History

An Inspiring Woman In Space And On The Ground

Lynette M Burrows

From last week’s strong Mohawk woman of the revolutionary war era we’re coming forward hundreds of years. This week’s Women’s History Month spotlight is on an inspiring woman in space and on the ground, Ellen Ochoa. Ms. Ochoa, a Hispanic-American Woman, made history in our lifetime. Engineer, inventor, astronaut, and administrator, she is a champion of and for women. “We do a disservice to society as a whole, if we are not providing the same kinds of encouragement to women to contribute as we do to men.” – Ellen Ochoa Early Life Ochoa’s paternal grandparents immigrated from Sonora, Mexico to Arizona. They later moved to California where Ochoa’s father, Joseph, was born. Ellen Ochoa was born May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, U.S. Her parents were Joseph and Rosanne (née Deardorf) Ochoa. She loved math and science in school, even if other kids looked down on her for that. She played the flute and wanted to be a musician. Like many of us, she watched the moon landing. She was eleven. It never occurred to her to want to be an astronaut. There were no female astronauts then. Education Ochoa’s parents divorced while she attended  Grossmont High School in El Cajon. She graduated […]

Spy, Loyalist, and Diplomat

Lynette M Burrows

Next on our list of extraordinary women of history is Molly Brant. Brant was an influential Mohawk woman in the American Revolution. A Loyalist, a spy, diplomat, and a clan matron, Brant straddled two worlds. But she kept her native heritage in her speech and dress throughout her entire life. Early Life Brant’s native name was Konwatsi’tsiaienni (also spelled Gonwatsijayenni) which means “someone lends her a flower.“ The daughter of a sachem (chief), she was probably born in Canajoharie, a barricaded long house village on the south bank of the Mohawk river, in about 1736. Her mother was Margaret Sahetagearat Onagsakearat. The man assumed to be her father was Peter Tehonwaghkwangeraghkwa. Both of them were Mohawks of the Wolf clan. The Mohawks The Mohawks were members of the Iroquois Confederacy (native name: Haudenosaunee Confederacy), a political union of six different Indian nations in the northeast. The Iroquois were a matrilineal society. They passed property and responsibility from mother to daughter. Iroquois women controlled land and wealth and had influence over policy issues. Learn more about the Mohawks. A Surname Peter died in the 1740s, leaving Margaret destitute. She had a brief second marriage to a War Chief who was killed in a raid. […]

The Amazing Woman Who Helped the Blind to See

Lynette M Burrows

It’s March. That means it is Women’s History Month in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. For one month each year, we recognize and salute the contributions of extraordinary and ordinary women, so that someday, someday soon, history lessons everywhere will include these women’s contributions. Today, this blog salutes Dr. Patricia E. Bath the amazing woman who helped the blind to see. My love of humanity and passion for helping others inspired me to become a physician. Dr. Patricia Bath Early Life Patricia Bath was born in Harlem on November 4, 1942.Her father, Rupert Bath, was a Trinidadian immigrant. Notably, he was the first black motorman to work for the New York City subway system. Her mother, Gladys, was a housewife and domestic worker. Gladys’s ancestry included African slaves and Cherokee Native Americans. Her parents worked hard to provide for their children. They instilled in her a love of travel, a desire to learn about new cultures, and a scientific curiosity. Merit Award Inspired by Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s service to lepers in the Congo and her family physician, she wanted to be a medical doctor. She excelled in school. When she was sixteen, she applied for and received a National Science […]