award for Best Actress for The Country Girl. Kelly no longer acted after
her marriage, but using her status as a member of Monacos royal family
as well as a former movie star, she devoted much of her time to raising funds
for charitable causes and helping the disadvantaged.
Issued: 1993
Dinah Washington
(1924-1963)
Born Ruth Jones in 1924, Dinah Washington became one of Americas most
popular and versatile singers. She began her career as a gospel singer, established
herself as the queen of the blues, and also made recordings of jazz,
pop, rhythm and blues, and even country songs. Her signature song was What
a Difference a Day Makes. Unfortunately, her life was tragically cut short
when she died after an accidental overdose of prescription medications. Washington
was inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame in 1996.
Issued: 1993
Patsy Cline
(1932-1963)
Patsy Cline was in the vanguard of the Nashville Sound, a 1950s
and 1960s movement that blended traditional country music with a style having
a broader popular appeal. Many of her songs, including Walkin After
Midnight, Crazy, and I Fall to Pieces, became
top hits on both the pop and country charts. For three consecutive years, Cline
was the nations most popular female country music artist, and even her
early death in a 1963 plane crash could not diminish her popularity and her
influence on other singers. In 1973, Cline was the first solo female performer
elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Issued: 1993
Classic Childrens Books
by Women
Classic books in childrens literature include Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,
by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923), Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls
Wilder (1867-1957), and Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888). Wigginss
tale of Rebecca recounts the adventures of a spirited young girl who is sent
to live with two dignified aunts in a New England town. Wilders book,
which was the basis for a highly successful television series in the 1970s and
1980s, is one in a series based on the authors childhood experiences on
the American frontier. Alcotts Little Women is a story of four sisters
that is loosely based on Alcotts own family life.
Issued: 1993
Military Medics Treat the Wounded
During World War II, women served as medics and nurses in all branches of the
armed forces. Stationed on the front lines in Europe, North Africa, and the
Pacific, they provided aid and comfort to the wounded while themselves enduring
hardships, deprivation, and enemy fire.
Issued: 1993
Maybelle Addington Carter
(1909-1978)
Sara Dougherty Carter
(1898-1979)
Often called the first family of country music, The Carter Family
included cousins Maybelle and Sara Carter, along with Saras husband, A.P.
Carter. In 1927, they released their first of more than 300 records, many of
which were traditional Appalachian folk songs and gospel hymns, such as Wildwood
Flower and Can the Circle Be Unbroken. Saras lead vocals
brought a freshness to the songs, and Maybelle (who had married APs brother)
was an excellent guitarist who developed a unique style of picking and strumming.
In the mid-1930s, the groups popularity spread nationwide when they started
playing at a Texas radio station that had a powerful signal reaching up to Canada.
Even after the group disbanded in the early 1940s, they continued to influence
the evolution of country music as well as the 1960s folk revival, and several
of Maybelles children and grandchildren became country music stars. In
1970, The Carter Family was the first group inducted into the Country Music
Hall of Fame.
Issued: 1993
ZaSu Pitts
(ca. 1898-1963)
ZaSu Pitts began her film career as an extra, when she was discovered by Mary
Pickford and cast in movies such as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Although Pitts
played dramatic roles to much acclaim in the silent films Greed and All Quiet
on the Western Front, she is known mostly for comedic roles, often as a flustered
scatterbrain with a squeaky-high voice - in fact, Max Fleischer, the creator
of the Popeye cartoons, patterned the character Olive Oyl after Pitts. In the
1930s Pitts starred in a series of short comedy films with Thelma Todd, forming
one of the few female comedy teams of that era, and she continued her comedy
roles in films, on stage, and in television until the 1960s.
Issued: 1994
Clara Bow
(1905-1965)
In the age of flappers and jazz, movie star Clara Bow became known as the It
Girl - a red-haired beauty whose large, expressive eyes, alluring vivaciousness,
charming sassiness, and natural warmth and wit won mens attention and
influenced womens fashion and style. In her relatively short career, which
began at 16 when she earned a movie role for winning a fan magazines beauty
contest, Bow made more than 50 films, both silents and talkies,
including 25 in just 2 years. Her popular screen roles as vixens in movies such
as Mantrap and It (which provided her with her famous nickname) often belie
the range and depth of emotions that are seen in films such as Children of Divorce
and Wings, which won the first Academy Award for Best Picture. Bow helped to
change womens roles in the movie industry and influenced the careers of
many women actors who followed.
Issued: 1994
Theda Bara
(1885-1955)
One of the most magnetic stars of the silent film era, Theda Bara became infamous
for her portrayals of a femme fatale - a beautiful, seductive woman who lures
men to depravity and decadence. In the 1915 film A Fool There Was, Bara starred
as the man-destroying woman known only as the vampire, giving rise
to the term vamp to describe a woman who charms men to exploit them.
She continued this role in many of her more than 40 films, including Cleopatra,
Salome, and Carmen. But Baras own favorite roles were those in which she
shed this typecast persona and played characters such as the tragic teenager
in Romeo and Juliet, a heroic legionnaire in Under Two Flags, and an innocent
peasant girl in Kathleen Mavourneen.
