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Posted by: Amber Paranick
Marguerite Harrison is a name you might not recognize. Under the guise of a newspaper correspondent, she was an American woman who worked as a spy in Europe and Asia in the years between World War I and World War II. This post illustrates her life in newspapers articles- some penned by her and others about her.
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Amber Paranick
“Could I pass a week in the insane ward at Blackwell’s Island? I said I could and I would. And I did.” In 1887, investigative journalist for the New York World newspaper Nellie Bly went undercover to expose the dreadful conditions at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum, a mental institution on Blackwell’s Island. Read more about Bly’s fearless investigation and how her work forever changed the field of journalism.
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Journalism, Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Amber Paranick
The youthful beginnings of a female ancestor are revealed and reanimated by the social columns of her hometown newspaper.
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Genealogy, Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Amber Paranick
Toni Stone was the first woman in history to play regularly in a major men’s professional baseball league.
Posted in: African American History, Baseball, Biography, Newspapers, Sports, Women's History
Posted by: Amber Paranick
Alice Guy-Blaché is a name you likely have never heard. She was a pioneer of the French and American film industries during the silent era and the first woman to have a career as a director, yet her work and career have largely been overlooked throughout history. She was among the very first to use …
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Amber Paranick
Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood was an American feminist and lawyer who was the first woman admitted to argue a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Her work “blazed the way for independent womanhood, often in the face of ridicule as well as contemptuous opposition.” At the time of her death, she was the …
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Amber Paranick
This year’s celebration of Pride Month wrapped up this week and we wanted to highlight an important figure in the history of blues music whose story has often been overlooked. Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was hailed as the “Mother of the Blues” and was a bisexual Black singer who has and continues to inspire generations of musicians. …
Posted in: African American History, Biography, LGBTQ+, Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Amber Paranick
Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919) was one of the first American women to become a self-made millionaire through her company, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing. Though she had no formal education, she gained a wide reputation as an African American entrepreneur in the cosmetics industry and manufacturer of a hair remedy, which she coined the “Walker System.” …
Posted in: Advertising, African American History, Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Amber Paranick
This is a revision of the Headlines and Heroes 2019 International Women’s Day blog. Sunday, March 8, 2020, was International Women’s Day and today we return to our historical newspaper archives for stories featuring change-making women in newspapers searchable in Chronicling America. This database, sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of …
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Holidays, Women's History