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HISTORICAL TIMELINE
1700 - 1799 | 1800 - 1899 | 1900 - 1950 | 1951 - present
1900 - 1949
1904 - The Bethune-Cookman Institute is Founded
Mary McLeod Bethune opened the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Florida. After it merged with the Cookman Institute for Men in 1929, it was renamed the Bethune-Cookman Institute.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt later appointed Ms. Bethune to serve as director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration in 1936, making her the first African-American woman to be a presidential advisor.
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1912 - Women's Suffrage Position Adopted by a Major Political Party
Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose party became the first major political party to include a woman's suffrage plank in its official platform.
1916
The Birth Control Movement
On October 16th, Margaret Sanger, Ethel Byrne, and Fania Mindell opened the nation's first birth control clinic in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York. Modeled after clinics in Holland, women on the Lower East Side received information on the female reproductive system and instruction on methods of contraception.
On October 26, the clinic was shut down and the staff arrested for violating federal "Comstock Laws", which prohibited the distribution of birth control information. Ms. Sanger served 30 days in jail, but the publicity surrounding her trial raised money from wealthy supporters, launching an organized movement for birth control reform.
The First Woman Elected to Congress
Jeannette Rankin (R-MT) became the first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.
Ms. Rankin served two terms in the House, from 1916-1918 and 1940-1942.
1918 - Love Songs Wins Pulitzer Prize
Sara Teasdale won the first Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (then known as the Columbia University Poetry Society Prize). Love Songs was her fourth published collection of verse.
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1920 - Women's Suffrage
On August 26th, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution became law, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
The suffrage-amendment resolution was adopted by both houses of Congress on the third attempt, then ratified by two-thirds of the states.
1921
Planned Parenthood is Founded
The American Birth Control League (which later became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America) is founded by Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett.
 Click here to learn more about Margaret Sanger.
"Queen Bessie"
On June 15th, Bessie Coleman graduated from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in France.
She became the first black woman to earn a pilot's license, and the first person, male or female, to receive an international pilot's license.
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1931 - Jane Addams Wins Nobel Peace Prize
A pacifist and social worker, Jane Addams was the first woman to receive an honorary degree from Yale University, and served as chairman of the International Congress of Women at The Hague.
Click here to learn more about Jane Addams.
1932
Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic
On May 21st, Amelia Earhart, a former pre-med student and social worker, became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She lectured nationwide promoting women in aviation and women's rights.
In 1937, Ms. Earhart and her navigator disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during an attempt to fly around the world. The mystery of her disappearance made her a legend.
The First Woman Elected to the U.S. Senate
Hattie Wyatt Caraway was the wife of Senator Thaddeus H. Caraway of Arkansas. When her husband died in office, she was appointed by the governor to fill her late husband's seat until a special election could be held; Ms. Caraway won the election. In 1932, she was re-elected to the Senate, where she served for 13 years.
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1933 - The First Woman in the Cabinet
President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Frances Perkins as Secretary of Labor. As former chairman of the New York State Industrial Board, she successfully pushed for a minimum wage and maximum work week, and unemployment compensation.
During her tenure as Labor Secretary, the Social Security Act and Fair Labor Standards Act were drafted, and the Department of Labor expanded.
1938 - The Fair Labor Standards Act
On June 25th, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which prohibited:
"labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standards of living necessary for health, efficiency and well-being of workers".
In addition to prohibiting child labor in factories and mines, the law also established a minimum wage and a maximum work week, and overtime pay, which benefited many working women.
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1942 - Women in the Military
On May 15th, Congress passed a bill establishing the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. Introduced by Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, it's passage was stalled until after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The following year, the word "auxiliary" was dropped, and thousands of women who enlisted received full U.S. Army benefits.
On July 30th, the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) became an official part of the U.S. Navy. Duties ranged from clerical staff to flight instructors, and WAVES were given the same status as their male counterparts.
1943 - The Wartime Workforce
As more men enlisted during WWII, more women entered the civilian workforce. Encouraged by images of Rosie the Riveter, over six million women held factory jobs as welders, machinists, and mechanics. Three-hundred and ten thousand (310,000) women were employed in the U.S. aircraft industry alone, many of them in California.
The average salary for women factory workers was $31.21 per week, while the men earned $54.65 per week. But the experience gave women an opportunity to learn skills beyond the traditional homemaker role, as well as a newfound sense of achievement and independence.
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1947 - The Army-Navy Nurse Act
On April 16th, the 80th Congress passed the Army-Navy Nurse Act. It provided female nurses permanent commissioned officer status in the U.S. military. Until then, women could achieve relative rank, but not the pay and benefits of a full officer's rank.
Colonel Florence Blanchfield became the first woman to receive a full regular army commission that same month.
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1700 - 1799 | 1800 - 1899 | 1900 - 1950 | 1951 - present
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