American Women's History Initiative

Marcus Gheeraerts II, Portrait of a Woman in Red, 1620

The Evolution of Pregnancy Portraits, From Tudor England to Beyoncé

A new show at the Foundling Museum in London highlights artists' depictions of pregnant women over the past 500 years

Almost 40 years ago, in 1981, women cheered during a rally for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Today, Virginia, just across the Potomac River, could become the crucial 38th state to approve the constitutional change.

Why the Equal Rights Amendment Is Still Not Part of the Constitution

A brief history of the long battle to pass what would now be the 28th Amendment

Vera C. Rubin, who advanced our understanding of dark matter, operating the 2.1-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory.

For the First Time, a National U.S. Observatory Has Been Named for a Female Astronomer: Vera Rubin

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will image the entire visible night sky every few nights

Hattie Caraway succeeded her husband as an Arkansas senator and then won re-election with more votes than her six male opponents combined. She's pictured at her desk in 1943.

Hattie Caraway, the First Woman Elected to the U.S. Senate, Faced a Familiar Struggle With Gender Politics

After Arkansas elected her in 1931, Caraway was ignored by her peers but hounded by the press

Louisa May Alcott is no longer regarded as a sentimental author for girls, but as a pioneering writer of the first rank.

The New 'Little Women' Brings Louisa May Alcott's Real Life to the Big Screen

More so than in previous film adaptations, writer and director Greta Gerwig weaves the American writer's own experiences into the classic story

The Ten Best Science Books of 2019

New titles explore the workings of the human body, the lives of animals big and small, the past and future of planet earth and how it's all connected

The Ten Best History Books of 2019

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and help explain how we got to where we are today

The new book, subtitled Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection includes clockwise from top left: crocheted pussyhat; Sfag-Na-Kins sanitary napkins, Black Lives Matter T-shirt; a clay pot by Hopi-Tewa potter Nampeyo and her daughter Fannie; Alice Paul's ERA charm bracelet; and a cup and saucer by designer Belle Kogan.

Smithsonian Elevates the Frequently Ignored Histories of Women

For many, the personal—tea cups, dresses, needlework and charm bracelets—really was political. A new book tells why

Though she looms large in the public imagination, Harriet Tubman has rarely received the attention afforded to similarly iconic Americans. A new biopic starring Cynthia Erivo focuses on the decade between Tubman's escape and the end of her Underground Railroad days.

The True Story Behind the Harriet Tubman Movie

“Harriet,” a new film starring Cynthia Erivo, is the first feature film dedicated solely to the American icon

NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left) and Jessica Meir (right).

Watch the First All-Female Spacewalk

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will exit the International Space Station to replace a power controller that failed last weekend

Margaret Rossiter's research spotlights the women in science whose intellectual contributions have not been given their due.

Women Scientists Were Written Out of History. It's Margaret Rossiter's Lifelong Mission to Fix That

The historian has devoted her career to bringing to light the ingenious accomplishments of those who have been forgotten

The sculptor Edmonia Lewis (above: by Henry Rocher, c. 1870), “really broke through every obstacle," says the Smithsonian's Karen Lemmey.

Sculptor Edmonia Lewis Shattered Gender and Race Expectations in 19th-Century America

As the orphaned child of a black father and a Native-American mother, Lewis rewrote the 19th-century definition of sculptor

Stephanie Kwolek's initial ambition was not to be chemist at all.

You Can Thank Chemist Stephanie Kwolek for Bulletproof Vests and Yoga Pants

The long-serving researcher at DuPont invented kevlar and contributed to spandex

Actress Pauline Cushman (1833-1893) was a Union spy and became a major celebrity.

The Actress Who Left the Stage to Become a Civil War Spy

Pauline Cushman, now featured in a Smithsonian photography exhibition, unexpectedly found herself spying for the Union after accepting a dare

Mary Ann Brown Patten, photographed by an unidentified artist, 1857

How the Camera Introduced Americans to Their Heroines

A new show at the National Portrait Gallery spotlights figures including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lucretia Mott and Margaret Fuller

As women entered through the “Ladies” side of a turnstile, Lenna Winslow’s “Voting Machine” concealed ballot items on which they could not vote.

The Voting Machine That Displayed Different Ballots Based on Your Sex

In an era of partial suffrage, these inventions helped women cast their votes

Wyoming women voting.

Women Have Been Voting in Wyoming for 150 Years, and Here Is How the State Is Celebrating

To mark the anniversary, Wyoming is delivering an impressive lineup of events, from a reenactment of the first vote to female-focused exhibits and retreats

From left to right: Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, Jane Vercaine, Barbara Deming, Kady Vandeurs, Carol Grosberg and others lead a protest at City Hall

New York City Monument Will Honor Transgender Activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera

The two women were instrumental in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising and spent their lives advocating for marginalized groups

The Statue of Liberty and the new museum building on Liberty Island as seen from the approach by ferry.

The Americans Who Saw Lady Liberty as a False Idol of Broken Promises

Suffragists, African-Americans and Chinese immigrants all criticized the statue as representative of a nation that was not yet free for everyone

Women were involved with the computing field from its earliest days.

The Gendered History of Human Computers

It's ironic that women today must fight for equality in Silicon Valley. After all, their math skills helped launch the digital age

Page 18 of 24