Issued: 1994
Ethel Waters
(1896-1977)
Ethel Waters won acclaim for singing and dramatic performances on radio, television,
stage, and screen. Known as the mother of modern popular singing,
Waters began her career in vaudeville as a singer and dancer and became an acclaimed
jazz and pop singer in the 1920s and 1930s, introducing the song Stormy
Weather. In the 1930s she transitioned into a successful career on Broadway,
where in the 1933 production of Irving Berlins As Thousands Cheer she
is credited with being the first African-American woman to receive equal billing
with her white co-stars. She received an Academy Award nomination for the film
Pinky in 1949 and a New York Drama Critics Award for Member of the Wedding
in 1950. In later years, Waters performed religious music for evangelist Billy
Graham, making famous the song His Eye Is on the Sparrow.
Issued: 1994
Ethel Merman
(1908-1984)
By the age of 21, Ethel Merman made her way to the Broadway stage, which she
would dominate for decades with her big, penetrating voice and brassy, unrestrained
style. On first hearing her, George Gershwin cast Merman in his 1930 show Girl
Crazy, and her rendition of the song I Got Rhythm became an instant
hit and vaulted her to stardom overnight. During the next 40 years, she starred
in a string of smash Broadway musicals, including Anything Goes, Annie Get Your
Gun (based on the life of Annie Oakley and written by Dorothy Fields), Call
Me Madam, Gypsy, and Hello Dolly. Mermans movie career includes Theres
No Business Like Show Business, a revue of Irving Berlin tunes featuring the
title song that she had made famous on stage.
Issued: 1994
Bessie Smith
(ca. 1894-1937)
The empress of the blues, Bessie Smith reigned in the 1920s across
the United States and Europe, bringing blues music to audiences of all backgrounds.
She started as a street musician in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and toured in her
teens with vaudeville star Ma Rainey. In 1923, her debut album,
Down Hearted Blues, was a huge success, and many critics consider her rendition
of St. Louis Blues with Louis Armstrong to be one of the finest
recordings of the 1920s. Smith recorded more than 100 blues and popular songs,
but tragically her life was cut short by an automobile accident in 1937.
Issued: 1994
Ma Rainey
(1886-1939)
Born Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett, Ma Rainey is considered the
mother of the blues for her great impact on developing and popularizing
the genre in its early years. She first appeared on stage around 1900 in minstrel
and vaudeville shows. Later she and her husband, William Pa Rainey,
formed a song-and-dance act and began to offer audiences a different kind of
music - a plaintive sound she dubbed the blues. As this new style
caught on, Raineys fame grew. She recorded 100 songs between 1923 and
1928 for Paramount Records. Early in her career, Rainey befriended, coached,
and toured with Bessie Smith, who adopted her mentors music style and
became a famous blues singer herself. Rainey was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Issued: 1994
Billie Holiday
(1915-1959)
Born Eleanora Fagan, Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers
of her time and a headline attraction for most of her career. She was a technical
and artistic virtuoso, using her voice like an instrument in improvisational
solos. Nicknamed Lady Day, she brought a distinctive light timbre
and graceful phrasing to her music, even when singing popular tunes about heartbreak
and despair. In the late 1930s, Holidays many solo hits, such as God
Bless the Child and Strange Fruit, became standard tunes for
generations of singers to follow.
Issued: 1994
Mildred Bailey
(1907-1951)
With her sweet, high-pitched, and flexible voice, Mildred Bailey was
one of the most popular female vocalists of the 1930s. In 1929, she
joined the Paul Whiteman orchestra, becoming the first featured female vocalist
to tour with a major national dance band, and 3 years later gained fame by recording
her signature song, Rockin Chair. She and husband/xylophonist
Red Norvo, together known as Mr. and Mrs. Swing, had their own CBS
radio program and produced many recordings together. Health problems forced
Bailey to retire in the mid-1940s, and after a short return to performing, Bailey
died at the age of 44 in 1951.
Issued: 1994
Annie Oakley
(1860-1926)
Known as Little Miss Sure Shot, Annie Oakley could hit a dime in
midair from 90 feet and shoot a playing card in half - at 30 paces with the
edge toward her. At age 15, Oakley won a shooting competition with well-known
marksman Frank Butler, whom she later married. From 1885 to 1902, her stunt-shooting
skills made her a leading attraction in Buffalo Bills Wild West Show.
When the show toured Europe in 1890, her skill attracted the attention of Crown
Prince Wilhelm of Germany, who challenged her to shoot a cigarette out of his
hand. True to her reputation, she did so without harming him. Oakleys
life was the basis for the 1946 Broadway musical Annie Get You Gun, which was
written by Dorothy Fields and starred Ethel Merman.
Issued: 1994
Nellie Cashman
(ca. 1850-1925)
Known as the frontier angel, Irish-born Nellie Cashman made her
reputation in the western U.S. and Canada as a successful prospector, businesswoman,
and philanthropist. During the Cassiar gold rush in British Columbia in 1875,
Cashman and six men loaded sleds with 1,500 pounds of supplies and completed
a long journey in heavy snows to a remote mining camp, arriving in time to nurse
almost 100 sick miners back to health. She later moved to Tombstone, Arizona,
where she opened the towns first woman-owned business (a restaurant) and
became a prominent citizen, building a church and raising money for social welfare
and the arts. When her sister died from tuberculosis, Cashman cared for her
sisters five children. When Cashman died, newspapers as far away as the
New York Times wrote obituaries citing her good works.
