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Notable American Women, 1607–1950

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Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary is a three-volume biographical dictionary published in 1971. Its origins lay in 1957 when Radcliffe College librarians, archivists, and professors began researching the need for a version of the Dictionary of American Biography dedicated solely to women.[1]: xi 

Significance edit

Notable American Women was the first major modern reference book of women's biographies, although the genre was common in earlier eras, such as the 1804 A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women Of Every Age and Country by Matilda Betham.[1] It appeared when Women's studies in U.S. universities had created great interest in understanding women's past.[2] Upon its publication it was viewed by scholars as a magnificent contribution to understanding the role of women in U.S. history.[3]

Writing of the changes in perspective on biography inspired by Notable American Women, 1607–1950 Susan Ware observed, "1,359 entries showed the range and depth of women’s contributions to American life, a pointed correction to women’s near-total exclusion from existing biographical dictionaries at the time and a dramatic spur to further research."[4]

Updates edit

Notable American Women: The Modern Period : a Biographical Dictionary updated the set for subjects who died between 1951 and 1976. The work for the fourth volume was a joint project of Radcliffe College and Harvard University Press funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and edited by Barbara Sicherman and Carol Hurd Green.[2][5]

In 2004 volume 5 was issued: Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century.[6] The fifth volume in the series and was edited by historian Susan Ware who was assisted by Stacy Braukman. The women who were included had to have died prior to 2000. The volume differed from its predecessors because first ladies were not automatically included. Fame was not a factor, rather those chosen for inclusion had to have been influential or have contributed innovations or pioneering work in their area of expertise in their era.[7]

Reception edit

A 1973 review of Notable American Women, 1607-1950 by Mary Elizabeth Massey in The American Historical Review describes the work as "the most scholarly of all female reference works yet published", and notes, "As might be expected in a work of this kind, special attention is given to political activists, feminists, and suffragists, but the opponents of feminism and woman suffrage have not been ignored."[8] In a 1973 review for The William and Mary Quarterly, Barbara Welter writes, "Although white middle-class women who were reformers and authors predominate, women of other ethnic groups, holding diverse occupations, also appear. The sources consulted for even the most obscure of the lives are impressive - manuscripts, archives, collateral accounts, as well as exhaustive secondary material."[9]

Accordng to Marjorie F. Gutheim in a review for New England Quarterly, "There is someone here to interest everyone. If the longest articles seem a bit overpowering, or the more familiar ones too well known, turn to Mary Peck Butterworth, counterfeiter of colonial days; Margaret Hardenbrook Philipse, who carried on a mercantile business in her maiden name [...]; Kate Kennedy, who in the late 1860's fought for "equal pay for equal work"; Ellen Demorest who developed paper dress patterns; Alice Kober who helped decipher Linear B; Ida Lewis, a lighthouse keeper renowned for her rescues; Annie Peck, the mountain climber; Ann Eliza Young, a disaffected wife of Brigham Young; Emma Edmonds who served for two years in the Army of the Potomac disguised as a man."[10]

In a review of the fifth volume, Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing The Twentieth Century, P. Palmer writes for Choice Reviews, "The entries emphasize achievement rather than fame. Ware selected knowledgeable authors to write the alphabetically arranged, signed entries; e.g., Ruth Bader Ginsburg writes about Burnita Shelton Matthews, the Mississippi native who was the first woman to become a lifetenured federal trial court judge. Throughout the work, writing is balanced and detailed."[11] A review in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education states "Often historical compendiums assembled by white historians and editors tend to shortchange the contributions of members of minority groups. But this is not the case in the publication of Notable American Women", and 69 of the 442 biographies in the fifth volume are Black women, including "Black women from the fields of art, literature, sports, music, government, and entertainment", as well as "some of the most notable black women educators of the period".[12] In a review for Feminist Collections, Mary Hitchcock writes, "One potential drawback to the structure of the books in this series is that without a comprehensive index to all the volumes, it could prove time-consuming to locate an entry for a particular woman if one is not certain when she died. Overall, however, the series and this volume in particular are very valuable resources, providing useful information about women whose lives might be glossed over or ignored completely by more general biographical dictionaries."[13]

