Writing

portrait of a woman with dark hair wearing a red gown and holding a basket of flowers

Colonial Jewish mother instructs her son to eat "bread and butter"

July 9, 1733

The 35 surviving letters written, between 1733 and 1748, by Abigail Levy Franks to her son Naphtali in London offer rare access to the

Etta King Discusses Adrienne Rich Thumbnail

Adrienne Rich rejects National Medal for the Arts

July 3, 1997

On July 3, 1997, poet Adrienne Rich informed Jane Alexander, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, that she would not accept the Nat

Meetings held to plan National Organization for Women

June 30, 1966

The foundation for the National Organization for Women was laid at a meeting in Betty Friedan's hotel room in Washington, DC.

"Life on the Fringes" by Haviva Ner-David

"Life on the Fringes" explores Orthodox feminism

July 1, 2000

Haviva Ner-David's book, Life on the Fringes: A Feminist Journey Toward Traditional Rabbinic Ordination, was published on July 1, 2000.

Publication of "Jewish and Female"

June 1, 1984

Susan Weidman Schneider's Jewish and Female: Choices and Changes in Our Lives Today was published on June 1, 1984.

Sylvia Porter one of first women honored as "Headliner"

June 5, 1943

When the National Headliners' Club included women in its ranks of prizewinning journalists for the first time in 1943, Sylvia Porter was one

Birth of multi-talented Ruth Hagy Brod

May 31, 1911

Born in New York City on May 31, 1911, and raised in Chicago, Ruth Hagy Brod had a varied career that took her from the newsroom to Latin America

"What is Women's History?"

June 5, 2005

On June 5, 2005, acclaimed historian Gerda Lerner received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in Paris, 1923

Gertrude Stein publishes Alice B. Toklas "Autobiography"

June 1, 1933

American modernist writer Gertrude Stein published a memoir, ironically titled The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, on June 1, 1933.

Miriam Cantor-Stone on Wendy Wasserstein's Tony Award Thumbnail

Wendy Wasserstein first woman playwright to win Tony Award

June 4, 1989

Born and raised in New York City and educated at Mount Holyoke College and the Yale School of Drama, Wendy Wasserstein was already an establish

Birth of feminist Letty Cottin Pogrebin

June 9, 1939

Letty Cottin Pogrebin, who has become one of the most well-known figures in both the Jewish and secular feminist movements, was born on Jun

Thumbnail of Rachel King on the Publication of Carol Gilligan's In a Different Voice, 2015

Carol Gilligan publishes "In a Different Voice"

May 24, 1982

Carol Gilligan has built a career out of challenging the mainstream.

Etta King on Adah Isaacs Menken's Last Performance Thumbnail

Racy actress Adah Isaacs Menken appears in her last performance

May 30, 1868

Little is definitively known about the private life and early history of actress Adah Isaacs Menken.

Jane Eisner appointed first female editor of "The Forward"

May 18, 2008

Trailblazing journalist Eisner breaks one more barrier, becoming the first woman editor of the country's largest Jewish newspaper.

"The Settlement Cookbook," by Lizzie Black Kander

"Settlement Cookbook" author Lizzie Black Kander is born

May 28, 1858

Lizzie Black Kander, author of The Settlement Cookbook, was born in Milwaukee, on May 28, 1858.

Death of comedian Gilda Radner at 42

May 20, 1989

Gilda Radner's death from ovarian cancer on May 20, 1989 at age 42 cut short a vital life and comedic career.

Lily Winner publishes a defense of open immigration in "The Nation"

May 18, 1921

Writer, playwright, and activist Winner was a progressive voice for immigrants and immigration reform.

Poet Muriel Rukeyser receives important literary award

May 8, 1942

In winning an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the young poet was recognized as an important presence on the American literary scene.

Publication of Gladys Rosen's Jewish bicentennial guidebook

May 2, 1975

Born and raised in New York City and educated at Columbia University, Gladys Rosen became the program specialist at the American Jewish Committee (AJ

Fanny Goldstein, librarian and founder of Jewish Book Week, is born

May 15, 1895

Goldstein was the first female Judaica librarian and the first woman to direct a branch library in Massachusetts.

Poet Maxine Kumin wins Pulitzer Prize

May 7, 1973

Writer Maxine Kumin won the esteemed award for poetry for her collection "Up Country: Poems of New England."

Paula Hyman discusses publication of "The Jewish Woman in America"

April 20, 1976

When Paula Hyman, Charlotte Baum, and Sonya Michel published The Jewish Woman in America in 1976, it was a groundbreaking work.

Helene Deutsch publishes first volume of "The Psychology of Women"

April 27, 1944

Born in Poland and trained in psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud, Helene Deutsch immigrated to Boston in 1935, where she joined the faculty of the ne

Review of Mary Antin's "The Promised Land" Appears in the "New York Times"

April 14, 1912

Only 30 years old when she published her autobiography, The Promised Land, Mary Antin captured the dreams and experiences of turn-of-the-cent

Historian Deborah Lipstadt is Vindicated in Libel Suit Brought by Holocaust Denier

April 11, 2000

When Emory University professor Deborah Lipstadt published Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory in 1994, she