Issued: 1994
Virginia Apgar
(1909-1974)
Dr. Virginia Apgar was a pioneer in the fields of obstetrics and anesthesiology.
She is best known for developing a simple assessment tool that helps delivery-room
doctors and nurses evaluate a newborns general condition. This method,
known as the Apgar score, has helped medical professionals worldwide
identify infants in need of immediate medical attention. Apgar was also the
first female professor of anesthesiology and the first female physician to hold
a full professorship in the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Her 1973 book Is My Baby All Right? served as a guide for parents concerned
about possible birth defects in their children.
Issued: 1994
Bessie Coleman
(1892-1926)
Bessie Coleman was the first African American to receive an international pilots
license, which she earned in France after being denied entry into flight schools
in the United States. She returned to the United States and performed in air
shows as a stunt flyer, but refused to appear in shows that denied admission
to African Americans. Her goal was to establish a flight school for African
Americans, but she died in a plane accident while preparing for a show to raise
money for the cause. Although she did not live to realize her dream, she paved
the way for many men and women to follow in her footsteps.
Issued: 1995
Marilyn Monroe
(1926-1962)
Screen legend Marilyn Monroe left a legacy of films, including such box-office
hits as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Seven Year
Itch, and The Misfits. Born Norma Jean Mortenson (sometimes using the last name
Baker), Monroe was working in a munitions plant in 1944 when she
was photographed for a news story about women in the war effort, and this launched
her on a modeling career. Soon the 20th Century Fox movie studio hired her,
and after many small parts, she gained fame for her singing and dancing roles.
In 1959, she won a Golden Globe award for her comedic role in Some Like It Hot.
Issued: 1995
Mary Chesnut
(1823-1913)
Confederate diarist Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut wrote one of the finest
literary and historical works of the Civil War. Mary Chesnuts Civil War,
as
the collection of her diaries is known, describes life on her plantation in
South Carolina and recounts many key events that occurred in Charleston, South
Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia, during the war. Chestnut provided more than
just gripping personal observations and experiences - because her husband had
been a U.S. senator before the war and a Confederate congressman and aide to
Confederate President Jefferson Davis during the war, Chestnut was in a unique
position to witness the events of her day and offer valuable insights to the
people and workings of the Confederate government.
Issued: 1995
Phoebe Pember
(1823-1913)
Daughter of a prosperous family from Charleston, South Carolina, Phoebe Yates
Levy Pember was one of the first women to enter the previously all-male domain
of nursing. After moving to Richmond, Virginia, upon the death of her husband
in 1862, Pember was recruited by Mrs. George Randolph, wife of the Confederate
secretary of war, to serve as nurse and administrator at Chimborazo Military
Hospital, which treated more patients than any other military hospital in the
country, North or South. After the war, Pember vividly documented her experiences
in her memoir, A Southern Womans Story.
Issued: 1995
Alice Hamilton
(1869-1970)
Dr. Alice Hamiltons pioneering work in the field of industrial medicine
contributed to the passage of early workers compensation laws. In the
1902 Chicago typhoid epidemic, Hamilton discovered a connection between improper
sewage disposal and disease transmission, and she later noted a relationship
between immigrant health problems and unsafe working conditions, including exposure
to noxious chemicals. In 1910, she was appointed director of the Illinois Occupational
Disease Commission, the first organization of its kind, and in 1919 she became
the first female faculty member of Harvard Medical School. Hamilton was a consultant
to the U.S. government and the League of Nations, and in 1947 she received the
U.S. Public Health Associations Lasker Award.
Issued: 1995
Ruth Benedict
(1887-1948)
Ruth Benedict is considered one of the pre-eminent anthropologists of the 20th
century. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1923 and taught
there for many years, becoming the first female full professor in the Department
of Anthropology in 1948. Her formative fieldwork was conducted among the American
Indians of the desert Southwest, and during World War II she analyzed Japanese
culture as a consultant to the Office of War Information. Based in part on this
work, Benedict published two best-sellers - Patterns of Culture, an introduction
to the field of anthropology, and The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, an exploration
of Japanese culture from the 7th century through the mid-20th century.
Issued: 1995
Alice Paul
(1885-1977)
Alice Paul was one of the primary architects of the campaign for womens
right to vote. With a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Pennsylvania
and training in civil disobedience from British suffrage leaders, she founded
the National Womans Party in the United States and organized massive pro-suffrage
demonstrations, including one that stole the limelight from Woodrow Wilsons
inauguration in 1913. For the next 7 years, National Womans Party leaders
and others picketed outside the White House and were jailed - Paul herself was
imprisoned three times - until in 1920 the 19th amendment granting women the
right to vote was added to the U.S. Constitution. In the 1920s, Paul earned
three law degrees, and for the next 50 years, she strove to protect women from
discrimination, working to include equal gender rights in the United Nations
Charter and 1964 Civil Rights Act, and authoring and promoting the proposed
Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Issued: 1995
Jacqueline Cochran
(1910-1980)
In 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier.
