Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Grand Dame of the Everglades

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, author of River of Grass
Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a Miami newspaper journalist who went on to become a world renowned conservationist and author of the landmark 1947 book “The Everglades: River of Grass,” a pioneering work at the dawn of the age of environmental activism.

“And though she be but little, she is fierce.” Shakespeare’s line from A Midsummer Night’s Dream was written a full three centuries before our Wednesday’s Woman was born. But “fierce” doesn’t begin to do justice to Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Today, most of us only know her as the namesake of the high school where 17 lives were taken on Valentine’s Day 2018. But, like the students from that school now rising up to demand change, Douglas was an outspoken, intelligent, fearless activist for what mattered most.

Continue reading “Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Grand Dame of the Everglades”

Badass Biker Chicks in the Dawn of the Motorcycle Age

Long before Steppenwolf told us we were “Born to be Wild” and “choppers” and “ape hangers” became part of cycling lexicon — a handful of gutsy female riders slid onto the seats of Wagners, Indians and Harleys, and grabbed the handlebars to become pioneers in the world of motorcycling. They are this Wednesday’s Women.

Continue reading “Badass Biker Chicks in the Dawn of the Motorcycle Age”

Cecelia Payne, The Greatest Female Astronomer In History

Cecelia Payne, the greatest female astronomer in history
British immigrant Cecelia Payne blazed a trail across the skies of academic astronomy to ultimately become the greatest female astronomer of all time.

Although robbed of the credit for her greatest astronomical accomplishment and subjected to nonstop gender discrimination during the rest of her academic career, Cecelia Payne was finally recognized as “the greatest female astronomer in history.” This Wednesday’s Woman’s story is one of brilliance, tenacity and extraordinary scientific achievement in the face of persistent obstructions.

Continue reading “Cecelia Payne, The Greatest Female Astronomer In History”

Marguerite de Angeli: A Pioneer of Multicultural Children’s Literature

Marguerite de Angeli and her books
As a turn-of-the-20th century resident of Collingswood, N.J., Marguerite de Angeli began her career as an illustrator and author who pioneered the concept of multicultural children’s books. A children’s reading room in the Collingswood Library is named in her honor.

Marguerite de Angeli, this Wednesday’s Woman, was born in a small town where “we’d had no library.” But in her later years, as the beloved best-selling author and illustrator of books that influenced the values of generations of children, she returned to that same town to read her books to children at the library named in her honor.

During her long publishing career, de Angeli excelled at depicting the traditions and cultural diversity of people often overlooked in children’s literature of the time — a Great Depression family, African-American children experiencing racism, Polish miners whose dreams took them beyond Pennsylvania’s coal mines, the disabled, 19th-century Quaker abolitionists, native Americans and immigrants.

Continue reading “Marguerite de Angeli: A Pioneer of Multicultural Children’s Literature”

Esther Howland: Business Women Who Turned Valentine Card Art Into a Fortune

Esther Howland and her cards
A gifted artist fascinated with the romantic notion of Valentine messages, Esther Howland was also a hardboiled business women who built a national Valentine card company that generated the equivalent of $2.6 million in sales annually.

Happy Valentine’s Day! We’ve all been there. You stare at racks of valentines, reading and replacing card after card. This one’s too schmaltzy; that one’s not romantic enough. Just go with cute and funny? If you suffer valentine anxiety, blame today’s Wednesday’s Woman: Esther Howland, “Mother of the American Valentine.

Continue reading “Esther Howland: Business Women Who Turned Valentine Card Art Into a Fortune”

Elizabeth Jennings: The Rosa Parks of 1854

Elizabeth Jennings, 1854
In 1854, after being physically removed from a streetcar because she was black, Elizabeth Jennings filed a lawsuit. Represented by a future U.S. President, she won the case that ultimately desegregated New York City’s public transportation. Today, she is commemorated with a New York Street Sign.

A century before civil rights icon Rosa Parks kept her seat at the front of an Alabama bus, a 24-year-old African American woman was forced off a New York City streetcar and jeeringly told to seek redress if she could. She could, and she did, ultimately desegregating New York City’s public transportation system. She is this Wednesday’s Woman, Elizabeth Jennings.

Continue reading “Elizabeth Jennings: The Rosa Parks of 1854”