Dr. Peggy Whitson
Captain Kathleen McGrath
Colonel Linda McTague
Air Force General Janet Wolfenbarger
Army General Ann Dunwoody
Navy Admiral Michelle Howard
The National Women’s History Project’s 2015 theme is “Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives.” In this ongoing series, we highlight individual women who made a difference in the fabric or our nation’s history.
This week we look at the 2000s.
Dr. Peggy Whitson, an American astronaut, becomes the first woman to command the International Space Station.
Captain Kathleen McGrath becomes the first woman to command a U.S. Navy warship.
Colonel Linda McTague becomes the first woman commander of a fighter squadron in U.S. Air Force history.
Michelle Obama becomes the first African-American first lady. She is an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle.
Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic-American woman to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
Vicki L. Ruiz becomes the first Latina historian inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Navy Admiral Michelle Howard becomes the first African-American woman to attain four-star rank in U.S. military history. She joins two other women who achieved four-star rank: Army General Ann Dunwoody, and Air Force General Janet Wolfenbarger.
Janet Louise Yellen is an American economist. She serves as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the first woman to hold the position.
Six female soldiers pass the Army pre-Ranger course at Fort Benning, Ga., making them the first women who can attend the U.S. Army Ranger School.
“In the end all women and all men can only benefit from the more truthful and balanced image of women which will emerge from history where they are shown to have been actively involved in shaping their own destiny and that of the country.”
— Eleanor Flexner, 2015 National Women’s History Month Honoree
