Facts About American Women – From New Mexico to Hawaii!
Colorado
Did you know- From 1993 to 1996, Madeleine Albright, who speaks Czech, English, French, Polish and Russian, served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. In this period, she was one of the few female ambassadors in the United Nations, along with Claudia Fritsche (Liechtenstein), Akmaral Arystanbekova (Kazhkstan), Louise Fréchette (Canada) and Annete del Iles (Trinidad & Tobago). In New York City, she supported the entrance of Eastern Europe to the OTAN. In 1982 she wrote her book “Poland: The Role of the Press in Political Change”.
Illinois
Did you know- By the early 1930s, Jane Addams became the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize in Oslo, Norway. She shared the Nobel Prize for Peace with professor Nicholas Murray Buttler. Addams was an ardent supporter of women’s rights.
Mississippi
Did you know- Mississippi is home to some of America’s most famous women: Fannie Lou Townsend Hamer (black rights activist), Oprah Winfrey (talk-show host), Ida Bell Wells -Barnett (journalist), Leontyne Price (singer), Sela Ward (actress).
Massachusetts
Did you know- In 1844, America’s author Margaret Fuller published “Women in the Nineteenth Century”.
Pennsylvania
Did you know- Rachel Carson, known as the “Mother of the Environmental Movement”, was born in Pennsylvania. For many years, she worked for the U.S. government as a biologist.
New Mexico
Did you know– The State of New Mexico has a handful of world-famous women: Linda Wertheimer (journalist), Demi Moore (actress), Nancy Lopez (athlete), Georgia O’Keeffe (painter), Kim Stanley (actress), Tristan Gale (Olympic champ).
Iowa
Did you know- In the late 1940s, President Harry Truman announced the appointed of Eugenie Moore Anderson as ambassador of America to Denmark. She was the first woman in the United States to assume the position of ambassador. She was born on May 26, 1909, in Adair, Iowa.
Georgia
Did you know- By the early 1970s, America’s First Lady Rosalynn Carter travelled to Latin America for talks with Michael Manley (Jamaica’s leader), Carlos Andres Perez (President of Venezuela), Francisco Morales Bermudez Cerrutti (Peru’s president) and other Latin American leaders. During that period, she was a prominent campaigner for democracy and human rights. Since the 1980s, she has become a champion of mental health issues. Carter once wrote, “The World Health Organization estimates that mental health problems the world over produced 11.5{f19aa3268e0de58f68955454d58a1a58d35e804fdb04b2f57dd6dc7aad4ec259} of the 1998 Global Burden of Disease, measured in life years lost to disability-a toll greater than that exacted by tuberculosis, cancer, or heart disease….” Rosalynn Carter hails from Plains, GA.
Hawaii
Did you know- The State of Hawaii is well-known for its notable women: Patsy Mink (politician), Irmgard Aluli (singer), Keala O’ Sullivan (sportswoman), Liliuokalani (Queen of Hawaii), Nicole Kidman (actress), Bernice Pauahi Bishop (Princess of Hawaii), Tia Carrere (actress), Yvonne Elliman (singer), and Tracie Ruiz (Olympic champ).
Oklahoma
Did you know- Between 1981 and 1983, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick became the first American female to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. Without a doubt, she attracted American attention when she published “Dictatorships and Double Standards”, an essay on dictatorships in the Cold War. Like Margaret Thatcher (Britain’s leader, 1979-1990) and Mary Eugenia Charles (Prime Minister of Dominica, 1980-1995), she was not a feminist. Kirkpatrick hails from Duncan, OK.
Connecticut
Did you know- In the early 1980s, Barbara McClintock, who was born in Hartford (Connecticut), became the first woman to win a single Nobel Prize for Physiology.
Maine
Did you know- In 1983,Maine’s Samantha Smith, a schoolgirl, arrived in Moscow for an official visit at the invitation of Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, President of the Soviet Union (present-day Russia). This charismatic girl was considered such a heroine in the USSR that a flower was named in her honour.
New York
Did you know- Under the leadership of Walter Mondale, Geraldine Ferraro was a candidate for Vice President of the United States in 1984. Ferraro is a vigorous champion of women’s rights. She was born on August 26, 1935, in Newburgh, NY.
California
Did you know- The U.S. Olympic Committee sent 194 female athletes to the XXIII Olympic Games in Los Angeles, CA. They competed in 15 sports: archery (3), athletics (47), basketball (12), canoe (4), cycling (4) equestrian (8), fencing (5), gymnastics (8), handball (15), hockey field (16), rowing (25), shooting (6), swimming (25), table tennis (4), tennis (12). The best athletes were Evelyn Ashford (track & field), Valerie Brisco-Hooks (athletics), Joan Benoit (marathon), Mary T. Meagher (aquatics), Tracy Caulkins (swimming), Flo Hyman (volleyball), Mary Lou Retton (gymnastics), Tracie Ruiz (synchronized swimming).
Ohio
Did you know- In August 1984, Judith A. Resnik became the second female U.S. astronaut to go into space. She was born on April 5, 1949, in Akron, Ohio.
Mississippi
Did you know- In the mid-1980s, Oprah Winfrey received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role as Sofia in “The Color Purple”. She is an outstanding champion of welfare issues and black rights. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi.
