COLUMBUS, Ohio — Women's History Month kicks off in March, and this year, 10TV is celebrating several of the movers and shakers from Ohio who played a vital role in history.
Women's History Month is an annual nationwide celebration honoring women’s contributions to American history and those who have fought for equality, justice and opportunity.
Honoring women in Ohio
Women's History Month: Influential women of Ohio
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge was a Black actress from Cleveland who refused to be typecasted based on her race. She rose in popularity during the 1940s and 50s. She was the first Black woman nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1954 for her portrayal of “Carmen Jones” in the musical by the same name.
Jerrie Mock
Jerrie Mock, of Newark, was the first woman to fly around the world. Newspapers of the time dubbed Mock the “flying housewife.” She was a wife and mother, but she was also a pilot who studied aeronautical engineering at The Ohio State University. Mock was 38 years old when she boarded her plane, a Cessna called the "Spirit of Columbus," and started her solo journey. She flew nearly 23,000 miles over 29 days. She landed safely at the Port of Columbus on April 17, 1964. Her plane was donated to the Smithsonian and is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
Jessie Stephens Glover
Jessie Stephens Glover once told a reporter with The Ohio State University’s student newspaper, “The Lantern,” that there is no such word as “can’t” in the dictionary. Glover was African American woman and the daughter of a former slave. She believed she could do anything, including graduate from Ohio State. Glover earned a bachelor’s degree in modern language in 1905. She was the first Black woman to graduate from the university. She became an educator and worked as a probation officer in Franklin County.
Florence Allen and Yvette McGee Brown
Florence Allen started her career as an assistant prosecutor in Cuyahoga County in 1919. She was the first woman to work as an assistant prosecutor in the United States. Allen made history again as the first woman elected to a judicial office in Ohio and the first woman elected to a state supreme court in the nation. Allen served on the Ohio Supreme Court until 1934 when she became the first woman appointed to a federal judgeship.
Nearly 100 years after Allen first started practicing law, another judge made history in Ohio. Columbus native Yvette McGee Brown became the first Black women to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court in 2011. Prior to that, McGee Brown served as a judge in Franklin County.
Elsie Janis
Elsie Janis was born in Marion in 1889 and quickly became a star. She was 7 years old when she first performed on stage at the Columbus Southern Theater. Her vaudeville career took her far from central Ohio to stages in New York, London and Paris. She traveled to England and France during World War I to entertain and encourage the troops. She performed multiple shows a day for servicemen, earning her the nickname “the sweetheart of the American Expeditionary Forces.”
Dr. Kathryn Sullivan
Dr. Kathryn Sullivan was among America’s first female astronauts when she joined NASA in 1978. She became the first woman to walk in space six years later. During her NASA career, Sullivan completed three missions, including deploying the Hubble Space Telescope. She didn’t stop breaking barriers when her NASA career ended. She became the first woman do dive to the Challenger Deep in 2020. She also served as a NOAA administrator during the Obama-Biden Administration, the inaugural director of the Battelle Center for Math and Science Education Policy at The Ohio State University and the president of COSI.
Mary Williams, Mildred Cowell, and Ouida Okey
Three women from Ohio were among the first in the nation to join the U.S. Marine Corps. Mary Wiliams, Mildred Cowell and Ouida Okey joined the Marines during World War I. This was the first time women were allowed to apply for the Marines, and the trio were among 300 chosen out of 5,000. They were not allowed to serve in active combat, but they were recognized as veterans.
Frances Payne Bolton
Frances Payne Bolton was a congressperson for nearly 30 years, representing the 76th District. She was elected in 1940 and was the first woman from Ohio to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. She ran in a special election in 1939 when the seat was left vacant by her late husband, Rep. Chester Bolton. Her legislation created the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps to address a nursing shortage during World War II. The program trained about 124,000 nurses within a year. In exchange for their education, the nurses agreed to serve a tour in the armed services or essential civilian posts.
Janet E. Jackson
Janet E. Jackson has devoted her career to public service in Franklin County. She was the first woman, and the first Black woman, to serve as a Franklin County Municipal Court judge and as the city attorney of Columbus. Jackson went on to serve as the president and CEO of the United Way of Central Ohio – again, the first woman, and first Black woman, to lead the organization. Jackson was also the chair of the Civilian Police Review Board for two years, stepping down in 2023.
Katie Smith
Katie Smith is a basketball legend who led the Ohio State women’s team to the Final Four in 1993. She went on to win two WNBA championships and three Olympic gold medals. Smith was the first female athlete in Ohio State history to have her number retired. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. She’s currently the lead assistant coach for the Minnesota Lynx.
Dr. Judith Resnik
Dr. Judith Resnik was one of the nation’s first female astronauts and the first Jewish American woman in space. She joined NASA’s space shuttle program in 1978 with five other women. Resnik’s first mission was aboard the STS 41-D in 1984. The crew spent seven days in space conducting experiments and deploying satellites. Her second mission was tragically her last. Resnik was one of seven crew members killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986. She was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Agnes Meyer Driscoll
Agnes Meyer Driscoll was known as “Madam X” and “the First Lady of Navy Cryptology.” She graduated from The Ohio State University majoring in math, physics, foreign languages and music. She enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1918 during World War I and mad history by cracking Japanese naval codes. Her work helped the United States win the Battle of Midway in 1942. She was the leading cryptanalyst for the Navy for more than 30 years.