In honor of Women's History Month, below are nine remarkable women that have made significant impact throughout history, whether through courage, brilliance, overcoming adversity, or breaking down barriers.
Women in the Military:
Martha McSally
March 22, 1966 - Present
Who is she? A former United States Senator (Arizona 2019-2020) and a retired United States Air Force Colonel.
• Served 26 years in the United States Air Force and retired in 2010 as a Colonel.
• During her career she deployed six times to the Middle East and Afghanistan. She flew 325 combat hours and earned a Bronze Star and six air medals.
• Not only was she the first woman in U.S. history to fly a fighter jet in combat, but also the first woman to command a figher squadron in combat.
• Was part of the leadership team that planned and executed the initial air campaign in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. She also oversaw combat search and rescue operations over southern Iraq and Afghanistan as well as counter-terroism operations in Africa.
• She is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force academy. She received her first Master’s degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and her second from the United States Air War College, where she graduated first in her class of 261 senior military officers.
• In 2019 she was sworn in as Arizona’s Senator. During her time in the Senate, she served on the following committees: Armed Services; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Energy and Natural Resources; Indian Affairs; and Special Committee on Aging.
• Before becoming senator, she represented Arizona’s second congressional district for four years in the State House of Representatives.
Jeannie Leavitt
Mar 01, 1967 - Present
Who is she? A Major General in the United States Air Force and the first female fighter pilot in the USAF.
• Earned a Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a Master’s in aeronautics and astronautics.
• In 1993 she graduated top of her pilot training class and became the first woman to fly a fighter jet (F-15E Strike Eagle).
• In her over 29 years of military service, she has flown more than 3,000, including over 300 combat hours; four different types of aircraft (F-15E, T-38A, AT-38B and T-37); broken the sound barrier, taught at the USAF Weapons School, Served in Operations Southern Watch, Northern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom; and served as the 57th Wing Commander, at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, the Air Force’s most diverse flying wing made up of 37 squadrons and more than 130 aircraft.
• Has received major awards and decorations include: Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal and the Air Force Achievement Medal.
• Some of her other achievements consist of the the receipt of the Katherine and Marjorie Stinson Award from the National Aeronautic Association in 2009; Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award in 2018; International Aviation Women’s Association, Wings Outstanding Aviator Award in 2019 and Distinguished Alumni for the University of Texas at Austin, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics in 2019.
Eileen Collins
November 19, 1956 - Present
Who is she? A retired NASA astronaut and United States Air Force Colonel; and NASA’s first female shuttle commander.
• In 1979 she became the Air Force’s first female flight instructor and taught flying and mathematics for the next 11 years.
• During her time as an instructor she was also a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base and she flew over 26 aircraft in a single year.
• As the commander of a C-141 Starlifter transport aircraft, she participated in the U.S. led invasion of Grenada where she delivered troops and evacuated medical students.
• She was one of the first women to attend Air Force Test Pilot School, where she graduated from in 1990.
• She has a Master’s degree in Space Systems Management from Webster University and Operations Research from Stanford University.
• In 1995 she was the pilot of the Discovery STS-63, becoming the first female shuttle pilot.
• In 1997 she piloted the Atlantis STS-84, transferring supplies to the Mir Space Station.
• In 1999 she was the commander of the Columbia STS-93, becoming the first female shuttle commander, which included the deployment of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.
• She was the first person to guide a spacecraft (Discovery) through a full 360 degree pitch (nose-over-tail) maneuver, which allowed the ISS crew to photograph the spacecraft for possible damage.
• Throughout her career, she logged over 6,751 hours in 30 different types of aircraft.
• Her awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, French Legion of Honor, NASA outstanding Leadership Medal, Free Spirit Award, and the National Space Trophy.
Ann E. Dunwoody
Jan 14, 1953 - Present
Who is she? She is a retired four-star General, the first woman in the entire U.S. armed forces to be promoted to that rank.
• In 1992, she became the first female battalion commander for the 82nd Airborne Division.
• In 2000, she became the first female General at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
• In 2008, she became the first woman to reach four-star status in the U.S. armed forces.
Women in Government:
Katherine Johnson
August 26, 1918-February 24, 2020
Who was she? An American mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her 33 years with the U.S. space program.
• She was academically precocious, beginning high school at the age of 10.
• Handpicked to be one of three black students to integrate West Virginia’s graduate schools.
• She did the trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard’s May 1961 mission Freedom 7, America’s first human spaceflight.
• In 1960, she and engineer Ted Shopinski coauthored Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite Over a Selected Earth Position, a report laying out the equations describing an orbital spaceflight in which the landing position of the spacecraft is specified. This made her the first woman in the flight research division to receive credit as an author of a research report.
• She also worked on the Earth Resources Technology (ERT, later named Landsat) and authored or coauthored 26 research reports.
• When asked to name her greatest contribution to space exploration, she mentioned the calculations that helped synchronize Project Apollo’s Lunar Module with the lunar-orbiting Command and service module.
• She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015 at the age of 97.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020
Who was she? The second female justice of the United States Supreme Court.
• Graduated from Cornell University in 1954, ranked first in her class.
