Michigan Women's Hall of Fame facts for kids
The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michigan Women's Studies Association. The formation of the Association and the Hall was prompted by five professors from Michigan State University, who were teaching a Women in American Society course.
Nominations to the hall of fame are accepted from the public and are open to women who rose to prominence in or were born in Michigan, as well as those who have lived in the state for an extended period. A screening committee ranks the nominations by merit and a second committee makes the final determination, generally selecting eight to ten women annually for induction. Inductees are honored at a ceremony and dinner in October and are presented with a bronze Lifetime Achievement Award. As of 2021, the Hall of Fame contains over 340 inductees.
The MWHOF was housed in the Cooley-Haze House, built in 1903 and located at 213 W. Malcolm X St. (formerly W. Main Street), directly south of downtown Lansing, Michigan. It contained a resource library, as well as exhibit galleries dedicated to preserving and presenting Michigan women's history and art. The house was opened to the public on June 10, 1987. The center also contained the Belen Gallery, which featured art from Michigan women.
Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame moved to its current location in Meridian Mall, 110 W. Allegan St., Suite 10 in 2017.
Hall of Fame honorees
| Name | Image | Birth–death | Year | Area of achievement | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gretchen Whitmer | _(cropped).jpg) |
(b. 1971) | 2023 | Governor of Michigan | |
| Denise Langford Morris | 2023 | Oakland County Circuit Court Judge | |||
| Kelly Rossman McKinney | 2023 | Public relations pioneer and political activist | |||
| Traverse City Ladies Association | 2023 | Group which planned, started, and ran the Traverse Township Library | |||
| Esther Gordy Edwards | (1920–2011) | 2022 | Founder of Motown Historical Museum; first woman to serve on the 40-person board of the Central Business District Association | ||
| Carol Sue Hutchins |  |
(b. 1957) | 2022 | Head coach of Michigan Wolverines softball; winningest coach in NCAA softball history | |
| Mary Kramer | 2022 | Publisher | |||
| Mary Locke Petermann | (1908–1975) | 2022 | Cellular biochemist | ||
| Danielle Camille Woods | 2022 | LGBTQ Liaison for the Detroit Police Department | |||
| Rosalind Brewer | (b. 1962) | 2021 | CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance | ||
| Debra White-Hunt | 2021 | Co-founder and artistic director of The Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy | |||
| Lila Neuenfelt | (1902–1981) | 2021 | First woman circuit court judge in Michigan | ||
| Fannie B. Peck | (1880–1971) | 2021 | National Housewives League, founded Detroit Housewives League. Created Fannie B. Peck Credit Union. Created the first cemetery for African Americans in Detroit | ||
| Sarah Elizabeth Ray | (1917–2006) | 2021 | Won 1945 racial discriminatinn class action lawsuit against Bob-Lo Excursion Company | ||
| Diana Sieger | 2021 | President of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation | |||
| Najah Bazzy | 2020 | Detroit activist created Zaman International nonprofit to combat poverty | |||
| Elizabeth Jackson (Michigan) | 2020 | Co-founder of Trade Union Leadership Council | |||
| Glenda Price | 2020 | First African American president of Marygrove College | |||
| Martha Teichner | (b. 1948) | 2020 | CBS Sunday Morning news correspondent | ||
