Women's History Month

March is Women’s History Month
&
Today is


National Women's Day!

Those who dared to be the first – some achievements were first in the world, some were first in the British Empire or British Commonwealth, some were first in North America and all were the first Canadian women...

1-      Grace Annie Lockhart  Born February 22, 1855 Died May 18, 1916 She was the first woman in Canada to receive a university degree/ Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, became the first university in Canada to grant a degree to a woman.

2-      Julia Catherine Hart Born Fredericton, New Brunswick March 10, 1796  Died November 28, 1 867 She wrote the first work of fiction by a native born Canadian to be published in Canada. Her novel was called, StUrsula’s Convent or The Nun of Canada. ‘Containing Scenes from Real Life’ (1824). She wrote this book when she was only 17 yrs old. She would continue publishing her writings while she raised 6 children.

3-   “I am well aware there’s always going to be men who are physically stronger than I am. I thik women make up for that difference in mental tenacity. It is important for women to get out and challenge themselves. There isn’t anything stopping women from doing it whatsoever.”

Denise Martin, First Canadian woman to reach the North Pole (1997)

4-      Margaret Marshall Saunders Born Milton, Nova Scotia April 13, 1861  Died Feb 15, 1947

Margaret first wrote under the name Marshall Saunders to hide her identity. While it was just becoming somewhat respectable for women to be writers when Margaret was publishing her works, writings by women were not best sellers. In 1894 she wrote Beautiful Joe, a story of an abused dog, for competition sponsored by the American Humane Society. It won first prize. Joe would become the first Canadian book to sell more than 1,000,000 copies. It was translated into more than 14 different languages

5-      May Irwin  (Real name Georgina May Campbell) Born Whitby, Ontario, June 27, 1862. Died October 22, 1938  As early as 1872 she and her sister Flora were singing onstage. Once the sister act split up, May would go on and become a well known Broadway performer. Her movie career was short but historically significant. Thomas Edison, the famous inventor, placed May in the starring role in his pioneering one minute moving picture called, The Kiss It was the first kiss of the movies!

6-   It seems to me there is always somebody to tell you, you can’t accomplish a thing, and to discourage you from even attempting it. If you are going to let other people decide what you are able to do, I don’t think you will ever do much of anything.

Katherine Stinson, Pioneer aviator well known in western Canadian skies.

7-    Celine Dion  Born March 30, 1968. She is an international known recording artist and superstar. She is the first Canadian singer to receive a Gold Record in France. She recorded the sound track for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast which would win an Academy Award and a Grammy.

8-    Do not rely completely on any other human being, however dear to you they are. We meet all of life’s greatest tests alone.

Agnes MacPhail (1890-1954) first woman elected to the Canadian Parliament.

9-    Roberta Lynn Bondar Born Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Dec 4, 1845 Canada’s first woman astronaut. She took her favourite food, Girl  Guide cookies, into space with her in 1992. She brought from space a real sense of just how delicate our small blue planet really is and is now using her photography to help show and save our earth’s environment.

10- Age doesn’t always bring wisdom, but i figure that by the time you reach 60 you ought to have realized that you can live any way you want to as long as you can handle the fallout.

Corinne Allan, Canadian social activist.

11-     Ethel Catherwood Born Haldimond County, Ontario April 28, 1908 Died Sept 26, 1987. Ethel was on the 1928 Canadian Olympic team, the first Olympic Games to allow women to compete. She won a gold medal for Canada in high jump when she cleared  5ft 2in She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

12-  Mary Pickford Born Toronto, Ontario April 8, 1892 Died May 29, 1979. She began her screen career in silent films in 1909. As an actress she stands above the rest of her era and earned herself a Best Actress Academy Award(1929) at the second annual event. She is the first Canadian born woman to have won an Academy award. She entered the film industry and became Hollywood’s first female businesswoman ‘movie mogul’ creating with her colleagues United Artists Studios. She is the first woman to make $1,000,000 a year in the U.S. Movie business.

13-   With all the technology in the 21^st century why haven’t they invented the self cleaning toilet bowl! Dawn Monroe - Librarian, author

   

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