August 14/15, 1995 - Episode 381 & 382 - Women of Achievement and Herstory This is the double entry of *my* weekend. WOA is posted two days in advance. 08-14 Anniversaries ........................................... B. Aug. 14, 1926, Alice Adams, writer of a number of successful novels including *Second Chances.* Her divorced mother, a failed, unhappy writer, read poetry to her daughter and encouraged her writing career. B. Aug. 14, 1944, Robyn Smith Astaire, first woman jockey to win a major thoroughbred horse stakes race. Her father deserted the family. Her mother (to whom Robyn was born when her mother was 17) was judged unstable by the courts and as Melody Dawn Miller, her original name, was placed in a foster home and then adopted and renamed Caroline Smith. In a famed Oregon custody battle that hinged on religion, Melody Dawn was returned to her birth mother. However, she left there to return to her adoptive parents and then she left the adoptive parents to live in a woman's residence. She told outlandish stories about her background, including having been an MGM starlet. Regardless of her background - real or fabricated - she was an excellent jockey and became the first woman jockey to ride a winner in a major stakes race. At 5'7" she had weight problems and retired young to marry Hollywood legend Fred Astaire, 55 years her senior. B. Aug. 14, 1947, Danielle Steel, novelist. She has more than 100 million books in print in 42 countries. E. Aug. 14, 1980, Dorothy Stratten, actor and *Playboy* magazine's 1980 Playmate of the Year, met with her obsessive husband to explain why their marriage was over. Unwilling to give her up, John Snider raped, tortured her on a crude machine he had made, and then shot her in the head with a shotgun. 08-15 Anniversaries ........................................... B. Aug. 15, 1816, Ann Pamela Cunningham organized and supervised the all-woman task of purchasing Mount Vernon, home of George Washington that the State of Virginia and the US government were not interested in acquiring. Had to overcome the prejudices against women engaging in such activies. B. Aug. 15, 1860, Florence Kling Harding, often credited with inspiring her husband's political career, was known as the Duchess. Rumors persist that she caused her husband's death to save the nation embarrassment after the Teapot Dome scandals. There is no proof of it. B. Aug. 15, 1879, Ethel Barrymore, of the Royal Family of the Theatre (Colt-Drew-Barrymore). Reigning queen of the stage for more than 50 years. Won a 1944 Academy Award for her work in *None but the Lonely Heart.* B. Aug. 15, 1885, Edna Ferber, American novelist whose works centered around a pantheon of strong women starting out with _So Big_ in 1924 which won the Pulitzer Prize. Her books *Show Boat,* *Cimarron,* *Saratoga Trunk,* *Giant,* and *Ice Palace* were all made into popular movies. Called a `woman's writer,' her works are being dismissed today as fluff pieces, but they all contain serious themes and accurate portrayals of the time and place. An enormously successful writer, she never received critical respect because, some say, her characters were strong females who were triumphant in the end "testif(ying) to her belief in female determination and autonomy." B. Aug. 15, 1896, Gerty Theresa Radnitz Cori, Czech-American biochemist, co-winner of 1947 Nobel prize in physiology, who along with her husband jointly made discoveries regarding glucose. Cori was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for medicine and physiology. Several times during their research, GTRC was told she would be fired if she didn't stop collaborating with her husband and another time she was told that she was holding her husband's career back because American men did not work with their wives. Undaunted, they continued their collaboration even when Carl took a position at Washington University, St. Louis, where Cori took a minor position at a tiny salary (1931). They continued their studies in carbohydrate metabolism. B. Aug. 15, 1898, Lillian Carter, known as Miss Lillian during her son Jimmy's Presidency, served with the Peace Corps in India 1966-68. Her son called her the most liberal woman in Georgia. B. Aug. 15, 1899, Martha Foley, co-edited influential magazine "Story" that first published many authors of the day. Edited the *Best American Short Stories* series of books for 35 years. B. Aug. 15, 1902, Georgette Heyer, English author of nearly 60 books mostly about the Regency period. B. Aug. 15, 1912, Julia Childs, chef, TV personality, and author who popularized and demystified French cuisine. Bon Appetit! B. Aug. 15, 1924, Phyllis Schlafly, political activist and author, led fight against ERA from 1972 to 1982. Anti-feminist author and ultra-conservative activist. She did, in her career, what she criticized other women for doing. B. Aug. 15, 1944(?5), Linda Ellerbee, journalist. B. Aug. 15, 1946, Kathyrn Whitmore, first woman mayor of Houston, Tx. B. Aug. 15, 1947, Gertrude Mell, Swedish organist, teacher, and composer, wrote her first composition when she started piano lessons at five. Has had her own TV and radio shows but retired from teaching to become an able seaman sailing to Australia and South Africa before getting her ship's masters license. She finds being at sea gives her more time to compose and offers her greater inspiration. ....................... * ........................ 05-15-25 The URLs to the most current weeks' worth of WOA set up on the Web by Laurie D. T. Mann, the Feminist Webitor, are: http://worcester.lm.com/lmann/feminist/achievement.html The FTPs for Women of Achievement and Herstory by William Affleck-Asch, are: FTP://ftp.eskimo.com/feminist/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>(C) 1995 Irene Stuber, PO Box 6185, Hot Springs National Park, AR 71902, 501-624-5262 for direct fax or voice mail ID #300, irenestuber@delphi.com for comments and suggestions. Distribute verbatim copies freely with copyright notice for non-profit use. We are accepting *limited* donations (only what can be spared) to help offset the online costs of posting WOA-H.<<