This pioneering aviator was also the first woman to participate in the prestigious
Bendix air race across the U.S. (In 1935), to win the Bendix race (in 1938),
to pilot a bomber across the Atlantic, and to serve as president of the Fédération
Internationale Aéronautique. As director of the Womens Air Force
Service Pilots during World War II, she trained other women aviators. Cochran
was also a businesswoman - she had founded a cosmetics company before becoming
a pilot - and a writer, publishing her autobiography, The Stars at Noon, in
1954. At the time of her death in 1980, Cochran held more speed, altitude, and
distance records than any other male or female pilot in aviation history.
Issued: 1996
Dorothy Fields
(1905-1974)
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Dorothy Fields entertained millions
with her lyrics for great American songs, including On the Sunny Side
of the Street, Big Spender, and If My Friends Could
See Me Now. In 1936, she won an Academy Award for best original song for
The Way You Look Tonight, the hit tune from Swing Time with Fred
Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In the 1940s, Fields conceived of and wrote the story
line for Annie Get Your Gun, a smash Broadway musical portraying the life of
Annie Oakley and featuring Ethel Merman and music by Irving Berlin. Fields was
nominated for four Tony Awards, and in 1959 she shared in the award for best
musical for Redhead.
Issued: 1996
Georgia OKeeffe
(1887-1986)
Georgia OKeeffe is regarded as one of the leading American artists of
the 20th century, best known for her dramatic and sensual use of color and light
in landscapes and cityscapes, and for close-ups of flowers and clouds. Recognizing
the genius in her first abstract drawings, well-known photographer and art critic
Alfred Stieglitz became her benefactor and promoter. They married in 1924. The
view from their apartment in New York City and the natural environment of his
Lake George estate became the subjects of her paintings. OKeeffe also
had a lifetime fascination with the American Southwest, where she lived for
35 years after Stieglitzs death. The regions beautiful but often
barren landscape inspired some of her most famous paintings. OKeeffe lived
to see a great re-birth of interest in her work in the 1970s that continues
to this day. The stamp reproduces her 1927 painting Red Poppy.
Issued: 1996
Breast Cancer Awareness and Research
Breast cancer affects one out of eight women in the U.S., making it the second
most common form of cancer in American women, but early detection and treatment
can greatly increase the survival rate of those affected. In 1998, the Postal
Service issued its first semipostal stamp, with revenues exceeding
the cost of First-Class Mail rates being used to further breast cancer research
conducted by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense
Medical Research Program. Through 2002, the Postal Service had sold more than
421 million of these semipostal stamps, thereby raising almost $30 million for
research.
Issued: 1996 and 1998
Lily Pons
(1898-1976)
French-American opera singer Lily Pons was famous for her coloratura soprano
voice and her technical skill. She studied piano at the Paris Conservatory before
making her formal operatic debut in Lamké in 1928 in Mulhouse, France.
From the moment in 1931 that she made her American debut in Lucia di Lammermore
at New York Citys Metropolitan Opera, Pons was an immediate success. For
nearly 30 years, Pons remained with the Metropolitan and delighted music lovers
both on the opera stage and also in three films, including That Girl From Paris.
Issued: 1997
Rosa Ponselle
(1897-1981)
While singing in vaudeville in 1921, Rosa Ponselle was discovered by tenor Enrico
Caruso and became the leading dramatic soprano at the New York Metropolitan
Opera, debuting as Leonora opposite Carusos Don Alvaro in La Forza del
Destino. Ponselle remained at the Metropolitan for nearly two decades. Her exceptional
voice earned her a wide range of operatic roles in productions such as Verdis
Don Carlos, Spontinis Vestale, and Webers Oberon. In 1927, Ponselle
assumed the title role in Bellinis highly acclaimed Norma.
Issued: 1997
Gibson Girl
Created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, the Gibson Girl set
the fashion for the ideal American woman from about 1895 to 1914. Aloof yet
accessible, the Gibson Girl was self-confident, independent, and feminine. She
was equally at home on the tennis court or golf course as in the tea parlor.
With an hour-glass figure and her long hair piled gracefully atop her head,
the Gibson Girl was the epitome of elegance and American free spirit. Illustrations
of the Gibson Girl adorned the covers of popular magazines such as Life and
Harpers.
Issued: 1998
Mary Breckinridge
(1881-1965)
Nurse-midwife Mary Breckinridge helped to modernize health care in rural America.
Breckinridge traveled to Europe during World War I to volunteer with the American
Committee for Devastated France. There she studied under and was inspired by
the skill and professionalism of the European nurse-midwives. Appalled by the
high maternal death rate in America, Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing
Service (FNS) in Kentucky in 1925. Within the first 5 years, she and her network
of trained midwives reached hundreds of Appalachian families, delivering babies
and providing prenatal care and nutrition counseling. By 1930, the FNS had six
rural outposts. Since its inception, more than 64,000 rural women, children,
and families have used FNS services.
