Women of Note
The Ten Thousand-Day War at Sea: The US Navy in Vietnam, 1950-1975; Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee Awarded a Navy Cross and Destroyer Named in Her Honor
On October 9, 2019, the gallery of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum opened to the public. Many who have visited before will recognize the familiar displays depicting the Revolutionary War through the Civil War. Everything else has changed. The immersive exhibit touches on the Navy’s role during the Vietnam War, incorporating new artifacts along with oral histories from area veterans. Editor's Note: November 11, Today in History: 1920 - Lenah S. Higbee becomes the first woman to be awarded the Navy Cross for her service as a nurse in World War I more »
Artist in Exile, The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville: In 1818, she stated that she had but one wish “and that was to see an American lady elected president"
Highlights of the exhibition include Neuville’s views of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, street scenes of her neighborhood (now known as Tribeca), a watercolor documenting an “Indian War Dance” performed for President Monroe, and portraits of subjects ranging from Indigenous Americans to immigrant students at a Manhattan school founded by the Neuvilles. The exhibition opens with Neuville’s miniature self-portrait that was likely created for her husband to carry on his travels. more »
Updated: House Committees Release Testimony of Sondland and Volker in Addition to Yovanovitch and McKinley As Part of New Public Phase of Impeachment Inquiry
Today, Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Eliot L. Engel, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Acting Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, released the transcripts of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch and former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State Ambassador P. Michael McKinley. The three Chairs issued the following statement announcing today’s releases: “Ambassadors Yovanovitch and McKinley’s testimony also demonstrates the contamination of U.S. foreign policy by an irregular back channel that sought to advance the President’s personal and political interests, and the serious concerns that this activity elicited across our government. more »
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's "brilliance, grace, humor, tact, and unyielding resolve that saw her shatter barriers in the legal world”
Despite graduating at the top of her law school class, Ginsburg struggled to find a job. Title VII had not been enacted, anti-discrimination measures were not yet part of employment law, and firms were reticent to hire women. In law school, she routinely saw sign-up sheets for job interviews that explicitly said “Men only.” “Very few firms were willing to take a chance on a woman and no firm was ready to engage a mother,” said Ginsburg, who landed a judicial clerkship only through the diligent efforts of a professor-mentor. When she joined Rutgers’ law faculty in 1963, the Equal Pay Act had just been passed — but was widely ignored. When notified of her paltry salary, Ginsburg asked how much a man with similar experience was paid. more »