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Category: Women’s History

Insets of the Mexican War, McClellan's Peninsular Campaign and Lee's First Northern Invasion.

Eugenia Wheeler Goff: A Cartographer and Educator

Posted by: Cynthia Smith

Women have made significant contributions to the field of cartography throughout history. In celebration of Women’s History Month I have chosen to write about the noted 19th century cartographer, educator, and historian, Eugenia Almira Wheeler Goff. Eugenia Wheeler was born in 1844 in North Clarkson, New York. Her family moved to Winona, Minnesota when she …

Map of archeological sites in Iraq

The Matron of Mesopotamian Antiquities

Posted by: Carissa Pastuch

Gertrude Lowthian Bell (1868–1926) was a British archaeologist, explorer, and diplomat. Proficient in French, German, Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic, and an avid reader and writer, she traveled widely and was able to engage with native populations because of her ability to communicate in many languages and openness to experiencing unfamiliar traditions. She found the Middle …

Map of the United States with illustrations all over it showing different groups of people.

Louise E. Jefferson – A Hidden African American Cartographer

Posted by: Julie Stoner

This is a guest post by Iris Taylor, a senior cataloging specialist in the Geography and Map Division. It is a common belief that you can acquire inspiration from a variety of people, places, or things. Seanna Tsung, a Library of Congress staff member, recently uncovered a unique collection of maps in the Geography and …

A map, dated 1914, that shows the voting status for women in the United States.

Mapping the Suffragist Years

Posted by: Cynthia Smith

The map above shows the voting status for American women in 1914. Sadly, after of years of fighting for voting rights most American women had only partial suffrage or no suffrage at all. The exhibit Shall Not Be Denied opened June 4, 2019 at the Library of Congress. It explores the struggles that American women …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Rising to the First: An Interview with Dr. Paulette Hasier

Posted by: John Hessler

This is a special Women’s History Month guest post by Giselle Aviles, the 2019 Archaeological Research Associate in the Geography and Map Division. Giselle interviews Dr. Paulette Hasier, the first woman to serve as Chief of the Geography and Map Division since it was founded late in the nineteenth century. On one of my breaks from …

Brown, red, and yellow tinted map illustration of the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, with a circular frame around them

Cartography through Exploration: Lady Anne Blunt in Northern Arabia

Posted by: Tim St. Onge

In honor of Women’s History Month this March, Worlds Revealed is featuring weekly posts about the history of women in geography and cartography. You can click on the “Women’s History Month” category see all related posts. Many of the greatest maps in cartographic history have been borne out of expeditions and adventures into regions not …