1178: Hudā Shaʿrāwī Founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union Born: 23 June 1879, Al-Minyā, Egypt Died: 12 December 1947, Cairo, Egypt Also Spelled: Huda Sharawi or Huda Shaarawi Huda was an Egyptian Nationalist and is recognized by many as the founder of Egypt’s women’s movement. Huda spoke French, Turkish, and Arabic. Being born into a…
“I spoke my heart, not for me, myself, as an Indian woman but for we and us, for all Indian people … I had to speak the truth. Whether or not it was accepted, it had to be spoken on behalf of Native people.” 1177: Sacheen Littlefeather Actress and Activist for Native American Civil Rights…
1176: Olivia de Havilland American Actress Born: 1 July 1916, Tokyo, Japan Died: 26 July 2020, Paris, France Olivia was born in Japan to English parents. She had one sister, the actress Joan Fontaine. When Olivia was three, her parents split, and she moved with her mother and sister to California. Olivia was signed to…
“I was so tired of the parts I had to play. Why is it that the screen Chinese is always the villain? And so crude a villain–murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass.” 1175: Anna May Wong The First Chinese-American Movie Star Born: 3 January 1905, Los Angeles, California, United States of America Died: 3…
“She wanted to offer an alternative version of womanhood, in which overt sexual desire wasn’t shameful or dirty but an expression of independence.” -Sally Rosenthal 1174: Mae West Film Actress, Screenwriter, Playwright, and Sex Symbol Born: 17 August 1893, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America Died: 22 November 1980, Hollywood, California, United States of…
“By the time I was ten years old I had been thoroughly schooled in all the social hypocrisies.” 1173: Frances Marion The First Hollywood Writer to Win Two Academy Awards Born: 18 November 1888, San Francisco, California, United States of America Died: 12 May 1973, Los Angeles, California, United States of America Original Name: Marion…
1172: Alice Guy-Blaché The First Director and Writer of Narrative Fiction Filmography Born: 1 July 1873, Paris, France Died: 24 March 1968, Mahwah, New Jersey, United States of America Alice was also a special effects innovator and the first known female film director. It is believed that from 1896 to 1906, Alice was the only…
1171: Sammu-Ramat Empress Regnant of Assyria Born: c.850 BCE, Ancient Babylon (Present-day Iraq) Died: c.798 BCE, Ancient Babylon (Present-day Iraq) Also Known As: Semiramas Reign: c811-c808 BCE or Possibly c809-c792 BCE Sammu-Ramat was one of the first known women to rule an empire in world history. Because of this fact, her legacy has been twisted…
“The most important thing is that we give them their dignity back.” 1170: Dr. Ruth Pfau German-born Nun and Medical Missionary Born: 9 September 1929, Leipzig, Germany Died: 10 August 2017, Karachi, Pakistan Dr. Pfau was an advocate for Lepers in Pakistan, but oddly enough, she was never supposed to stay in Pakistan in the…
1169: Hessy Levinsons Taft Jewish Woman Whose Baby Portrait was Used by the Nazis in Propaganda Work Born: 17 May 1934, Berlin, Germany Hessy’s parents were from Latvia but had moved to Germany a few years before Hessy was born. Her parents had dreams of being opera singers, but unfortunately once it was discovered that…