Facial Hair Friday: Women Soldiers in the U.S. Civil War

It’s Facial Hair Friday, and we’re taking a look at women who fought as soldiers during the U.S. Civil War! Today’s post comes from Rachel Bartgis, conservator technician at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Lt. Harry J. Buford, aka Loreta Janeta Velázquez. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress) While some female soldiers such … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Women Soldiers in the U.S. Civil War

Mae Jemison: First Black Woman in Space

March is Women’s History Month. Visit the National Archives website for resources related to women’s history. Today's post comes from Dena Lombardo, an intern in the Public and Media Communications office. When the space shuttle Endeavour blasted off on its second mission in 1992, it carried the first African American woman into space. But Mae … Continue reading Mae Jemison: First Black Woman in Space

Teacher, Principal, and Inventor Clarissa Britain

To commemorate National Women’s Inventor’s Month and celebrate women innovators, we are highlighting Civil War–era inventor Clarissa Britain. Britain secured patents for seven inventions within 18 months. Today's post comes from Jen Johnson, curator at the National Archives at Kansas City. Britain's Patent No. 40,157, Improvements in boilers, October 6, 1863. (Records of the Patent and … Continue reading Teacher, Principal, and Inventor Clarissa Britain

Anna Coleman Ladd: An Artist Who Created Hope for Wounded Soldiers

In celebration of Women Inventors Month and Women's History Month, the National Archives commemorates the extraordinary women who have made great contributions throughout American history. Today's post comes from Dena Lombardo, an intern in the Office of Public and Media Communications. In 1917, American sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd moved from the United States to France … Continue reading Anna Coleman Ladd: An Artist Who Created Hope for Wounded Soldiers

Facial Hair Friday: Mary Ritter Beard

In celebration of Women’s History Month today’s Facial Hair Friday is in honor of a Beard: Mary Ritter Beard to be exact.  Mary Ritter Beard was a historian, author, woman suffrage activist, social reformer, and archivist! Born Mary Ritter in 1876, in Indianapolis, Indiana, she met future husband Charles Austin Beard while attending college. After … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Mary Ritter Beard

Susan B. Anthony: Women’s Right to Vote

The National Archives is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with the exhibit Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote, which runs in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives in Washington, DC, through January 3, 2021. Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock in the National Archives History Office. Susan B. … Continue reading Susan B. Anthony: Women’s Right to Vote

The Movement as a Mosaic: Alice Paul and Woman Suffrage

Our new exhibit “Rightfully Hers” opens in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery in the National Archives Building on May 10, 2019. Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock in the National Archives History Office. I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get … Continue reading The Movement as a Mosaic: Alice Paul and Woman Suffrage

Dr. Mary E. Walker

March is Women's History Month! Today's post comes from Holly Rivet, an archives technician at the National Archives at St. Louis. Few women became physicians in the 1850s; fewer still served in the Civil War; and only one was awarded the Medal of Honor. Dr. Mary E. Walker was born in 1832 in Oswego, New … Continue reading Dr. Mary E. Walker

Amelia Earhart: Showing What Women Can Do

March is Women’s History Month! Today’s post comes from Danielle Sklarew in the National Archives History Office. Like previous flights, I am undertaking this one solely because I want to, and because I feel that women now and then have to do things to show what women can do. Amelia Earhart sent these words to … Continue reading Amelia Earhart: Showing What Women Can Do

Josephine Cobb’s Discovery of a Lifetime

March is Women’s History Month! Visit National Archives News to see how we're celebrating. Today’s post comes from Michael Hancock in the National Archives History Office. According to the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words. But in the case of Josephine Cobb and her 1952 discovery in a Civil War–era photograph, it’s worth … Continue reading Josephine Cobb’s Discovery of a Lifetime