| Atlas Ruth Westbrook | 2020 | NASA's Apollo 11 project; one of the "Human Math Computers" depicted in the movie “Hidden Figures | |||
| Dorothy Zehnder | 2020 | Bavarian Inn Co-founder | |||
| Margaret Kirchner Stevenson | (1920–1998) | 2019 | Female pilot, one of the first women to fly a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress | ||
| Lucile A. Watts | (1920–2018) | 2019 | First woman to serve on the Michigan Circuit Court | ||
| Martha Baldwin | (1840–1913) | 2019 | American educator and activist | ||
| Gilda Z. Jacobs | 2019 | Politician and president of the Michigan League for Public Policy | |||
| Vernice Davis Anthony | 2019 | Health expert | |||
| Terry Blackhawk | 2019 | Educator | |||
| Agatha Biddle | (1797–1873) | 2018 | Odawa fur trader | ||
| Mona Hanna-Attisha |  |
(b. 1976) | 2018 | Pediatrician whose research exposed the dangerous levels of lead in the water of Flint, Michigan. | |
| Clara Stanton Jones |  |
(1913–2012) | 2018 | First African-American president of the American Library Association | |
| Angela K. Wilson | 2018 | Chemistry Division Director of the National Science Foundation | |||
| Kym L. Worthy | 2018 | Civil rights, law enforcement | |||
| American Legion NUWARINE Post 535 | 2017 | Michigan's last remaining all-female American Legion post | |||
| Ella Mae Backus | (1863–1938) | 2017 | First woman in Michigan to become an Assistant U.S. Attorney | ||
| Clara Bryant Ford |  |
(1866–1950) | 2017 | Wife of Henry Ford, created and funded programs benefiting women | |
| Lisette Denison Forth |  |
(c1790–1866) | 2017 | Philanthropist, former slave | |
| Mary Kay Henry |  |
(b. 1958) | 2017 | President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) | |
| Verna Grahek Mize | (1913–2013) | 2017 | Environmentalist whose legal battles ended dumping of mining waste into Lake Superior | ||
| Bernice Morton | 2017 | Developed Affirmative Action program at Wayne State University; helped develop the first Model Cities Comprehensive Health Care Center in the U.S. | |||
| Rosie the Riveter | 2017 | WWII cultural icon who appeared on numerous posters showing women at work in the war service industries | |||
| Rosemary C. Sarri | 2017 | Social worker who was instrumental in the passage of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act | |||
| Elizabeth Wetzel | 2017 | First female design director for General Motors | |||
| Elizabeth Sparks Adams | (1911–2007) | 2016 | Government, history, women's rights | ||
| Anan Ameri | (b. 1944) | 2016 | Art, history, community service, writing | ||
| Daisy Elliott | (1917–2015) | 2016 | Government, Civil Rights | ||
| Faith Fowler | (b. 1959) | 2016 | Religion, women's rights, community service, civil rights | ||
| Evelyn Golden | (1913–2005) | 2016 | Medicine, community service | ||
| Olivia Letts | (b. 1928) | 2016 | Education, civil rights, community service | ||
| Mary Free Bed Guild | 2016 | Charity organization begun by women in 1891 to provide medical care to those who cannot otherwise afford it | |||
| Diana Ross | .jpg) |
(b. 1944) | 2016 | Music | |
| Lou Anna Kimsey Simon | (b. 1947) | 2016 | Education, women's rights | ||
| Charlotte Wilson | (1854–1914) | 2016 | Art, civil rights, education, suffrage, women's rights | ||
| Jocelyn Benson | (b. 1977) | 2015 | Dean of the Wayne State University Law School | ||
| Maxine Berman | (b. 1946) | 2015 | Former member of Michigan House of Representatives; political consultant | ||
| Sue Carter | (b. 1950) | 2015 | Episcopalian minister, television and radio journalist | ||
| Janet C. Cooper | (1931–2002) | 2015 | Civil rights, education, government, law | ||