• At Harvard she encountered a very male dominated, hostile environment, with only 8 females in her class of 500. The women were also chided by the law school’s Dean for taking the place of qualified males. However, Ginsburg pressed on and excelled academically, eventually becoming a member of the prestigious legal journal the Harvard Law Review.
• In 1956, when her husband contracted cancer that required intensive treatment and rehabilitation, she attended to her daughter and convalescing husband, taking notes for him in classes while still continuing her own law studies.
• During the 1970’s, she also served as the director of the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she argued six landmark cases regarding gender equality before the U.S. Supreme Court.
• She was the first tenured female professor at Columbia University.
• In 1980, she was appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
• She was named to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, where she argued for gender equality in several cases, including United States V. Virginia.
• In 1996, Ginsburg wrote the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States V. Virginia, which held that the publicly-funded Virginia Military Institute could not refuse to admit women.
• In 1999, she won the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall award for her contributions to gender equality and civil rights.
Shirley Chisholm
November 30, 1924 –January 1, 2005
Who was she? The first African American Woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
• She served in the New York State Assembly from 1965-68. Her major achievements included granting domestic workers unemployment benefits and instituting a program that gave underprivileged students the opportunity to attend college while taking remedial classes, which continues to benefit New York’s youth today.
• In 1968 she ran for the seat in New York’s 12th Congressional district and won, becoming the first African American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
• As an active House member during her tenure that spanned from 1969-1983, she served on various committees inlcuding the House Agriculture Committee, the Veteran’s Affairs Committee, and the Education and Labor Committee.
• During her term as a Congresswoman, she launched her 1972 bid for president. During her run, she pushed a platform focused on racial and gender equality, elevating those issues to the national stage.
• She was the first African American from a major political party to run for President and the first Democratic woman of any race to do so.
• In 1974, one of her most important pieces of legislation, the 1974 Minimum Wage Law, passed through Congress. The bill expanded minimum wage standards to apply to domestic workers as well as to more state and local government employees.
• President Obama posthumously awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. The previous year, the U.S. Postal Service issued a Forever Stamp in her honor.
• Of her legacy, Chisholm once said “I want to be remembered as a woman who dared to be a catalyst of change.”
• Her awards include the Distinguished Service Medal and the Defense Superior Service Medal.
Women in the Civilian Community:
Helen Keller
June 27, 1880-June 1, 1968
Who was she? She was an author, lecturer, and crusader for the handicapped.
• She lost her sight and hearing at 19 months old and as a result later learned to read and write in braille from Anne Sullivan.
• She wrote 14 books, more than 475 speeches and essays on a range of topics to include faith and blindness, gave lectures with the assistance of an interpreter, performed her own Vaudeville show, and wrote in support of women’s rights and other liberal causes.
• She was the first blind and deaf woman to graduate from college in the United States.
• “Keller altered the world’s perception of the capacities of the handicapped. More than any act in her long life, her courage, intelligence, and dedication combined to make her a symbol of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.” - HISTORY.COM EDITORS
Rosa Parks
February 4, 1913-October 24, 2005
Who was she? A civil rights activist and the woman nationally known as the Mother of the civil rights movement in the United States.
• On December 1, 1955 she refused to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus (which was a violation of the city’s racial segregation ordinances).
• This event sparked a wave of protest throughout the US. After her arrest, black citizens and other minorities of Montgomery organized and promoted a boycott of the city bus line that lasted 381 days.
• On November 13, 1956 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s position declaring Montgomery’s segregated seating unconstitutional. The court order was served on December 20, and the boycott ended the following day.
• Rosa Parks remained a lifelong activist. She worked in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) program, serving as secretary and later youth leader of a local branch.
• She wrote four books, received more than 43 honorary doctorate degrees, hundreds of plaques, certificates, citations, and keys to cities. Some examples include NAACP’s Spingarn Medal, the UAW’s Social Justice Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize, and the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1996 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton, the highest award given to a civilian citizen.
We here at Fleet Weather Center Norfolk encourage you to read further into the history of these nine inspiring and admirable women!
References:
Helen Keller - HISTORY: https://www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/helen-keller
Helen Keller | Biography & Facts | Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Helen-Keller
Biography | American Foundation for the Blind (afb.org): https://www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/biography-and-chronology/biography
BIOGRAPHY | Rosa Parks: https://www.rosaparks.org/biography/
Rosa Parks | Biography, Education, Family, & Facts | Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rosa-Parks
Katherine Johnson Biography | NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography
Katherine Johnson | Biography, Education, Accomplishments, & Facts | Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katherine-Johnson-mathematician
Ruth Bader Ginsburg - HISTORY: https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/ruth-bader-ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Biography & Facts | Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-Bader-Ginsburg
Meet Martha McSally – Martha McSally for U.S. Senate | McSallyForSenate.com
MAJOR GENERAL JEANNIE M. LEAVITT > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display (af.mil)
Flying Firsts: The USAF's First Female Fighter Pilot | National Air and Space Museum (si.edu)
NASA - Eileen Collins -- NASA's First Female Shuttle Commander to Lead Next Shuttle Mission
Eileen Collins | Biography, NASA, & Facts | Britannica
Collins, Eileen - National Women’s Hall of Fame (womenofthehall.org)
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.31.2021 21:05 |
| Story ID: | 392790 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
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