Women’s History Month: Betty Ford

By allowing her private struggles to become public, this woman saved countless lives and changed the way society dealt with taboo issues. Born in Chicago in 1918, Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Bloomer Ford spent her childhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she studied...

Women’s History Month: Nina Otero-Warren

A leader in the women’s suffrage movement and the first Hispanic woman to run for Congress, she also served as the first female superintendent of schools in her city. Born in 1881 into a wealthy family on a hacienda in what is now New Mexico, Adelina “Nina”...

Women’s History Month: Elisabeth Elliot

In the face of grave danger and heartbreaking personal loss, this woman chose to walk in faith and, in doing so, became one of the most influential Christian women of the 20th century. Born to American missionaries living in Belgium in 1926, Elisabeth grew up in the...

Women’s History Month: Maria Tallchief

One of the only women of her generation to be recognized as a prima ballerina, this woman danced her way to international acclaim. Born in 1925 on an Osage Indian reservation in Oklahoma, Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief’s heritage was a blend of Osage and Scotch-Irish....

Women’s History Month: Nellie Bly

Imagine voluntarily spending time in an asylum or traveling around the world in a race. This woman didn’t have to imagine; she did both! Elizabeth Cochran was born in Pennsylvania in 1864. Her father died when she was 6, causing financial hardship for her mother, who...

Women’s History Month: Jane Byrne

The City of Chicago was established in 1837 but it took 142 years to elect its first female mayor. Jane Byrne grew up on the North Side of Chicago in the 1930s. She married William Byrne, a Marine, but was soon widowed when he died in a plane crash, leaving her to...