| Mabel White Holmes | (1890–1977) | 2015 | Invented Jiffy mix | ||
| Candice Miller |  |
(b. 1954) | 2015 | United States House of Representatives | |
| Esther K. Shapiro | (b. 1917) | 2015 | First director of Detroit's Consumer Affairs Department | ||
| Maggie Walz | (1861–1927) | 2015 | Finnish immigrant who used her subsequent education and business expertise to establish a Finnish colony in Drummond Township | ||
| Myra Wolfgang | (1914 –1976) | 2015 | Labor leader, women's rights activist | ||
| Linda M. Woods | (b. 1943) | 2015 | Native American Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, United States Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, social worker | ||
| Elizabeth Lehman Belen | (1886–1975) | 2014 | Politics; second woman elected to the Michigan House of Representatives; first woman and Democrat elected from Lansing | ||
| MaryLee Davis | (b. 1943) | 2014 | Michigan State University administrator and professor | ||
| Jeanne Findlater | (b. 1928) | 2014 | General manager of WXYZ-TV/Detroit and vice president of ABC Television | ||
| Dorothy A. Johnson | (b. 1940) | 2014 | President Emeritus of the Council of Michigan Foundations; Johnson Center for Philanthropy | ||
| Julie Krone |  |
(b. 1963) | 2014 | Thoroughbred jockey Julie Krone is the only woman to ride the winner of a Triple Crown event (the 1993 Belmont Stakes), the first woman to win a Breeders’ Cup event (2003 Juvenile Fillies), and the first woman to win a million-dollar event (2003 Pacific Classic). | |
| Mary Carmelita Manning | (1888–1962) | 2014 | Sister of Mercy order; opened the first Central School of Nursing in Michigan (the second in the country) | ||
| Barbara Roberts Mason | (b. 1940) | 2014 | Politics; State Board of Education; seconded the nomination of vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro | ||
| Marylou Olivarez Mason | 2014 | Hispanic rights; first Hispanic woman on the Lansing Community College Board of Trustees | |||
| Andra M. Rush | (b. 1960) | 2014 | Business; former chairwoman and CEO of the Rush Group Family of Companies; founded the largest Native American-owned business in the United States. | ||
| Mary Ellen Sheets | (b. 1940) | 2014 | Founder of Two Men and a Truck moving company | ||
| Lucille Farrier Stickel |  |
(1915–2007) | 2014 | Environmentalist; first woman to direct a major Federal laboratory | |
| Elizabeth W. Bauer | (b. 1937) | 2013 | Advocate for the rights of people with disabilities | ||
| Judith Levin Cantor | (b. 1928) | 2013 | Jewish historian, author, archivist, and exhibit curator | ||
| Con-Con Eleven | 2013 | The 11 women delegates at the 1961–1962 Michigan Constitutional Convention: Vera Andrus, Ruth Gibson Butler, Anne M. Conklin, Katherine Moore Cushman, Ann Elizabeth Donnelly, Daisy Elizabeth Elliott, Adelaide Julia Hart, Lillian Hatcher, Dorothy Leonard Judd, Ella Demmink Koeze, and Marjorie Frances McGowan | |||
| Paula Cunningham | (b. 1949) | 2013 | First female president of Lansing Community College | ||
| Elizabeth Eaglesfield | (1853–1940) | 2013 | Businesswoman and one of the first female steamship captains on Lake Michigan | ||
| Joan Jackson Johnson | (b. 1948) | 2013 | Advocate for the poor, homeless, and mentally ill | ||
| Gladys McKenney | (b. 1928) | 2013 | Educator and advocate for women's rights | ||
| Harriet Quimby |  |
(1875–1912) | 2013 | Early American aviator and movie screenwriter | |
| Marina von Neumann Whitman | (b. 1935–) | 2013 | Vice president of Public Affairs at General Motors | ||
| L. Anna Ballard | (1848–1934) | 2012 | Medicine; Lansing's first female medical doctor. | ||
