Sarah Caldwell made her debut as the first woman to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera #OTD in 1976. She led a performance of Verdi's 𝘓𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘢 starring Beverly Sills. Caldwell was a pioneering figure in American opera and the founder of the Opera Company of Boston.

Thank you for your courage. Goodnight and godspeed, Claudette Colvin. 🕯️ wsfa.com/2026/01/13/civ…

Biochemist & astronaut Dr. Shannon Lucid was born #OTD in 1943. In NASA's first astronaut class to include women, she held the record (1996-2007) for the longest duration spent in space by a woman. In 1996, she became the 1st woman awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

American educator Ella Flagg Young was born #OTD in 1845. She served as Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools (1909-1915)--the first female head of a large US city school system. Elected, first woman president of the National Education Association (NEA) in 1910.

#OTD in 1978, NASA announced its first class of astronauts to include women. These 6 mission specialists: Sally K. Ride (who later became the first American woman in space) Judith Resnik Kathryn Sullivan Anna Fisher Margaret Rhea Seddon Shannon Lucid #WomenInSTEM

Ursula K. Le Guin died #OTD in 2018. First female author to win both the Nebula & Hugo awards for Best Novel for "The Left Hand of Darkness" (1970). In total, she won 8 Hugo & 6 Nebula awards. Second woman Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.

#OTD in 1911, Marie Curie was proposed for membership in the French Academy of Sciences--and promptly voted down. 11 months later she won her second Nobel Prize (Chemistry). 51 years later, Marguerite Perey (a student of Curie), became the first woman member of the Academy.

Maria Tallchief | Ballerina Tallchief is considered America's first major prima ballerina. A member of the #Osage Nation, she was the first #NativeAmerican to hold the rank of prima ballerina. She was born #OTD in 1925. womenshistory.org/education-reso… #ballet #dance

Claribel Alegría | Nicaraguan-Salvadoran poet, essayist, novelist & journalist Alegria was a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central America. She was awarded the 2006 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. She died #OTD in 2018. poets.org/poet/claribel-…

Julia Margaret Cameron | English photographer One of the most important portraitists of the 19th century, known for her soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorians. She took up photography at age 48. She died #OTD in 1879. 📷: Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1869

Thank you, Ms. Shirley. Thank you for your tireless advocacy, for caring so much, and for helping to restore dignity to some of the most vulnerable and marginalized among us. Goodnight and godspeed, Shirley Raines. 🕯️ abc7.com/post/ms-shirle…

María Zambrano | Spanish essayist & philosopher Awarded the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1988 for her philosophical essays on exile & identity. She lived in exile for >45 yrs & is recognized as one of the most significant voices in 20th century philosophy. She died #OTD in 1991.

Assia Djebar | Algerian novelist She is considered one of North Africa's pre-eminent & most influential writers. For the entire body of her work she was awarded the 1996 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. She died #OTD in 2015. theguardian.com/books/2015/feb…

Edith Clarke | American engineer & academic, born #OTD in 1883 First woman to: +Earn an M.S. in electrical engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) +Work professionally as an electrical engineer (US) +Teach EE as a professor in the US (UT Austin) So much more: tshaonline.org/handbook/entri… #WomenInSTEM

Chien-Shiung Wu | Chinese-American particle & experimental physicist She is best known for conducting the Wu experiment for which her male colleagues won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Wu was awarded the inaugural Wolf Prize in Physics in 1978. She died #OTD in 1997. #WomenInSTEM

Wildlife biologist Kelsey Prediger is founder/Exec Dir of the Pangolin Conservation & Research Foundation, created to raise awareness & deliver grassroots conservation outcomes for Pangolins in Africa. DYK Pangolins are the most-trafficked wild mammals? #WorldPangolinDay

Ann G. Baumgartner | American aviator She was the first American woman to fly a US Army Air Forces jet aircraft flying the Bell YP-59A jet fighter at Wright Field as a test pilot during World War II. She died #OTD in 2008 at age 89.

Elena Caffarena | Chilean lawyer, jurist, politician & one of the most important 20th C. figures in Chile. Born #OTD in 1903. She co-founded the Movement for the Emancipation of Chilean Women (MEMCh) in 1935, drafting the 1949 suffrage law granting women full voting rights.

Agnes Varda, the legendary French New Wave #film director, died #OTD in 2019 at the age of 90. She was the first female director to receive a rare honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2015 & a lifetime-achievement Oscar from the Academy in 2017. #WomensHistoryMonth

English novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë died #OTD in 1855 at age 38. Her novel, 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘌𝘺𝘳𝘦, was published in 1847 under the pseudonym Currer Bell. She is the eldest of the the three Brontë sisters whose novels became classics of English literature.