1814: Mother Mary Bridget Hayden born (nun, missionary, educator)
1827: Annie Turner Wittenmyer born (relief worker, reformer)
1874: Zona Gale born (writer)
1920: Nineteenth Amendment passed in the U.S., granting women full voting rights
1935: Geraldine Ferraro born (lawyer, politician; first woman nominated for Vice President by a major political party in the United States)
1962: Sherri Finkbine, host of "Romper Room," returned to America after obtaining a legal abortion in Sweden. She had taken the drug Thalidomide and was unable to obtain an abortion in Arizona, and faced both intense publicity and an adverse Arizona Supreme Court decision. (The fetus was found to be without legs and had only one arm.) (story)
1970: Major demonstration in New York (50,000 marchers) and 40 other American cities, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment and supporting equal rights for women
1971: Congress recognized August 26 as Women's Equality Day
1996: First four women admitted to The Citadel complete first day of "Hell Week"
Quote for Today
We've chosen the path to equality, don't let them turn us around. -- Geraldine Ferraro
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This Day in Women's History Calendar © 1999-2007 Jone Johnson Lewis.
