American Women's History Initiative

Maria Telkes, known as the "Sun Queen" for her focus on solar energy.

This 1940s Solar House Powered Innovation and Women in STEM

As far back as the 1940s, people were worried about running out of fuel. The sun seemed like a feasible alternative

Women shipfitters working on board the USS Nereus at the U.S. Navy Yard in Mare Island, circa 1943.

During World War II, Thousands of Women Chased Their Own California Dream

For some who moved west for work, this dream was temporary. For others, it lasted a lifetime

A mermaid eats an apple at the bottom of the (artificial) sea in this late 1940s postcard.

The Historic Tail of the Weeki Wachee Mermaids

You can even learn to “mermaid” yourself, if the fancy takes you

A voting sign from the 2008 election.

For a Few Decades in the 18th Century, Women and African-Americans Could Vote in New Jersey

Then some politicians got angry

A 1939 photo of German Jewish refugees aboard the German liner Saint Louis.

The Forgotten Women Scientists Who Fled the Holocaust for the United States

A new project from Northeastern University traces the journeys of 80 women who attempted to escape Europe and find new lives in America during World War II

Rita Hayworth in 'Gilda.'

How Margarita Cansino Became Rita Hayworth

Hayworth navigated identity, ethnicity and transformation throughout her career

A mid-century Band-Aid tin.

Get Stuck on Band-Aid History

Small injuries are a commonplace problem, but before the Band-Aid, protecting papercuts and other such wounds was a huge hassle

Thousands of women tirelessly worked in close quarters throughout the war breaking codes for the Army and Navy. Vowed to secrecy, they have long gone unrecognized for their wartime achievements.

How the American Women Codebreakers of WWII Helped Win the War

A new book documents the triumphs and challenges of more than 10,000 women who worked behind the scenes of wartime intelligence

The familiar home vacuum was immediately predated by the carpet sweeper.

The Vacuum Cleaner Was Harder to Invent Than You Might Think

The original vacuum cleaner required a number of improvements before becoming the household staple it is today

Carefree, reckless, flappers seemed to enjoy living on the edge, like these atop Chicago’s Sherman Hotel.

Flappers Took the Country by Storm, But Did They Ever Truly Go Away

Women of the Roaring Twenties had a lot in common with today's millennials

Portrait of Florence Thompson, aged 32, that was part of Lange's "Migrant Mother" series. Lange's notes detailed that the family had "seven hungry children," including the one pictured here. " Nipomo, California, circa 1936.

Meet 10 Depression-Era Photographers Who Captured the Struggle of Rural America

Two women and eight men were sent out with their cameras in 1930s America. What they brought back was an indelible record of a period of struggle

The women faced temperatures of almost -50 degrees Fahrenheit, blasting winds and ever-changing ice conditions.

The Amazing Story of the First All-Women North Pole Expedition

Answering an ad in a newspaper, 20 amateur explorers attempted to ski from Arctic Canada to the top of the world

Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy at a New York flower show, circa 1913.

Three Big Ableist Myths About the Life of Helen Keller

The simple story that's usually told about her today reflects cultural biases that have nothing to do with her actual life

Lash Lure: pretty packaging, but bad news for makeup wearers.

Three Horrifying Pre-FDA Cosmetics

From mercury-loaded face cream to mascara that left you blind

The house where somebody murdered Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother in 1892. She was acquitted almost a year later.

Lizzie Borden Didn’t Kill Her Parents (Maybe)

Borden was acquitted of the crime on this day in 1893, but no one else was ever charged

Bronze sculpture of Mercy Otis Warren stands in front of Barnstable County Courthouse, Massachusetts.

The Woman Whose Words Inflamed the American Revolution

Mercy Otis Warren used her wit to agitate for independence

Jerrie Cobb stands before a Project Mercury space capsule in heels and gloves. What you can't see: inside the capsule, a male mannequin lies in the place where an astronaut eventually would. The FLATs were never seriously considered for astronaut positions.

Meet the Rogue Women Astronauts of the 1960s Who Never Flew

But they passed the same tests the male astronauts did—and, yes, in high heels

Rachel and Andrew Jackson's marriage was a source of controversy throughout his political career.

Rachel Jackson, the Scandalous Divorcee Who Almost Became First Lady

Rachel Jackson ran away from her husband and got divorced to marry Andrew, an incident that haunted her for life

Paratroopers from the 1st Allied Airborne land in Holland during Operations Market Garden, September 1944.

Meet the Daredevil Parachutist Who Tested the First Nylon Parachute 75 Years Ago

Adeline Gray was just 24, but she was already an experienced parachutist and a trained pilot

Belle Boyd in an image taken between 1855 and 1865.

Belle Boyd, Civil War Spy

The so-called “Siren of Shenandoah” stole weapons and carried letters in service to the Confederacy

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