| Gladys Beckwith | (1929–2020) | 2012 | Women's studies | ||
| Patricia Caruso | (b. 1954) | 2012 | First woman director of the Michigan Department of Corrections | ||
| Mary Jane Dockeray | (1927–2020) | 2012 | Environment | ||
| Eva McCall Hamilton |  |
(1871–1948) | 2012 | First woman elected to the Michigan Legislature in 1920 | |
| Judith Karandjeff | (b. 1944) | 2012 | Women's rights | ||
| Les Meres et Debutantes Club of Greater Lansing | 2012 | Formed in 1962 by African American mothers, to mentor and fund young African American women debutantes | |||
| Mary E. McCoy | (1846–1923) | 2012 | Women's rights and African-American rights | ||
| Serena Williams |  |
(b. 1981) | 2012 | Tennis; youngest inductee | |
| Lois A. Bader | (b. 1935) | 2011 | Education | ||
| Jumana Judeh | (b. 1959) | 2011 | First vice chair of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce | ||
| Marilyn Kelly | (b. 1938) | 2011 | 67th Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court | ||
| Valeria Lipczynski | (1846–1930) | 2011 | Community service | ||
| Edelmira Lopez | (1922–2017) | 2011 | First female president of the Lansing Mexican Patriotic Committee, and president of the Hispanic Cultural Center | ||
| Kary Moss | (b. 1958) | 2011 | Civil rights, law, women's rights | ||
| Rose Mary Robinson | (b. 1939) | 2011 | Law, politics | ||
| Tricia Saunders | (b. 1966) | 2011 | USA Wrestling Women's Wrestler of the Year twice and the U.S. Olympic Committee Women's Wrestler of the Year three times. | ||
| Mary Aikey | (1928–2013) | 2010 | Community service, education, women's rights | ||
| Laura Carter Callow | (b. 1927) | 2010 | Women's rights | ||
| Augusta Jane Chapin |  |
(1836–1905) | 2010 | American Universalist minister, educator and activist for women's rights. | |
| Sandra Laser Draggoo | (b. 1940) | 2010 | Executive director of Capitol Area Transport Authority | ||
| Annie Etheridge | (1840–1913) | 2010 | Civil War nurse | ||
| Sherrill Freeborough | (b. 1947) | 2010 | Business | ||
| Dorean Marguerite Hurley Koenig | (b. 1934) | 2010 | Education, law | ||
| Terry McMillan |  |
(b. 1951) | 2010 | Writer | |
| Edith Munger | (1865–1945) | 2010 | Environment, bird conservationist | ||
| Cynthia J. Pasky | (b. 1959) | 2010 | Strategic Staffing Solutions | ||
| Grace Lee Boggs |  |
(1915–2015) | 2009 | Civil rights | |
| Margaret Bailey Chandler | (1929–1997) | 2009 | Native American rights | ||
| Ruth Ellis | (1899–2000) | 2009 | Business, gay rights | ||
| Edna Ferber |  |
(1885–1968) | 2009 | Pulitzer Prize winning author whose works were adapted to movies and stage productions | |
| Glenda Lappan | (b. 1939) | 2009 | Education | ||
| Kay Givens McGowan | (b. 1942) | 2009 | Native American rights, women's rights | ||
| Elizabeth Phillips | (b. 1937) | 2009 | Education | ||
| Jessica Rickert | (b. 1950) | 2009 | Dentistry, Native American rights | ||
| Betty Tableman | (b. 1922) | 2009 | Mental health | ||
| Marlo Thomas | (b. 1937) | 2009 | Community service, entertainment, women's rights | ||
| Carol Atkins | (1923–2013) | 2008 | Women's rights, writing | ||
| Patricia Cuza | (b. 1936) | 2008 | First executive director chosen by the Michigan Women's Commission | ||
| Carol King | (b. 1948) | 2008 | Film maker. Served as an aide to Maryann Mahaffey and to US Congressman John Conyers | ||
| Vicki Neiberg | (b. 1940) | 2008 | Founding member of Michigan Women's Political Caucus | ||
| Jane Johnston Schoolcraft | (1800–1842) | 2008 | First known Native American writer, granddaughter of Ojibwe chief Waubojeeg | ||