Issued: 1998
Margaret Mead
(1901-1978)
Anthropologist, professor, and writer Margaret Mead explored gender roles, womens
issues, and the effect of culture on the behavior and personalities of children
and adolescents. Her findings were based on field research she conducted in
Samoa, Bali, and New Guinea. Mead applied principles of economics and psychology
to anthropology to demonstrate how modern society can look to primitive cultures
to better understand its behaviors. A prolific writer, Mead published 44 books
and more than 1,000 articles. Her best-selling first book, Coming of Age in
Samoa, explains how American parents could mitigate rebellious adolescent behavior
by studying Samoan child-rearing techniques. From 1926 until her death, Mead
worked in the Department of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History,
serving in various capacities including curator of ethnology and curator emeritus.
Issued: 1998
Popular Dances of the 20th Century
The dance styles of the Charleston, the jitterbug, and disco reflect advances
in womens social freedom in the 20th century and stand as symbols for
their generations. The 1920s gave rise to the exuberant Charleston and a new
era for women - when flappers shed their corsets, shortened their skirts, bobbed
their hair, and kicked up their heels in new-found freedom from Victorian-era
social strictures. Evolving from Swing music in the 1930s, the jitterbug and
its fast-paced acrobatics underwent various stylistic changes over the years,
with a toned-down version being popularized on the 1950s TV show American Bandstand.
In the 1970s, the disco craze paralleled a time of massive social change, when
women rebelled against conventions and explored nontraditional roles throughout
society.
Issued: 1998 and 1999
America Survives the Depression
By 1933, unemployment in the U.S. had skyrocketed to 25 percent, and the average
employee wage was 60 percent less than it had been in 1929. During the Depression,
the percentage of women in the workforce rose as wives tried to supplement their
husbands income to provide for families. Dorothea Langes 1936 photograph
of Native American Florence Thompson Owens, a 32-year-old migrant worker with
seven children, symbolizes both the concern and courage of American women as
they tried to survive the hard times of the Great Depression. (See also Dorothea
Lange, page 45.)
Issued: 1998
Mahalia Jackson
(1911-1972)
Full-throated soprano Mahalia Jackson, called the queen of gospel music,
helped make this music genre popular to a secular audience. Through performances
on radio and television, she brought gospel music to diverse listeners in the
U.S. And abroad, and her 1958 gospel hit Hes Got the Whole World
in His Hands was one of the best-selling songs of the year. Jacksons
audiences included Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy as well as the king and
queen of Denmark. At the 1963 March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
requested that Jackson sing I Been Buked and I Been Scorned
just before he delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech. Jackson
also sang at Kings funeral in 1968. In 1972, Jackson received a posthumous
Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
Issued: 1998
Roberta Martin
(1907-1969)
Roberta Martin, the gifted and versatile leader of the Roberta Martin Singers,
was blessed with a glorious contralto voice and was also an accomplished pianist,
composer, and music publisher. Always in demand, the Roberta Martin Singers
performed for audiences throughout the U.S. And Europe. Martin dedicated her
life to gospel music, recording some 100 compositions and 280 gospel songs.
Among Martins most popular recordings were Try Jesus, He Satisfies,
Amazing Grace, and If You Pray.
Issued: 1998
Clara Ward
(1924-1973)
Clara Ward was the creative force behind the Ward Singers (later the Clara Ward
Singers), often acknowledged as Americas greatest gospel group. Ward was
a celebrated and accomplished composer, pianist, singer, and arranger, and she
and her group helped transform the gospel genre by using creative stage arrangements,
wearing colorful costumes, and playing at unconventional venues. A 1957 performance
at the Newport Jazz Festival introduced the Clara Ward Singers - and gospel
music - to a secular audience. Her song Surely God Is Able became
one of the highest selling gospel records of all time.
Issued: 1998
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
(1915-1973)
The daughter of a spiritual singer, Sister Rosetta Tharpe established a reputation
as a singer-evangelist in Chicago before moving to Harlem, where she became
known for her electrifying performances in theaters, nightclubs, and churches.
A brilliant guitarist and gospel singer, Tharpe performed in swing orchestras
with musical greats Benny Goodman and Count Basie. She also recorded many popular
vocal duets, including Up Above My Head with Marie Knight in 1947.
Issued: 1998
Madam C.J. Walker
(1867-1919)
Born Sarah Breedlove, the daughter of former slaves, Madam CJ Walker became
a beauty products pioneer and one of the nations first female millionaires.
In the early 1900s, using her husbands name (Charles Joseph Walker), she
developed a very successful business manufacturing hair goods and preparations,
and her company eventually became one of the countrys largest businesses
owned by an African American. Walker also became one of the eras leading
African-American philanthropists and political activists, strongly supporting
education, charitable institutions, political rights, and economic opportunities
for African Americans and women.
Issued: 1998
Lila Wallace
(1889-1984)
Lila Wallace and her husband, DeWitt, founded the world-famous Readers
Digest in 1922. Today, 15 million people worldwide subscribe to Readers
Digest, which appears in 48 editions and 19 languages. The Wallaces matched
their extraordinary publishing success with remarkable generosity, donating
millions to charitable causes in education, arts, and music. In 1972 they were
awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom for their contributions to the
print medium, business, and philanthropy. To date, the Wallace Readers
Digest Funds have awarded nearly $2 billion in grants.
