Important Dates in Women's History
by Susan G. Butruille
 
March is Women's History HerStory Month!

Women's History Bookstore

• March 1 Matronalia, Roman celebration of women and celebration of Juno-Lucina, protector of women and the family. Temple fires welcomed the coming of spring.
• March 1, 1864 Rebecca Lee of Boston, MA became the first African American woman to earn a medical degree.
• March 2 Roman festival of Vesta, Goddess of purifying fire. Vestal virgins were independent women who were priestesses of Vesta. The ancient meaning of “virgin” was “one within,” signifying an independent woman.
• March 3 Hina Matsuri, Japanese Doll Festival, dedicated to the three Munakata goddesses, daughters of Amaterasu, the Sun.
• March 4 1933: Frances Perkins is sworn in as Secretary of Labor, first woman in U.S. cabinet.
• March 4, 1917 Peace activist and suffragist Jeanette Rankin became the first woman elected to the US House of Representatives.
• March 7, 1870 Wyoming women allowed on juries; the right later was taken away until the 1950s, when women once again were admitted to serve.
• March 8, 1908 First International Women's Day, founded by German labor activist Clara Zetkin.
• March 9 Holi (Hindu), spring festival dedicated to the god of pleasure.
• March 10 Mothering Day (England), the original Mother’s Day. It was the custom to visit one’s mother on this day and present her with bread and presents.
• March 10 Hypatia’s Day, honoring the scholar of the University of Alexandria. A pagan, Hypatia was murdered by a mob of monks because she was a woman who taught men.
• March 10, 1913 Death of Harriet Tubman, Underground Railroad conductor who rescued more than 300 of her people from slavery.
• March 12, 1993 Janet Reno became the first woman US Attorney General.
• March 20, 1925 Birth of Romana Banuelos, first Mexican American woman to serve as US Treasurer.
• March 22, 1972 Equal Rights Amendment passed by Congress and sent to states for ratification.
• March 25, 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. Nearly 146 workers died, mostly immigrant women. Many were trapped because of locked exits.
• March 30 Feast of Eostra, German Goddess of rebirth and fertility. This festival inspired the Christian Easter.
• Mar 31, 1776 Abigail Adams wrote her famous "Remember the ladies" letter to her husband, John, urging him to include women as he helped construct the US Constitution. He didn't.