Women’s Suffrage

Birth of Anna Julia Cooper
Author and activist Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was born on August 10, 1858, in Raleigh, North Carolina. She fought for education for women and African Americans and is often called the “Mother of Black Feminism.”

Birth of Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Wells was born July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, just before President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. Wells was an early leader in the Civil Rights and Women’s Suffrage movements, as well as a founder of the NAACP.

Birth of Rose O’Neill
Illustrator and writer Rose Cecil O’Neill was born on June 25, 1874, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. O’Neill was the highest-paid female illustrator of her time, most famous for creating Kewpie, the most well-known cartoon character until Mickey Mouse.

The 19th Amendment
On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment went into effect, granting women’s suffrage.

Birth of Nellie Bly
Journalist Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864, in Cochran’s Mills, Pennsylvania.

Happy International Women’s Day
On this day in 1914, International Women’s Day was first celebrated on March 8.

Death of Julia Ward Howe
Poet, author, and activist Julia Ward Howe died on October 17, 1910, in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Birth of Calvin Coolidge
Future President John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born on Independence Day, July 4, 1872. He spent his early years in the New England town of Plymouth Notch, Vermont.

Wyoming Grants Women’s Suffrage
On December 10, 1869, the Wyoming territory became the first government in the US to grant women the right to vote.