Issued: 1998
Ballet
Originating in Italy centuries ago, ballet has become an internationally acclaimed
dance form that combines flexibility, balance, strength, and grace. Most dance
roles were played by men until 1681, when French danseuse Mademoiselle de Lafontaine
performed in Le Triomphe de lAmour. In the 18th century, dancer Marie
Camargo introduced shortened skirts and slippers that allowed women greater
freedom of movement to do jumps traditionally reserved for men. During the 19th
century, numerous female ballet dancers achieved fame, including Carlotta Grisi,
the first woman to dance Giselle, and Marie Taglioni, whose 1832 performance
in La Sylphide inaugurated the Romantic Ballet era. Great ballerinas of the
20th century include classic Russian ballet dancer Ana Pavlova and dancer-choreographer
Martha Graham, who influenced the modern dance style of the 1930s. Preeminent
modern-day dancers include Judith Jamison, known for her 1971 solo Cry, a tribute
to African-American women, and Balanchine protégé Suzanne Farrell.
Issued: 1998
Emily Posts Etiquette
(1873-1960)
Born into an affluent and socially prominent Baltimore family, Emily Post defined
modern good manners and conduct for Americans of all classes. Her books, radio
programs, and syndicated newspaper column, Social Problems, set
the standard for etiquette throughout the 20th century. In 1922, Post published
Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage, which quickly became a bestseller
and is now in its 16th edition. In 1946, Post founded the Emily Post Institute,
which today continues to measure decorum and social graces in American society.
Issued: 1998
Lynn Fontanne
(1887-1983)
American actor and comedian Lynn Fontanne and her husband, Alfred Lunt, formed
a captivating couple in entertainment. Their magic and versatility as a team
led them to perform on stage and in film together from 1924 to 1960. Some of
their best-known stage works include The Guardsman, Design for Living, There
Shall Be No Light, and The Visit. In 1931, they appeared together in the film
adaptation of The Guardsman, for which they received Academy Award nominations.
Issued: 1999
Ayn Rand
(1905-1982)
Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand, who immigrated to the U.S. In 1926, became
a well-known author after the success of her best-selling novels Fountainhead
in 1943 and Atlas Shrugged in 1957. Raised in Russia during the Bolshevik revolution,
Rand witnessed the Communist government confiscate her fathers business
and leave the family impoverished. As a student, she watched as Communists took
over the University of Petrograd and prohibited free speech. These experiences
led Rand to despise collectivist political systems and to develop her own philosophy
called objectivism, which embodies principles of capitalism, rational
self-interest, and reason. Her beliefs about independent thought and individualism
earned her a large following that continues to thrive today.
Issued: 1999
Lucille Ball
(1911-1989)
Lucille Ball was a star of radio, stage, television, and film who endeared herself
to generations of fans worldwide with her wit, charm, and amazing ability for
physical comedy. Known as Americas queen of comedy, Ball is
best remembered for her portrayal of Lucy Ricardo in the 1950s TV series I Love
Lucy. Teaming Ball with her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, the enormously popular
show broke new ground in broadcast shows by depicting an American wife with
a Cuban husband and having episodes based on the wifes pregnancy. Ball
and Arnaz had cofounded Desilu Productions to run their show, and when she took
over the company in the early 1960s, she became the only woman to own and run
a Hollywood production company at that time. The company also produced many
other popular television series, including Balls later comedies The Lucy
Show and Heres Lucy and classics such as Make Room for Daddy, The Untouchables,
and Star Trek.
Issued: 1999 and 2001
Womens Rights Movement
In Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, some 300 reformers drafted a declaration
calling for equal rights for women in areas such as suffrage, property ownership,
child custody, education, and employment. Despite public criticism, the movement
gained momentum, and American women achieved several milestones - for instance,
New York and other states began to expand womens rights to own real property,
and in 1920, the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted suffrage to
women. The movement gained increased momentum in the 1960s, and women secured
government protections in areas such as employment. Backed by the political
clout of grassroots and national groups such as the National Organization for
Women, the womens rights movement continues to fight for the equality
of women in the United States and abroad.
Issued: 1999
Patricia Roberts Harris
(1924-1985)
Patricia Roberts Harris had a long, distinguished career as a lawyer,
educator, and public administrator. Harriss career in education centered
on Howard University, where she served as a full professor and as dean of the
law school. She later served in Luxembourg as the first African-American
U.S. ambassador and as an alternate delegate to the United Nations General Assembly
and Economic Commission for Europe. Harris also became the first African-American
woman appointed as a member of a presidential cabinet, serving as secretary
of both the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of
Health and Human Services.
Issued: 2000
Louise Nevelson
(1899-1988)
Considered one of the most gifted sculptors of the 20th century, Louise Nevelson
produced an impressive and influential body of work during her 50-year career.
Inspired by cubist, surrealist, American Indian, pre-Columbian, and African
art, Nevelson introduced a new style of sculpture. Her work consisted of geometrically
carved, recycled, and painted wood objects arranged in stacked boxes to form
sculptural walls. The Postal Service issued a five-stamp series featuring Nevelsons
works, including this stamp showing a detail from her sculpture titled Silent
Music I.