| Leta Snow | (1880–1980) | 2008 | Founded the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, president of the Kalamazoo Musical Society | ||
| Sister Mary Francilene Van de Vyver | (1941–2001) | 2008 | President Madonna University | ||
| Mary Brown | (b. 1935) | 2007 | Michigan State House of Representatives | ||
| Gertrude Buck | (1871–1922) | 2007 | Education | ||
| Emma Cole | (1845–1910) | 2007 | Environmentalist | ||
| Haifa Fakhouri | 2007 | Founder, president, and CEO of the Arab American and Chaldean Council | |||
| Carolyn Geisel | (1862–1932) | 2007 | Health care, lecturer for the Battle Creek Sanitarium | ||
| Jane Briggs Hart | (1922–2015) | 2007 | Aviator, women's rights. Tested for fitness to enter NASA's astronaut training program, submitting to the same physical and psychological tests administered to the Mercury 7 astronauts. | ||
| Abigail Rogers | (1818–1869) | 2007 | Education, women's rights | ||
| Kathleen Wilbur | (b. 1953) | 2007 | Michigan State University trustee, president Central Michigan University | ||
| Woman's Hospital Association (Charter Members) | 2007 | 114 women who signed a charter in 1896 to establish the Woman's Hospital Association | |||
| Martha Strickland Clark |  |
(1853–1935) | 2006 | First woman to argue a case before the Michigan Supreme Court. Orator on women's suffrage, temperance, and finance | |
| Mary Esther Daddazio | (1924–2015) | 2006 | Women's rights | ||
| Margery Feliksa | (1925–2001) | 2006 | Community service | ||
| Nancy Hammond | (b. 1937) | 2006 | Government, women's rights | ||
| Viola Liuzzo | (1925–1965) | 2006 | Civil Rights Activist | ||
| Marge Piercy | (b. 1936) | 2006 | Essayist, novelist, poet | ||
| Dora Hall Stockman | (1872–1948) | 2006 | Michigan House of Representatives | ||
| Helen Hornbeck Tanner | (1916–2011) | 2006 | History, Native American rights, senior research fellow at the Newberry Library in Chicago | ||
| Margaret Chiara | (b. 1943) | 2005 | United States Attorney – Western District of Michigan | ||
| Eva Lois Evans | (1935–2020) | 2005 | President of the Lansing Community College Foundation | ||
| Georgia Lewis Johnson | (b. 1930) | 2005 | Medicine, health care | ||
| Lida Holmes Mattman | (1912–2008) | 2005 | Math, science, medicine, health care | ||
| Olivia Maynard | (b. 1936) | 2005 | First woman to chair the Michigan Democratic Party | ||
| Debbie Stabenow |  |
(b. 1950) | 2005 | United States Senator | |
| Caroline Thrun | (1897–1983) | 2005 | Assistant Attorney General for Michigan; drafted the 1979 Michigan School Code | ||
| Margaret Sellers Walker | (b. 1935) | 2005 | First African American to head a division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources | ||
| Elizabeth Weaver | (1941–2015) | 2005 | 98th Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court in 1995, named Chief Justice of the Court in 1999 | ||
| Cynthia Yao | (b. 1940) | 2005 | Executive director of Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum | ||
| Geraldine Bledsoe Ford | (1926–2003) | 2004 | First black woman in the United States to be elected to a judgeship | ||
| Jennifer Mulhern Granholm |  |
(b. 1959) | 2004 | 47th Governor of Michigan | |
| Lystra Gretter | (1858–1951) | 2004 | Director of the Detroit Visiting Nurses Association | ||
| Florine Mark | 2004 | President and chief executive officer of The WW Group, Inc. | |||
| Cathy McClelland | (b. 1954) | 2004 | Founder, president, and CEO of the Detroit Entrepreneurship Institute | ||
| Constance Mayfield Rourke | (1885–1941) | 2004 | Author specializing in notable American figures and American history | ||
