Date: Fri 22-Mar-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-9

Quick Words:

firsts-Women-History-Month

Full Text:

("Firsts" in female history, for Women in History Month series, 3/22/96)

Fabulous Female Firsts!

(with artwork)

By Shannon Hicks

There have been "firsts" in history - monumental and not-so-monumental

first-time occurrences of all things possible - since the beginning of time.

When the first man met the first woman and they first took a walk through the

garden, the history of "Famous Firsts" began.

With March designated as International Women in History Month, it seemed an

appropriate time to look at some of the achievements women have accomplished

over the years, as gathered by a first child.

Ready For Takeoff...

On March 8, 1910, French aviatrix Madame "la Baronne" de Laroche became the

first certified female pilot in the world. Four months later, la Baronne

became the first female involved in a plane crash.

The world's first airline stewardesses left the ground, with United Air Lines,

on May 15, 1930. Called flight attendants today, stewardesses originally were

required to be registered nurses.

Russian Maria Atanassova became the first woman in the world to fly a large

commercial aircraft when she took the controls in 1953. Three years later,

Soviet airline Aeroflot named her its first full female pilot.

America's first commercial female pilot, by the way, was divorcee and mother

of three Emily Howell, who was hired by Frontier Airlines in January 1973.

Then there was Amelia Earhart, who made the first solo Atlantic crossing by a

woman on May 20-21, 1932, flying a Lockhead Vega monoplane, and then

accomplished the first solo flight by a female from California to Hawaii,

January 11-12, 1935. It was during Earhart's attempt at becoming the first

woman to solo an around the world flight that she disappeared over the

Pacific, in 1937.

A pilot of a different sort, Russia sent the first woman into space when the

Soviets launched Vostok 6 with Valentina Tereshkova, a former textile worker,

onboard on June 16, 1963. It was a 48-orbit flight. The first woman in space

later married cosmonaut Andrian Nicolavev.

Jerrie Cobb, however, was the first female to undergo astronaut tests. The

Oklahoma City resident passed a series of 75 examinations conducted February

15-21, 1960, at Lovelace Foundation in Albuquerque. The tests were the same as

those given male astronauts.

That's Dr Blackwell,

Thank You Very Much

When Elizabeth Blackwell began answering her ambition to become a physician,

getting accepted into medical school was the first of many obstacles she would

overcome. To begin with, she gained the necessary knowledge to qualify for

school by reading family doctors' libraries during her spare time while

employed as a governess. After 11 rejections, Miss Blackwell was accepted into

Geneva Medical College, N.Y., in 1848 (and then only after the student body

had to vote on whether to admit her or not; rumor has it, many of the students

thought it was a joke when asked to vote on a female candidate).

She received her degree one year later, and only after the subject was hotly

debated by the school's faculty. After being forced to work and continue her

studies in Paris and England - no American hospital would hire her - Elizabeth

Blackwell returned to New York, where she ran into additional brick walls: no

one wanted to rent the good doctor office space.

Dr Blackwell purchased her own home and set up a small practice, which

expanded in 1957 to become the New York Infirmary for Women & Children. It was

the first hospital in the world with an all-female staff. It also allowed its

female medical students to take internships.

On September 15, 1853, Antoinette Brown was ordained in the First

Congregational Church of Butler, N.Y. The Rev Brown had graduated Oberlin

College in 1850, went on to mother six children, write ten books, travel to

the Holy Land in her 70s (to get water from the River Jordan with which to

baptize her grandchildren), and went to Alaska on a missionary trip, also

while in her 70s. When Reverend Brown died at the age of 96, there were nearly

3,000 women ministers in the United States.

She was related by marriage to physician Elizabeth Blackwell.

Take A Hike!

On August 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first woman to swim

the English Channel from both coasts - from Cape Gris-Nez, France, to

Kingsdown, England. Her splashing good time of 14 hours, 31 minutes, drowned

the previous mens' record by more than two hours.

The first woman coxswain on a mens' collegiate varsity team was Sally Stearns,

who led the shell of Rollins College (Winter Park, Fla.) to a .500 season in

1936. The crew lost to Marietta College on May 27 by four lengths, but

defeated Manhattan College on June 1 by a half-length.

Dr Barbara Moore (nee Anya Cherkasova, USSR) had to put up with bad weather,

police harassment and being hit by a car , but in 1960 she became the first

woman to walk across the US. A health enthusiast, Dr Moore was 56 at the time

of her sole-searching accomplishment.

For those who still have trouble allowing young girls to become involved in

Pee Wee Football or ice hockey leagues: At the 1975 Golden Gloves boxing

tournament in Mexico City, 23-year old Marion Bermudez won her first match

against a male opponent.

The first time Katherine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon - in 1967 - she was

chased over much of the course. After registering as simply K. Switzer,

because race officials were not yet allowing women to enter the competition,

race officials chased Switzer through much of the race course, attempting to

tear her number from her back. Until this time, the Amateur Athletic Union

allowed women to compete in long-distance races only among themselves.

If was five years before Switzer became the first woman to run officially, in

the 1972 Marathon.

Judy! Judy! Judy!

The first female artist to see a recording go gold (sales of over one million)

was opera star Alma Gluck, who recorded "Carry Me Back To Old Virginny." The

song was originally released in 1911 or 1912 on a one-sided, 12-inch record,

but then re-released in 1915 with "Old Black Shoe" on its B-side. The second

version is said to have reached gold within three years.

"Bei Mir Bist du Schon," recorded by The Andrews Sisters in 1937, became the

first song to rack up one million sales for a group.

The first female to get a certified gold disc, as well as the first double-LP

to sell a million copies, was Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall . Released in May,

1961, within 12 months it went gold.

Diana Ross & the Supremes remain the first - and only - female group to have

12 No. 1 records in the United States.

Carole King's Tapestry album was the first to receive a gold tape award, in

1971. The album sold an amazing 12 million copies worldwide between 1971 and

1973, with six million purchased in the United States alone.

(sources: The First of Everything, by Dennis Sanders, Delacorte Press, New

York, 1981; and Famous First Facts, by Joseph Nathan Kane, H.W. Wilson Co.,

New York, 1981.)