Women included in Volumes 1-3 edit

Abolitionists edit

Actresses and Theatre Managers edit

Anthropologists and Folklorists edit

Architects and Interior Decorators edit

Art Collectors and Patrons edit

Art Critics and Historians edit

Art Educators edit

Astronomers edit

Authors (by literary period) edit

1607-1820 edit

1821-1860 edit

1861-1900 edit

1900-1950 edit

Biologists edit

Botanists and Horticulturists edit

Chemists and Physicists edit

Children's Authors edit

Circus Performers edit

Civil War Figures edit

Classicists edit

College Administrators edit

Composers edit

Dancers edit

Educational Reformers edit

Educators of the Handicapped edit

Explorers and Travelers edit

Feminists edit

Film Actresses and Directors edit

Geographer and Geologists edit

Hawaiian Nobility edit

Health Reform Advocates edit

Heroines edit

Historians edit

Historical Preservationists edit

Home Economists edit

Illustrators edit

Indian Captives edit

Indian Reform Advocates edit

Indian Women edit

Inventors edit

Kindergartners edit

Labor Leaders edit

Labor Reformers edit

Lawyers edit

Lecturers and Orators edit

Librarians edit

Literary Scholars edit

Magazine Editors edit

Mathematicians edit

Ministers and Evangelists edit

Missionaries edit

Missionary Society Leaders edit

Mormon Women edit

Music Educators and Patrons edit

Naturalists edit

Negro Women edit

Newspaperwomen edit

Performing Musicians edit

Nurses edit

Painters edit

Peace Advocates edit

Performing Musicians edit

Philanthropists edit

Philosophers edit

Photographer edit

Physicians edit

Political Figures edit

Advisers and Appointees edit

Congresswomen and Senators edit

Other Elected Officials edit

Party Workers edit

Propagandists edit

Printmakers edit

Prison Reformers edit

Psychologists edit

Religious Educators edit

Religious Founders and Leaders edit

See also Ministers and Evangelists; Missionaries

School Founders and Administrators edit

Sculptors edit

Settlement House Leaders edit

Social and Civic Reformers edit

See also Health Reform Advocates; Laborers; Settlement House Leaders

Social Economists edit

Social Leaders edit

Social Workers edit

Socialists and Radicals edit

Temperance Advocates edit

Suffragists edit

Temperance Advocates edit

Translators edit

Welfare Work Leaders edit

See also Social Workers

Wives of the Presidents edit

Women's Club Leaders edit

Women included in Volume 4 edit

Agriculture and Rural Life edit

Anthropology and Folklore edit

Architecture edit

See also Landscape Architecture

Art edit

See also Photography

Astronomy edit

Aviation edit

Biology edit

Birth Control edit

Chemistry edit

See also Medicine: Researchers; Nutrition

Botany edit

Broadcasting edit

Children's Literature edit

Civil Liberties edit

Civil Rights edit

Classics and Archaeology edit

Community Affairs edit

Conservation edit

Cookery edit

Dance edit

Demography edit

Economics edit

Education edit

College Founders and Administrators edit

School Founders and Administrators edit

Writers and Researchers edit

Other edit

See also Physical Education

Engineering and Industrial Design edit

Entertainment edit

Exploration edit

Fashion edit

Feminism edit

Film edit

Geology edit

Government and politics edit

Appointees edit

Congresswomen edit

Other Elected Officials edit

Party Workers and Officials edit

Wives of Presidents edit

History edit

Home Economics edit

Housing Reform edit

Journalism edit

Labor edit

Landscape Architecture edit

Law edit

Librarianship edit

Literature edit

Editors and Publishers edit

Scholars edit

Translators edit

Writers edit

Magazine and Journal Editing edit

Mathematics edit

Medicine edit

Physicians edit

Researchers edit

Military edit

Music edit

Nursing edit

Nutrition edit

Peace edit

Penology and Criminology edit

Philanthropy edit

Philosophy edit

Photography edit

Physical Education edit

Physics edit

Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis edit

Public Health edit

Religion edit

Settlements edit

Socialism and Radicalism edit

Social Reform edit

Social Research edit

Social Welfare edit

Social Work edit

Sociology edit

Sports edit

Suffrage edit

Antisuffrage edit

Temperance and Prohibition edit

Prohibition Repeal edit

Theater edit

Women's Organizations edit

American Association of University Women edit

League of Women Voters edit

National Association of Colored Women edit

National Council of Negro Women edit

National Federation of Business and Professional Women edit

National Woman's Party edit

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom edit

Women's Trade Union League edit

YWCA edit

Other edit

Women included in Volume 5 edit

Advertising/Public Relations edit

Anthropology/Folklore edit

Archaeology/Classics edit

Architecture edit

Art edit

Art Collectors/Dealers edit

Astronomy edit

Aviation edit

Biochemistry edit

Biology edit

Birth Control/Family Planning edit

Botany edit

Business/Entrepreneurship edit

Chemistry edit

Child Advocacy/Education edit

Children's Literature edit

Civil Rights edit

El Congreso de Pueblos de Habla Española edit

Mexican American Political Association edit

