The Iowa Women's Hall of Fame was created to acknowledge the accomplishments of female role models associated with the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, and is an endeavor of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW).

History

In 1972, the state of Iowa created the ICSW to oversee women's issues, with Cristine Swanson Wilson as its first chair. Since the Hall of Fame's beginnings in 1975, four annual nominees are inducted by the ICSW and the

Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in a public ceremony. The event is held on Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the August 26, 1920 ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that gave women the right to vote. The honorees are nominated by the public via online forms available on the ICSW website. The ICSW also created the annual "Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice" in 1982. Wilson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989. The initial inductees were Iowa's first female Secretary of State Ola Babcock Miller, who created the Iowa State Patrol; president and founding member of Iowa Woman Suffrage Association,

Amelia Bloomer Amelia Jenks Bloomer (May 27, 1818 – December 30, 1894) was an American newspaper editor, women's rights and temperance advocate. Even though she did not create the women's clothing reform style known as bloomers, her name became associat ...

; president of the

National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National ...

, and founder of the League of Women Voters,

Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (; January 9, 1859 Fowler, p. 3 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt ...

; and Annie Turner Wittenmyer who founded the

Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program ...

, formed an aid society to support

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

soldiers during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, as well as helped to pass pension legislation for nurses in that same war. Catt was the first inductee. In the ensuing years, the Hall of Fame ranks were joined by women from all walks of life. As of the 2017 inductee ceremonies, there have been 172 women inducted. The list of inductees includes civil rights pioneers, global issues leaders, community volunteer workers, elected officials, artists, the medical profession and a large

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...

of contributions by the state's women. Two

First Ladies of the United States The first lady of the United States is the hostess of the White House. The position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, but, on occasion, the title has been applied to women who were not presidents' wives, s ...

Lou Henry Hoover Lou Hoover (née Henry; March 29, 1874 – January 7, 1944) was an American philanthropist, geologist, and First Lady of the United States from 1929 to 1933 as the wife of President Herbert Hoover. She was active in numerous community organizatio ...

and

Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was the first lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household i ...

were added in 1987 and 1993 respectively. Environmental preservationist Gladys B. Black made the list in 1985. Mycologist Lois Hattery Tiffany was added in 1991 for her career of educating the public about mushrooms. The military is represented by

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States ...

veteran Rosa Cunningham in 1980 and by former

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Judge Advocate General officer Phyllis Propp Fowle in 2001.

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

era anti-war activist Peg Mullen was inducted in 1997. Pulitzer Prize winner Susan Glaspell was a 1976 inductee.

Hualing Nieh Engle Hualing Nieh Engle (born 11 January 1925), née Nieh Hua-ling (), is a Chinese novelist, fiction writer, and poet. She is a professor emerita at the University of Iowa. Early life and education Nieh Hua-ling was born on 11 January 1925 in Wuhan, ...

, who in 1976 was co-nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

, became a Hall of Fame inductee in 2008. Cattle breeder Mary Garst was added in 1981. Several women farmers are on the list, and added in 2001 was attorney Phyllis Josephine Hughes who had also been honored by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

for her legal assistance to the farm community.

Inductees

References

External links

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame official site
{{Authority control Women's halls of fame Lists of American women Women in Iowa Halls of fame in Iowa