What were the key historical events of feminism in 1962? At the beginning of the “second wave” of feminism that spread across the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, were there signs of the imminent women's liberation movement?
Here are a few important events that related to feminism in 1962:
- Jerrie Cobb and Jane Hart testified at Congressional hearings about whether women should be included as astronauts in the U.S. space program.
- The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing was published.
- Silent Spring by Rachel Carson was published.
- Daisy Bates’ memoir The Long Shadow of Little Rock was published, telling the story of her involvement with the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Sherri Finkbine traveled to Sweden for an abortion after learning that Thalidomide, a tranquilizer drug she had taken, caused extensive deformities to the fetus.
- Eugenie Moore Anderson, the first female U.S. ambassador (appointed in 1949 by President Harry Truman), made history again as ambassador to Bulgaria, the first female ambassador to a Communist ally of the Soviet Union.
- Eleanor Roosevelt (November) and Marilyn Monroe (August) died. Both women’s legacies have since been part of feminist studies discussions.
- The Lucy Show, a television sitcom starring Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance as women without husbands this time around, began airing.