| Mary Agnes Blair | (1909–1982) | 2003 | Advocate for deaf and hearing-impaired children, and special education programs | ||
| Verne Burbridge | (1896–2005) | 2003 | Community service | ||
| Nellie Cuellar | (1899–1987) | 2003 | Participant in the Selma to Montgomery marches; co-chair of the southwest Detroit United Citizens | ||
| Alice Scanlan Kocel | (1920–2017) | 2003 | Michigan Department of Civil Rights, Liaison to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | ||
| Joyce Lewis Kornbluh | (b. 1928) | 2003 | Educator, activist, and advocate for improving lives of working-class individuals | ||
| Eliza Seaman Leggett | (1815–1900) | 2003 | Abolition, suffrage, women's rights | ||
| Ida Lippman | (1893–1980) | 2003 | Law enforcement | ||
| Marion Weyant Ruth | (1918–2004) | 2003 | Pioneering aviator | ||
| Bernice Steadman | (1925–2015) | 2003 | Mercury 13 astronaut | ||
| Pamela Withrow | (b. 1948) | 2003 | Law enforcement, first woman warden of a male correctional institution in Michigan. | ||
| Ruth Zweifler | (b. 1930) | 2003 | Founder of the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan | ||
| Hortense Canady | (1927–2010) | 2002 | Governor's Committee on the Status of Women, Michigan Women's Commission | ||
| Julia Wheelock Freeman | (1833–1900) | 2002 | Civil War nurse with the Michigan Soldiers Relief Association | ||
| Lillian Mellen Genser | (1920–2006) | 2002 | Peace movement, conflict resolution | ||
| May Stocking Knaggs | (1847–1917) | 2002 | Suffrage | ||
| Naomi Long Madgett | (b. 1923) | 2002 | Poet and English professor emeritus of English at Eastern Michigan University | ||
| Lucille H. McCollough |  |
(1905–1996) | 2002 | Politics | |
| Lana Pollack | (b. 1942) | 2002 | Politics | ||
| Martha Louise Rayne |  |
(1836–1911) | 2002 | Journalism | |
| Muriel Dorothy Ross | (b. 1927) | 2002 | Math, science | ||
| Cora Reynolds Anderson | (1882–1950) | 2001 | The first woman, and the first Native American, to serve in the Michigan House of Representatives | ||
| Lucile Belen | (1912–2010) | 2001 | Politics | ||
| Theresa Maxis Duchemin | (1810–1892) | 2001 | Missionary | ||
| Aretha Franklin |  |
(1942–2018) | 2001 | Entertainment | |
| Francie Kraker Goodridge | (b. 1947) | 2001 | Track and field athletic coach | ||
| Marian Bayoff Ilitch | (b. 1933) | 2001 | Co-founder of Little Caesars Pizza, owner of Detroit Red Wings, MotorCity Casino Hotel | ||
| Mary Ellen Riordan | (1920–2010) | 2001 | President Emerita of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, Local 231, AFL-CIO, | ||
| Josephine Stern Weiner | (1912–2000) | 2001 | Community service | ||
| Loney Gordon | (1915–1999) | 2000 | Helped develop the vaccine against Whooping Cough | ||
| Katherine G. Heideman | (1910–2003) | 2000 | Education | ||
| Dauris Gwendolyn Jackson | (1933–1979) | 2000 | Civil rights, education | ||
| Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy | (1923–2014) | 2000 | Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | ||
| Marjorie J. Lansing | (1916–1998) | 2000 | Education, women's rights | ||
| Chuan-Pu Lee | (1931–2016) | 2000 | Math, science | ||
| Marilyn Fisher Lundy | (1925–2014) | 2000 | Education | ||
| Katharine Dexter McCormick |  |
(1875–1967) | 2000 | Philanthropist, women's rights | |
| Kathleen N. Straus | (b. 1923) | 2000 | Civil rights | ||
| Clarissa M. Young | (1922–1979) | 2000 | Law enforcement | ||
| Patricia Beeman | (1925–1996) | 1999 | Civil rights | ||
| Olympia Brown |  |
(1835–1926) | 1999 | Religion, suffrage | |
| Doris DeDeckere | (1926–2010) | 1999 | Philanthropist, labor volunteerism | ||
| Margaret Drake Elliott | (1904–1999) | 1999 | Environment | ||
