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"First" Ladies

© Meg Greene Malvasi

Who wouldn't like to be the first person to do something? I'm sure many of you have already been the first at something in your family, school, or activity. To bring Women's History Month to a close, let's take a quick look at some of the "first" women. How many other "first" accomplishments by women can you think of?

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

On April 4, 1888,Louise Blanchard Bethune (1856-1913) of Waterloo, New York, became the first woman elected to the American Institute of Architects. Bethune began designing houses on her own and later entered Cornell University where she studied architecture. Some of her designs include a baseball stadium, a brick factory, several schools, and the Lafayette Hotel in Buffalo, New York.

Dale Messick (1906-) was the first woman syndicated cartoonist. Her comic strip series Brenda Starr, about a crusading news reporter was the first to feature a woman as the leading character. In the beginning of her career, Messick, (who shortened her name from Dalia to Dale), submitted her drawings by mail so that editors wouldn't know she was a woman. At the height of its popularity during the 1940s, more than 60 million persons read "Brenda Starr." Although she no longer works on "Brenda Starr," Messick, now 92, still draws cartoons.

BUSINESS

The daughter of a former slave, Maggie Walker, (1867-1934) became the first woman bank president in the United States. In 1903, the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, located in Richmond, Virginia, opened with Maggie Walker as its first president. The bank was extremely successful and gradually became the largest African-American-owned bank in Richmond. Known as the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company, it is the oldest black bank in the country. Ms. Walker remained active in the bank's daily affairs until her death in 1934. If you visit Richmond today you will find a street and a high school named in her honor. Her home is a National Historic Site.

The first publisher of the Declaration of Independence was also the editor of the Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser. Her name was Mary Katherine Goddard (1736-1816). In 1776, when members of the Continental Congress decided that the Declaration of Independence ought to be made available to all Americans, they asked Mary Goddard to print the document.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

While working as a schoolteacher and librarian in Nantucket, Rhode Island, Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) also became adept at reading the stars. In October 1847 she sighted a new comet, which was named for her. As a result of her work in astronomy, she became the first woman member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. As a teacher at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, she encouraged many young women to study astronomy.

The copyright of the article "First" Ladies in History For Children is owned by Mary M. Alward. Permission to republish "First" Ladies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.