To celebrate Women’s History Month, we compiled this trivia quiz. Some of the names may be unfamiliar to you, but their accomplishments paved the way for women of all generations to succeed.
The first American woman to . . .
Run for the U.S. presidency Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Woodhull (1838– June 9, 1927) was a leader of the women's suffrage movement. She was the first woman to own a brokerage firm on Wall Street, the first woman to start a weekly newspaper, and an activist for women's rights and labor reform. At her peak of political activity in the early 1870s, Woodhull is best known as the first woman candidate for the United States presidency, which she ran for in 1872 for the Equal Rights Party, supporting women's suffrage and equal rights. https://ehistory.osu.edu/biographies/victoria-woodhull
Earn a pilot’s license Harriet Quimby
On August 1, 1911, at age 36, Harriet Quimby became America's first licensed woman pilot. Less than a year later she would be dead, victim of the kind of freakish accident that was all too common in flying's age of innocence. In her 11 months as "America's First Lady of the Air," as the press came to dub her, she made some dramatic firsts, including her Channel flight, which she accomplished three years after Louis Blériot's initial crossing. No doubt she would have gone on to other firsts. Indeed, if death hadn't intervened on July 1, 1912, she was scheduled within days to fly the U.S. mail from Boston to New York, a first for a woman. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bleriot/quimby.html
Be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives Jeannette Rankin
In November 1916, four years before the Nineteenth Amendment guaranteed the right of women to vote, Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the United States Congress. During the first half of the twentieth century, Rankin served two nonconsecutive terms in the House which coincided with World War I and World War II. While she may be best known for her votes to keep America out of those conflicts, Rankin was also a tireless activist who worked to expand voting rights for women, to ensure better working conditions for laborers across America, and to improve health care for women and infants. Ultimately, she was a pathbreaker. “I may be the first woman member of Congress,” Rankin observed in 1917. “But I won’t be the last.” https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/R/RANKIN,-Jeannette-(R000055)/
Enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces Loretta Walsh
Historical records reflect that on March 17, 1917, the first woman to enlist in the Navy was Loretta Perfectus Walsh. She was born on April 22, 1896, in Philadelphia and thus had the distinction of being the first woman to service in any of the U.S. armed forces in other than a nursing assignment. Until Walsh’s enlistment, women had served as Navy nurses but were civilian employees with few benefits. Walsh, aged 20, was enlisted on March 17, 1917, as a Yeoman(F), all of whom were popularly referred to as “Yeomanettes. http://navylog.navymemorial.org/walsh-loretta
Become a member of a Presidential Cabinet Frances Perkins
Frances Perkins April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the 4th United States Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of the Democratic Party, Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. As a loyal supporter of her longtime friend, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped make labor issues important in the emerging New Deal coalition. She was one of two Roosevelt cabinet members to remain in office for his entire presidency. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins
Win an Olympic event Margaret Ives Abbott
Margaret Ives Abbott (June 15, 1878 – June 10, 1955) was an American amateur golfer. She was the first American woman to win an Olympic event: the women's golf tournament at the 1900 Summer Olympics. In October 1900, along with her mother, she signed up for a women's golf tournament without realizing that it was the second modern Olympics. Abbott won the tournament with a score of 47 strokes; her mother tied for seventh place. Abbott received a porcelain bowl as a prize. Abbott died in 1955, never realizing that she won an Olympic event. She was not well known until Paula Welch, a professor at the University of Florida, researched her life. In 2018, The New York Times published her belated obituary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Abbott
Reach the summit of Mount Everest Stacy Allison
Stacy Allison (born 1958), raised in Woodburn, Oregon, is the first American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, which she did on September 29, 1988. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacy_Allison
Become a CEO Anna Bissell
Anna Sutherland Bissell, America’s first-ever female CEO, was a true pioneer of her time. Her husband, Melville Bissell, owned a crockery shop in Grand Rapids, MI. He invented a carpet sweeper innovation after many discussions with Anna on how it was so difficult to keep the shop clean. Together, they patented the sweeper and began selling it in 1876. Anna was a huge proponent and salesperson for the sweeper, convincing one of America’s first department stores to carry the product. In 1889, Melville died, and Anna took control of the Bissell Company. She championed the business, aggressively marketing the sweeper and organizing assembly and production. She even took the business overseas to Europe. It is said that England’s Queen Victoria insisted that her palace be “Bisselled” every week. Anna was also extremely progressive with her employee pension plans and worker’s compensation. She was an active philanthropist in her city, sitting on many boards and founding the Bissell House, which offered recreational opportunities for youth. https://www.bissell.com/blog/bissell-blog/all-about-anna.html
Earn a PhD Helen Magill White
Dr. Helen Magill White (November 28, 1853 – October 28, 1944) was an American academic and instructor. She was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Magill_White
Receive a Nobel Prize Jane Addams
A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She later became internationally respected for the peace activism that ultimately won her a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, becoming the first American woman to receive a Nobel in any category. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jane-addams