| Elizabeth Homer | (b. 1943) | 1999 | Women's rights | ||
| Eleonore Hutzel | (1885–1979) | 1999 | Medicine, health care | ||
| Ella Eaton Kellogg | (1853–1920) | 1999 | Philanthropist, nutrition, pioneer of dietetics | ||
| Emily Burton Ketcham | (1838–1907) | 1999 | Suffrage | ||
| Ardeth Platte | (b. 1936) | 1999 | Peace movement, conflict resolution | ||
| Connie Binsfeld | (1924–2014) | 1998 | 60th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan | ||
| Hilda Patricia Curran | (b. 1938) | 1998 | Director of Office of Women and Work, founding member of Women in State Government, a founding trustee of the Michigan Women's Foundation | ||
| Marie Dye | (1891–1974) | 1998 | Michigan State University professor who instituted many programs focused on home, the environment and nutrition | ||
| Eleanor M. Josaitis | (1931–2011) | 1998 | Co-founder of Focus: HOPE | ||
| Dorrie Ellen Rosenblatt | (b. 1948) | 1998 | Gerontology | ||
| Ella Merriman Sharp | (1857–1912) | 1998 | Chair Michigan Federation's Forestry Committee. Chair of the Civic Improvement Committee of the Federation of Women's Clubs. | ||
| Martha Jean Steinberg | (1927–2000) | 1998 | Black Radio Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, R&B disc jockey, station owner. Ordained minister who founded the Home of Love church. | ||
| Ruth Thompson |  |
(1887–1970) | 1998 | United States House of Representatives | |
| Lily Tomlin |  |
(b. 1939) | 1998 | Entertainment | |
| Ellen Burstyn |  |
(b. 1932) | 1997 | Entertainment | |
| Marion Corwell-Shertzer | (1931–2016) | 1997 | President of American Women in Radio and Television, Inc.; founded the Metropolitan Detroit Chapter, National School Public Relations Association | ||
| Four Sisters of Charity | 1997 | Social work | |||
| Della McGraw Goodwin | (b. 1931) | 1997 | Founding chairperson of the National Center for the Advancement of Blacks in the Health Professions (NCABHP) | ||
| Alice Hamilton |  |
(1869–1970) | 1997 | Physician, research scientist, and author | |
| Nancy Harkness Love |  |
(1914–1976) | 1997 | Director of the WW II Women's Auxiliary Ferry Squadron | |
| Maryann Mahaffey |  |
(1925–2006) | 1997 | President of Detroit City Council 1990–1998, champion of human rights | |
| Sharon E. Sutton | (b. 1941) | 1997 | Architect, Professor Emeritus at College of Built Environments | ||
| Matilda Dodge Wilson | (1883–1967) | 1997 | 43rd Lieutenant Governors of Michigan, philanthropist | ||
| Anna Clemenc |  |
(1888–1956) | 1996 | Labor activist | |
| Waunetta McClellan Dominic | (1921–1981) | 1996 | Odawa rights activist who spent her career advocating for the United States government to adhere to its treaty obligations to Native Americans. | ||
| Margaret Muth Laurence | (1916–1996) | 1996 | Trademark and copyright attorney | ||
| Claudia House Morcom | (1932–2014) | 1996 | Founding director of Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services | ||
| Betsy Graves Reyneau | (1888–1964) | 1996 | Portrait artist, focusing on African Americans | ||
| Carrie Frazier Rogers-Brown | (b. 1948) | 1996 | Medicine, health care | ||
| Shirley E. Schwartz | (b. 1935) | 1996 | Chemist and senior staff research scientist at General Motors Corporation | ||
| Joan Luedders Wolfe | (1929–2021) | 1996 | Founder of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. Member of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission, and the Governor's Advisory Committee on Electric Energy Alternatives and the first Natural Resources Trust Fund Board. | ||
| Yolanda Alvarado-Ortega | (b. 1943) | 1995 | Hispanic civil rights. Editor of El Renacimiento. Reporter for the Lansing State Journal. | ||