Issued: 2000
Hattie W. Caraway
(1878-1950)
Arkansas Senator Hattie W. Caraway achieved several political firsts,
including being the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Caraway had initially
been appointed to that body on November 13, 1931, a few days after the death
of her husband, Senator Thaddeus Caraway. On January 12, 1932, she won a special
election to fill the remaining months of his term and was subsequently elected
to two 6-year terms. In 1933, Caraway became the first woman to chair a Senate
committee (the Committee on Enrolled Bills) and in 1943 was the first woman
in Congress to cosponsor the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. After leaving
the Senate, Caraway was appointed by President Roosevelt to the Federal Employees
Compensation Commission and to the Employees Compensation Appeal Board.
Issued: 2001
Frida Kahlo
(1907-1954)
Best known for her striking self-portraits, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was
influenced by pre-Columbian art and Mexican folk art. Her works embody the pride
of Mexicos national patriotic movement, called Mexicanidad,
that pulsed throughout the country following the Mexican Revolution of the early
20th century. This sense of Mexican patriotism in Kahlos work has significantly
influenced Chicana artists in the United States. While a teenager, Kahlo sustained
serious injuries in a bus accident, which would affect her health for the rest
of her life. Triumph and suffering in her own life and in the lives of women
in general are recurrent themes in Kahlos paintings. Since the mid-1970s,
she has been a role model for women in the Mexican-American and feminist communities.
Issued: 2001
Neysa McMein
(1888-1949)
Neysa McMein was one of the most popular and productive American illustrators
in the 1920s and 1930s. As a young woman, McMein pursued multiple artistic avenues,
including painting, acting, and music. In her mid-twenties, after moving to
New York City, she focused on creating illustrations for magazine covers and
commercial advertisements. She created all the covers for McCalls from
1923 to 1937 - the stamp replicates a portrait that appeared as a McCalls
cover in 1932. Perhaps her most famous commercial design was the 1936 portrait
of Betty Crocker, the fictional character that General Mills used to promote
its baking products. In the late 1930s, McMein became increasingly involved
in portraiture, and her subjects included U.S. Presidents Harding and Hoover,
actor Charlie Chaplin, and dirigible designer Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
Issued: 2001
Rose ONeill
(1874-1944)
Rose ONeill was a self-trained artist who invented the whimsical, cupid-like
Kewpies in 1909 while illustrating for Ladies Home Journal. ONeill
included these cute characters in many stories that she wrote and illustrated
for magazines, comic strips, and childrens books, including The Kewpies
and Dottie Darling and The Kewpies and the Runaway Baby. She also used them
in advertisements and other commercial products, such as Jell-O and the Kewpies,
a famous recipe booklet from 1915. ONeill was also a talented sculptor,
novelist, and poet, and she had several exhibitions of her more serious artistic
works in Paris and New York.
Issued: 2001
Jessie Willcox Smith
(1863-1935)
Illustrator Jessie Willcox Smith specialized in nostalgic images of children
engaged in everyday activities. The postage stamp replicates her illustration
The First Lesson, which appeared on the December 1904 cover of Ladies' Home
Journal. Her work appeared on many magazines, and from December 1917 to March
1933, Smith created every cover - nearly 200 - for Good Housekeeping. Smith
is also remembered for her enchanting illustrations of classic fairy tale characters
including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood, for illustrating
childrens books such as Robert Louis Stevensons A Childs Garden
of Verses and Charles Kingsleys The Water-Babies, and for the beautiful
illustrations in her own famous book The Jessie Willcox Smith Mother Goose.
Issued: 2001
Imogen Cunningham
(1883-1976)
A photographer of exceptional sensibility and one of the founders of modernist
photography, Imogen Cunningham is best known for her portraiture and her black-and-white
photographic studies of plants and the human form. In the 1920s, Cunningham
began making sharply focused, realistic photographs, which was a departure from
the prevailing romantic pictorial style. During the 1930s, she was a photographer
for Vanity Fair. Replicated on the postage stamp is Cunninghams Age and
Its Symbols, a 1958 work compelling for its revealing personal intimacy.
Issued: 2002
Gertrude Käsebier
(1852-1934)
Eminent portrait photographer Gertrude Käsebier pioneered an evocative,
soft-focus painterly style that established her as a guiding force
in the pictorialist movement. Her best-known images are those of mothers and
children - the one replicated on the postage stamp is her 1899 work Blessed
Art Thou Among Women, a sensitive portrayal of childrens author Agnes
Lee and her daughter Peggy. In a stylistic shift, Käsebier helped found
Photo-Secession, a group that promoted photography as a unique art form with
aesthetic qualities not found in painting. Käsebiers work also includes
portraits of Native Americans, frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody, and sculptor
Auguste Rodin.
Issued: 2002
Dorothea Lange
(1895-1965)
A deeply compassionate documentary photographer, Dorothea Lange is best known
for her compelling pictures of the unemployed and uprooted victims of the Great
Depression. With an empathetic eye, she recorded not only their impoverished
circumstances but also their fortitude and spirit. Featured on the postage stamp
is a 1935 work titled Ditched, Stalled, and Stranded, San Joaquin Valley, California,
which reflects Langes intimate portrait style. Another of her photographs,
Migrant Mother (see page 37), is a classic Depression-era image that captures
its subjects inner strength in the face of hardship.
