by Laura Klotz The sun was hot in Gettysburg in July of 1863. After three days of bloody carnage, the remaining Confederate forces fled the battlefield, the Union retreated to tend their wounded, and hundreds of dead bodies lay scattered throughout the small community. With the Battle of Gettysburg over, it fell to the residents … Continue reading The Angel of Gettysburg: Elizabeth Thorn
by Louise Quick People love food. It’s not a mind-blowing statement, I know. Eating is an enjoyable - and necessary! - part of human existence. Everyone eats. It’s one of the great common denominators throughout human history. Even Mahatma Ghandi, Jane Austen, Winston Churchill and Boudicca woke up wondering: ‘what’s for breakfast?’. This is what … Continue reading Historical food for thought: The way to the public’s heart is through their stomach
by DM Testa “Mrs. W.J. Morris (L) and sister, circa mid to late 1870s.” carte de visite from author’s collection At a time when the success of female magicians "depended not on new tricks but on the novelty of a female performing them," two sisters performing around the greater London area would toss that convention out … Continue reading Anne & Florence Vernone – Magiciennes Extraordinaire
by Laura Klotz Hawaii (to use the common modern spelling) was the 50th territory to be given statehood in the United States. There is no one now living who remembers it as an independent sovereign nation. But a little over a hundred years ago, that’s exactly what it was, and its first queen regnant was … Continue reading Aloha Oe, Hawaii’s Queen
by Laura Klotz It’s well understood that the First Lady of the United States is, at least usually, the wife of the President. The role is a little undefined, but she’s the social center of the White House and a great supporter of the President. The origins of the title, however, are less well known. … Continue reading The First First Lady
by Claire Miles Well known in the US for being their first female state senator, Dr Martha Hughes Cannon was a remarkable and pioneering women in many ways, and is one of the many women from history whose name deserves to be better known. Pioneer Martha – or Mattie as she was more usually known … Continue reading Dr Martha Hughes Cannon – The First Female State Senator
by Sylvia Broeckx Whilst travelling through the United States during the Civil War, British journalist George Augustus Sala questioned ‘whether either ancient or modern history can furnish an example of a conflict which was so much of a "Woman's war" as this.’ Sala’s comments referred to the passion with which women on both sides of … Continue reading Waging War On Women: How the United States Army used Gendered Fear to Defeat the South
By DM Testa How far would you go to stop the graves of your family, including your mother, from being disturbed? When Kansas City officials decided the weathered tombstones of a Native American burial ground had to go, Eliza (Lyda), Ida, and Helena (Lena) Conley vowed to protect the two-acre plot where their forebearers were … Continue reading So Long as Grass Grows and Water Runs – The Conley Sisters
by Malia Ogawa In 1889, a New York World journalist named Nellie Bly began her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days. She aimed to beat Jules Verne’s fictional character, Phileas Fogg, the protagonist of “Around the World in Eighty Days.” Nellie Bly, circa 1890, public domain image via Wikipedia Nellie, born Elizabeth Jane … Continue reading Around the world in 72 days: the story of Nellie Bly
by Ellie Hendricks Of all past inventions, bicycles can be pinpointed as one of the key material developments in the promotion of women’s rights. Through providing transport and freedom in the 19th century, bicycles and the social phenomenon they brought with them represented a new personal liberty that few women of the time would have … Continue reading Two Wheels and Tall Tales: The Journey of Annie Londonderry
Herstory Club 