Vise Library celebrates Women's History Month: Inventors

Here are some famous female inventors.

Ruth Handler
Ruth Handler created one of the most famous toys ever.  She noticed that most dolls were of babies and children but noticed her daughter like to pretend that her dolls were adults doing things she dreamed of.  So, she created the Barbie doll and founded the company Mattel.  More than 350,000 Barbies were sold in the first year of their creation.  She later on created Ken and more than 100 family and friends of Barbie.  In case you were wondering, the names Barbie and Ken were named after her daughter and son.  

Ruth Wakefield
Everyone should thank Ruth Wakefield for her amazing invention.  Without her, who knows how long it would have taken for someone to make a chocolate chip cookie.  These were actually created by mistake! After running out of baking chocolate, she decided to cut up a candy bar (given to her by Andrew Nestle of Nestle Chocolate) and put it in her cookie dough.  She thought the chocolate would melt as it cooked.  However, it did not and the chocolate chip was born!  The recipe became very popular and Nestle noticed their sales improved dramatically after the recipe was published.  The decided to pay her to publish her recipe on their packaging and name it the "Toll House Cookie."  Not only did she receive money for this, but she received all the chocolate for a lifetime.  What a great deal!

Stephanie Kwolek

Stephanie Kwolek's original plans were to be a doctor.  She could not afford medical school, so she became a chemist instead.  Her most notable invention was Kevlar.  This is the material in bulletproof vests.  This material is also used in space vehicles, tires, helmets, and underwater cables.  She has supported girls to pursue science careers versus being housewives.

Sources Consulted:
http://www.legacy.com/ns/news-story.aspx?t=ruth-handler--inventor-of-the-barbie-doll&id=151
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/wakefield.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blkevlar.htm

Vise Library celebrates Women's History Month: Writers and Poets

Here are some writers and poets that have broken the mold.

Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is known for being a writer/poet that has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.  She started out being an overall performer in San Fransisco and started writing about her experiences.  She became the first African American woman to have a screenplay produced.  She has been nominated for a Tony award and for an Emmy.  Her most popular book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was on the NYT non-fiction bestseller's list for over two years, which is the longest period for any book on this list.

• Maya Angelou in the Vise Library: Checkout the book All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes located at 818 A584a, 1991.

Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott is known for her books Little Women and Little Men.  During the Civil War she was a nurse.  She also did her part to end women's suffrage by organizing rallies for women to vote in school elections.

• Louisa May Alcott in the Vise Library:  Checkout the book Louisa May Alcott located at 813.4 Alc Che.

Pearl S. Buck
Pearl S. Buck was an author that got her start writing stories for Atlantic Monthly and Nation.  Her book The Good Earth was the best selling book of 1931 and 1932.  This book won the Pulizter Prize and was turned into a movie.  She won the Novel Peace Prize for Literature.  This made her the first American woman to ever win this award.  During her life she wrote over 70 books.  She became very involved in American civil rights and women's rights.

• Pearl S. Buck in the Vise Library:  Checkout the book The Child That Never Grew located at 362.3 B922.

Sources Consulted:
http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388
http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/louisamayalcott.html
http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/Buck/biography.html

Vise Library celebrates Women's History Month: Women in Arts and Entertainment

Here are some women that have made a huge impact in the world of arts and entertainment.

Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey attended Tennessee State University and got her start by working at radio and television stations in Nashville.  She began hosting a morning show in Chicago and eventually gained worldwide fame.  She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in The Color Purple.  She helped with the resurgence of book clubs by starting the "Oprah Book Club."  She runs her own magazine and her own TV network.

• Oprah Winfrey in the Vise Library: Checkout the book 28 Business Thinkers Who Changed the World located at 338.092.

Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe was an artist that focused on landscapes, flowers and cityscapes.  She always wanted to be an artist, but for a time she was actually a teacher.  She became one of the most influential American painters.  She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

• Georgia O'Keeffe in the Vise Library:  Checkout the book Full Bloom: the Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe located at 759.13 O41.

Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow is a movie director.  She has made films such as Point Break and the Wild Ones.  In 2009 she became the first woman ever to win the Oscar for Best Director for her film The Hurt Locker.  This past year she directed the movie Zero Dark Thirty that showed the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden by the Navy Seals.  This film was nominated for five Academy Awards.

• Kathryn Bigelow in the Vise Library:  Checkout her movie The Hurt Locker located at 791.43 H96.

Sources Consulted:
http://www.biography.com/people/oprah-winfrey-9534419
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/georgia-okeeffe/about-the-painter/55/
http://www.biography.com/people/kathryn-bigelow-546542

Vise Library celebrates Women's History Month: Women in Sports

These women showed that women can be extraordinary athletes.

Mia Hamm
Mia Hamm is considered one of the greatest athletes ever.  She scored more goals than any male or female soccer player.  At the age of 15, she was the youngest woman to play for the U.S. national team.  She played in three Olympic games and won two gold medals and one silver medal.  During her playing days, she also won two World Cup titles.  She is one of only two women on FIFA's list of the 125 greatest soccer players. Nike's largest building at their headquarters is named after Mia.  After retiring from soccer, she started a foundation that focuses on families that need marrow donations.  She also promotes sports for young women.

• Mia Hamm in the Vise Library: To read about Mia  and other talented athletes, checkout the electronic book Great Athletes by clicking on the "links" tab on this page.

Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick started racing IndyCars.  She was only the fourth woman to race in the INDY 500.  She was the first woman to ever lead that race.  In 2005, she was named Rookie of the Year.  In 2008, she became the first woman ever to win an IndyCar race. Earlier this year she won the pole position at the Daytona 500. She was the first woman to accomplish this feat and finished 8th in the race.

Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson was a very successful tennis player.  She was the first African American woman to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.  She became the first African American to be named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press.  She was the first woman to win a Tennis Grand Slam title.  

Sources Consulted:
http://www.athletesforhope.org/miahamm.html
http://www.biography.com/people/danica-patrick-201312
http://www.altheagibson.com/biography

Vise Library celebrates Women's History Month: Politicians

Today we will be showing you women that have made a difference in politics.

Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton is the wife of former President Bill Clinton.  In her earlier years, she worked on many presidential campaigns.  In 2001, she became the first woman to serve as a U.S. Senator for the state of New York. She ran for president against President Obama in 2008.  After not winning the primary election, she was named Secretary of State.  She became one of the most traveled secretaries in history during her term.

• Hillary Clinton in the Vise Library: Checkout the book Hillary: Her True Story located at 973.929092 C5415k.

Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.  She was nominated to this position in 1981 by President Reagan.  She served on the Supreme Court for more than 20 years.  After she retired from the Supreme Court to care for husband, she became an advocate for teaching children about government.  She was honored the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.

• Sandra Day O'Connor in the Vise Library:  Checkout the book The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice located at 347.73 O18.

Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the women that transformed the role of First Lady.  She gave radio broadcasts, press conferences visited servicemen and gave lectures.  She was one of the first to do this.   A lot of her press conferences allowed only female reporters.  She traveled the country see how projects were coming along and conditions in the country.  She would later report her findings to her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  She focused a lot of her time on the needs of the less fortunate and minorities.  She wrote a daily column called "My Day" that she wrote for almost 30 years until her death.  After her husband's death, she appointed to the United Nations General Assembly.

• Eleanor in the Vise Library:  Checkout the book This is My Story located at 923.173 R7811t.

Sources Consulted:
http://www.biography.com/people/hillary-clinton-9251306?page=1

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/30/us/sandra-day-oconnor-fast-facts
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/education/resources/bio_er.html

Vise Library celebrates Women's History Month: Influential Women

Today we will be highlighting some important women that fought for women's rights.

Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was originally a school teacher.  She became involved in the anti-slavery movement and was against the production/selling of alcohol.  When she was denied to speak at a conference because of being a woman, she dedicated her life to fighting for women's rights.  She was one of the main campaigners and petitioners for women's voting rights.  In 1872 she voted illegally in the Presidential election and was arrested and convicted.  She was also fined $100 but never paid it.  She died in 1906 and the right for women to vote was not passed until 1920.  In 1979, her face was put on the dollar coin and she was the first woman that was honored this way.

• Susan B. Anthony in the Vise Library: Checkout the electronic book Learning About Fairness from the Life of Susan B. Anthony by clicking on the "links" tab on this page.

Sojourner Truth
Originally named Isabella Baumfree, Sojourner Truth was born into slavery.  She was able to escape from this life and met Olive Gilbert.  Sojourner dictated her life to Gilbert who eventually turned it into a biography, called The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave. Her book was very popular and made it possible for her to speak against slavery and for women's rights.  In 1854, she gave her most famous speech "Ain't I a Woman?" to the Ohio Women's Rights Convention.  She was the first African-American Woman to have a bust of her at the U.S. Capitol.

• Sojourner Truth in the Vise Library:  Checkout the electronic book Sojourner Truth: A Biography by clicking on the "links" tab on this page.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton played an important role in women's rights.  She was the President of National Woman Suffrage Association for over 20 years.  She penned the Declaration of Sentiments that proposed the right for women to vote.  She worked closely with Susan B. Anthony by giving speeches and pushing for women's rights.  She also worked at a weekly newspaper called the Revolution.  Like Anthony, she did not live to see her hard work prevail and passed away before the right to vote was granted to women.

• Elizabeth Stanton in the Vise Library:  Checkout the book The Political Thought of Elizabeth Cady Stanton located at 305.42 D264 Pol

Sources Consulted:
http://www.biography.com/people/susan-b-anthony-194905
http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/trut-soj.htm
http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/elizabeth-cady-stanton.htm

Vise Library celebrates Women's History Month: The History of Women's History Month

Since March is Women's History Month, the Vise Library has decided to promote women that have made a difference in politics, arts & entertainment, sports, and other endeavors.  Some of these women you may recognize and some you may recognize their work.  We hope you will enjoy learning more about Women's History Month.

Women's History Month was actually just Women's History Week when honor for women was established in 1981.  Congress requested the President to proclaim the week around March 8 as Women's History Week.  During the Clinton Administration, this week was turned into Women's History Month.  It was created to celebrate women that made a difference.  Some of these women have pushed for equal rights in voting, salary and making sure women have a voice.  It's hard to believe that less than 100 years ago women did not have the right to vote since the act of voting now seems like such a common thing.   There is an effort to build the first national museum dedicated to women since there currently is not one built. Check back throughout the week to read more about some amazing women!


Sources Consulted:
http://www.nwhm.org
http://womenshistorymonth.gov/about.html