Category: Arts

Hedy Lamarr, Serious Inventor Trapped in a Hollywood Image

Hedy Lamarr, actress and one of America's most famed female inventors
In parallel with her Hollywood fame, Hedy Lamarr was a constant tinkerer and successful inventor who contributed significant innovative engineering ideas adopted by the U.S. military and consumer industries. In 1997 Lamarr’s engineering work was honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award and in 2014 she was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Whoever coined the phrase “more than just a pretty face” could have been describing this Wednesday’s Woman. Hedy Lamarr, the exquisite Hollywood beauty of the 1930s and ’40s, was born into an Austrian Jewish family as Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in 1914. She would ultimately go on to become the Hollywood star we all know, as well as a highly successful engineering innovator who most of us were never aware of.

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Dolores Del Rio: Trailblazer for U.S. Latino Actors

Dolores Del Rio, U.S.-Mexican film star
Mexican actress Dolores Del Rio was a U.S. trailblazer for Latino actors and one of the most glamorous Hollywood performers of the first half of the 20th century.

You may know the names Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz, Sofia Vergara and Eva Mendes. What you may not know is that these Latina actresses stand on the shoulders of this Wednesday’s Woman. Her given name was Lolita Dolores Martinez Asunsolo Lopez Negrette. But film buffs know her as Dolores Del Rio. Born in Durango, Mexico, she was one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the silver screen. In fact, Irish author/playwright George Bernard Shaw once said of her, “The two most beautiful things in the world are the Taj Mahal and Dolores Del Rio.”

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Life Your Voice and Sing With Dorothy Allen Conley Elam

African American teacher, historian and media producer Dorothy Elam shown in her 1952 classroom in New Jersey.
Dorthy Elam was a teacher, historian, media producer and advocate for African-American studies. She’s shown here in a 1952 classroom in a Berlin, N.J., school that had only recently been desegregated.

This Wednesday’s Woman was born in Virginia, but spent her life in Camden County, New Jersey. Dorothy Allen Conley Elam (1904-1989) was an African American teacher, historian and award-winning advocate of Black studies. Continue reading “Life Your Voice and Sing With Dorothy Allen Conley Elam”

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale: The Godmother of Thanksgiving

Sarah Hale, creator of Thanksgiving holiday
Literary titan and material cultural arbiter of the Victorian Age, Sarah Hale was the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book and credited with making Thanksgiving an official national holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving! Did you know the holiday we celebrate tomorrow with parades, turkey, full bellies and football wouldn’t exist if not for this Wednesday’s Woman? She is Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (1788-1879), a.k.a. the Godmother of Thanksgiving. Continue reading “Sarah Josepha Buell Hale: The Godmother of Thanksgiving”

Lotta Crabtree, California Gold Rush Show Girl and Millionaire

Cigar-smoking Lotta Crabtree, known as Miss Lotta, was an entertainer during the gold rush.
Lotta Crabtree was one of America’s wealthiest, most beloved entertainers of the late 1800s.

A day late and a dollar short, this week’s Wednesday Woman is Lotta Crabtree. Born Charlotte Mignon Crabtree, she was one of America’s wealthiest, most beloved entertainers of the late 1800s who lived along Lake Hopatcong, NJ, in her later years. Continue reading “Lotta Crabtree, California Gold Rush Show Girl and Millionaire”

Janet Collins, First Black Prima Ballerina to Dance at NYC’s Metropolitan Opera House

Janet Collins, first African American ballerina to dance at NYC's Metropolitan Opera House
Janet Collins (1917-2003) was a dancer, choreographer, teacher and black prima ballerina.

Janet Collins (1917-2003) was a dancer, choreographer, teacher and the first black prima ballerina to dance at NYC’s Metropolitan Opera House. She is one of America’s most famous female African American dancers. Continue reading “Janet Collins, First Black Prima Ballerina to Dance at NYC’s Metropolitan Opera House”