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Category: Asian American History

Black and white image of a young woman in a long-sleeved, long white dress, dark hair pulled back, standing in front of a brick wall.

Dr. Margaret Chung: First American Born Chinese Woman Physician

Posted by: Malea Walker

The following is a guest post from Meg Metcalf, a reference librarian in the Main Reading Room, currently on detail in the Serial and Government Publications Division. “Margaret Jessie Chung has Aspirations,” the Los Angeles Herald headline read on October 10, 1905. Margaret was a 16-year-old, first-generation Chinese American who was teaching English in the …

Historical Women in STEM

Posted by: Heather Thomas

Throughout history there have been many women who have greatly contributed to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). While names like Marie Curie and Florence Nightingale are familiar to most, there are so many ingenious others who may not be as familiar; women who were leaders in their fields, who made major discoveries, and whose work led to critical social and political change. Below is a list of just some of the women who have made significant contributions to the fields of STEM. You can discover their stories through historical newspapers. 

Before Brown v. Board of Education, There was Tape v. Hurley

Posted by: Heather Thomas

Tape v. Hurley (1885) is one the most important civil rights decisions that you've likely never heard of. The parents of American-born Mamie Tape successfully challenged a principal's refusal to enroll their daughter and other children of Chinese heritage into the Spring Valley Primary School in San Francisco, California, seven decades before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education.