Issued: 2002
Nellie Bly
(1864-1922)
Intrepid New York World reporter Nellie Bly was one of the first female investigative
journalists. Born Elizabeth Cochran, she changed her name to Nellie Bly, the
title character of a Stephen Collins Foster song, at the request of her managing
editor, who believed it improper for women to write publicly using their real
names. Working undercover, Bly posed as an inmate and a patient to expose the
poor conditions of a prison and a womens asylum in late 19th-century New
York City. Inspired by Jules Vernes fictional story Around the World in
80 Days, in 1889 Bly traveled around the world - via boat, train, rickshaw,
and burro - in just 72 days, setting a world record and achieving worldwide
fame with her book about her adventure.
Issued: 2002
Marguerite Higgins
(1920-1966)
Assigned to the U.S. Seventh Army in 1944, New York Herald Tribune journalist
Marguerite Higgins was with the Allied troops when they liberated the Dachau
and Buchenwald concentration camps. In 1947, the Tribune promoted Higgins to
be its Berlin bureau chief, and 3 years later she was transferred to Japan to
head the newspapers Far East bureau. Higgins covered the Korean War from
the front lines, and her accounts won her a 1951 Pulitzer Prize for international
reporting - she was the first woman to receive that award - and led to her book
War in Korea: The Report of a Woman Combat Correspondent, a 1951 bestseller
Higginss daring coverage of War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War
advanced the cause of equal access for female war correspondents.
Issued: 2002
Ethel L. Payne
(1911-1991)
An internationally recognized writer and commentator, Ethel L. Payne was a syndicated
columnist and reporter for the Chicago Defender, one of the leading African-American
newspapers in the United States. At a time when the media often avoided racial
issues, Payne reported on and crusaded against the unjust treatment of minorities.
As a war correspondent in Vietnam, she wrote about the segregation of African-American
troops from white troops. In 1972, Payne became the first female African-American
commentator to be employed by a national network (CBS) and to receive accreditation
as a White House correspondent. In her honor, the prestigious annual Ethel L.
Payne International Award for Excellence in Journalism was established in 1998.
Issued: 2002
Ida M. Tarbell
(1857-1944)
Ida M. Tarbell began her journalism career at McClures by writing respected
biographical accounts of Napoléon Bonaparte and Abraham Lincoln. But
Tarbell is best known for her painstakingly researched exposé on John
D. Rockefellers powerful Standard Oil Company. Considered to be one of
the greatest journalistic works of the 20th century, her exposé was originally
published by McClures as a 19-part series starting in 1902, and in 1904
it was printed as a book titled The History of the Standard Oil Company. Tarbells
work was the catalyst leading to the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark 1911
decision to break up the Standard Oil monopoly. In 1922, the New York Times
named Tarbell one of Americas most admired women.
Issued: 2002
Zora Neale Hurston
(1891-1960)
American writer, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston was one of
Americas most original artists. Hurston spent her early years in Eatonville,
Florida, which was the first incorporated all-black town in the United States.
In the 1920s, after studying writing at Howard University, Hurston moved to
New York City and wrote stories, plays, and essays, contributing to the Harlem
Renaissance along with other African-American artists. Hurston also studied
anthropology at Barnard College and Columbia University, and she conducted field
research on African-American culture in several southern states and in the Caribbean.
Based on this research, Hurston wrote several anthropological books, including
Mules and Men (1935), and the vibrant folklore, mysticism, and dialect she encountered
in her studies inspired much of her fiction. Her best known novel is Their Eyes
Were Watching God (1937), the story of an African-American woman who struggles
against adversity and prevails by embracing self-sufficiency as the route to
self-fulfillment. In later years, though, Hurston suffered setbacks in her career
and in her personal life, and she died impoverished. But in the 1970s, a new
generation of African-American scholars and writers, including Alice Walker,
rediscovered and repopularized many of her writings. In Hurstons honor,
the city of Eatonville, which had a strong influence in her works, hosts an
annual festival celebrating African-American arts and culture.
Issued: 2003
Audrey Hepburn
(1929-1993)
As an actress, Audrey Hepburn won fame for her elegance and grace, and later
in life, she earned respect and admiration as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF
(United Nations Childrens Fund). Hepburn first garnered attention starring
in Gigi on Broadway in 1951, and in 1954 she won a Tony Award for Ondine. She
is best remembered for her 1950s and 1960s films, including such classics as
Roman Holiday (for which she won an Academy Award), Sabrina, The Nuns
Story, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Charade, My Fair Lady, and Wait Until Dark.
From 1988 until her death in 1993, Hepburn worked tirelessly to help improve
the lives of children, especially in war-torn areas - Hepburn knew firsthand
of such troubles, for she spent her teenage years in Nazi-occupied Holland,
where she and her family faced starvation, disease, and death. For her efforts,
Hepburn received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and an Academy Award for
her humanitarian work. In 2002, UNICEF dedicated in her honor a statue entitled
The Spirit of Audrey.
Issued: 2003