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People edit

Southern Christian Leadership Council edit

Southern Conference on Human Welfare edit

Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee edit

Community Activism/Local Government edit

Computer Science edit

See Mathematics

Conservation/Environmentalism edit

Conservatism edit

Consumer Affairs edit

Crafts/Decorative Arts edit

Dance edit

Economics edit

Education: General edit

Engineering/Technology edit

English/Literary Theory edit

Fashion/Textile Design edit

Feminism edit

Film edit

Food edit

Gardening edit

Government: Appointed Officials (State and Federal) edit

History edit

Home Economics edit

See Nutrition

Housing Reform edit

Journalism edit

Labor edit

Law and Judiciary edit

Librarians/Archivists edit

Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Science edit

Medicine: Physicians and Health Care Activists edit

Military edit

Museums/Curators edit

Music: Classical edit

Music: Popular edit

Nursing edit

Nutrition/Home Economics edit

Peace edit

Penology and Criminology edit

Philanthropy edit

Philosophy edit

Photography edit

Physics edit

Political Science edit

Politics: Elected Officials/Activists/Volunteers edit

Psychiatry/Psychoanalysis/Psychiatric Social Work edit

Psychology edit

Public Health/Women's Health edit

Publishing/Editing edit

Radicalism/Socialism edit

Radio/Television edit

Religion/Spirituality edit

Social Work edit

Socialite/Hostess edit

Sociology edit

Sports/Physical Education/Recreation edit

Theater/Vaudeville/Comedy edit

Women's Health. See Public Health

Women's Organizations edit

American Association of University Women edit

Coalition of Labor Union Women edit

League of Women Voters edit

National Consumers' League edit

National Council of Negro Women edit

National Federation of Business and Professional Women edit

National Organization for Women edit

National Woman's Party edit

National Women's Political Caucus edit

Planned Parenthood Federation of America edit

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom edit

Women Strike for Peace edit

Women's Trade Union League edit

Young Women's Christian Association edit

Other edit

Writers/Poets edit

Zoology edit

Bibliography edit

  • Notable American Women: a biographical dictionary completing the twentieth century. (2004). Ware, Susan (editor), Stacy Braukman, assistant editor. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 067401488X.

References edit

  1. ^ a b James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S., eds. (1971). Notable American Women, 1607–1950; A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
  2. ^ a b Sicherman, Barbara; Green, Carol Hurd, eds. (1980). Notable American Women: The Modern Period: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-62733-8. OCLC 834112895.
  3. ^ Miller, Roberta Balstad (January 1974). "Women and American history". Women's Studies. 2 (1): 105–113. doi:10.1080/00497878.1974.9978340.
  4. ^ Ware, Susan (Winter 2010). "Writing Women's Lives: One Historian's Perspective". Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 40 (3): 413–435. doi:10.1162/jinh.2010.40.3.413. S2CID 145478898.
  5. ^ Rothman, Sheila M. (September 1981). "Biography as Prescription". Reviews in American History. 9 (3): 415–421. doi:10.2307/2701975. ISSN 0048-7511. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  6. ^ Ware, Susan; Braukman, Stacy Lorraine, eds. (2004). Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01488-6. OCLC 937332808.
  7. ^ Farrell, Joelle (March 27, 2005). "A Woman of Notable Achievement: Susan Ware Helps Shape Women's History". Concord Monitor. Concord, New Hampshire. p. B1, B8. Retrieved 25 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Massey, Mary Elizabeth (1973). "Review of Notable American Women 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Volume 1, A-F; volume 2, G-O; volume 3, P-Z". The American Historical Review. 78 (1): 144–145. doi:10.2307/1854029. ISSN 0002-8762. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  9. ^ Welter, Barbara (1973). "Review of Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary". The William and Mary Quarterly. 30 (3): 518–522. doi:10.2307/1918498. ISSN 0043-5597. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  10. ^ Gutheim, Marjorie F. (1972). "Review of Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary". The New England Quarterly. 45 (2): 281–283. doi:10.2307/364762. ISSN 0028-4866. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  11. ^ Palmer, P. (July–August 2005). "Notable American women: a biographical dictionary completing the twentieth century". Choice Reviews. 42 (11/12): 1954, 1956. ProQuest 225797911
  12. ^ "The Esteemed Sisterhood of the Late Twentient Century". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (48): 126–127. 2005. doi:10.2307/25073263. ISSN 1077-3711. ProQuest 195551867
  13. ^ Hitchcock, Mary (Winter 2005). "Susan Ware, ed., Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century". Feminist Collections: a Quarterly of Women's Studies Resources. 26 (2/3). University of Wisconsin: 22. ISSN 0742-7441. ProQuest 221218442
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