| Irene Auberlin | (1896–1999) | 1995 | Founder of World Medical Relief | ||
| Hilda R. Gage | (1939–2010) | 1995 | First female Chief Judge of Michigan's Oakland County Circuit Court | ||
| Lucia Voorhees Grimes | (1877–1978) | 1995 | Founded the Wayne County Republican Women's Club, and devoted her life's work to women's suffrage | ||
| R. Louise Grooms | (1902–1984) | 1995 | Founder of the Detroit Institute of Commerce with her own money, to train African American youiths with skills to enter the workplace | ||
| Odessa Komer | (1925–2004) | 1995 | Labor leader, Vice President of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) International Executive Board 1974–1992 | ||
| Laura Freele Osborn | (1866–1955) | 1995 | The first woman to hold elective office in Detroit when elected to the school board in 1917 | ||
| Jacquelin E. Washington | (b. 1931) | 1995 | First African American woman to serve as executive director of the ... Parenthood League of Southwest Michigan. Co-founder of the Sojourner Foundation | ||
| Marie-Therese Guyon Cadillac | (1671–1746) | 1994 | Business, physician; the first white woman to cross the Iroquois Territory | ||
| Ruth Carlton | (1911–2001) | 1994 | The Detroit News columnist whose work focused on adoption of hard-to-place children, resulting in government regulations. | ||
| Flossie Cohen | (1925–2004) | 1994 | Professor Emeritus at Wayne State University, founded the pediatric HIV Clinic at Children's Hospital | ||
| Bertha A. Daubendiek | (1916–2005) | 1994 | Environment, advocate of natural sanctuaries. Founder of the Michigan Nature Association. | ||
| Genora Johnson Dollinger | (1913–1995) | 1994 | Labor leader who organized the Women's Auxiliary and the Women's Emergency Brigade sit-down strike against General Motors. Memorialized in the documentary With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade. | ||
| Flora Hommel | (1928–2015) | 1994 | Founder of Childbirth Without Pain Education Association, peace activist, advocate of universal single-payer health care | ||
| Sarah Van Hoosen Jones | (1892–1972) | 1994 | First woman in the United States to earn a Doctorate in Animal Genetics. Trustee of Michigan State University. Founding member of the Oakland University Board of Trustees | ||
| Aleda E. Lutz | (1915–1944) | 1994 | W W II U. S. Army flight nurse, died in a plane crash in Lyons, France. Posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center in Saganaw honors her service. | ||
| Helen Walker McAndrew | (1826–1906) | 1994 | Washtenaw County's first woman physician | ||
| Edith Vosburgh Alvord | (1875–1962) | 1993 | Volunteerism, women's suffrage | ||
| Catherine Carter Blackwell | (1919–2014) | 1993 | Pioneered African-American studies in Detroit schools | ||
| Jean W. Campbell | (b. 1918) | 1993 | Helped found the Center for Education of Women at the University of Michigan | ||
| Katherine Hill Campbell | (1868–1942) | 1993 | Activist for prison reform | ||
| Lenna F. Cooper | (1875–1961) | 1993 | Co-founder of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) in 1917; first dietician in the United States Army | ||
| Roberta A. Griffith | (1870–1941) | 1993 | Helped to establish American Association of Workers for the Blind, and created a 6-volume Braille dictionary | ||
| Bina West Miller | (1867–1954) | 1993 | Founder of Women's Benefit Association, a nonprofit, dues-paying organization exclusively for women, pioneering life insurance for women | ||
| Jeanne Omelenchuk | (1931–2008) | 1993 | Olympic speed skater | ||
| Sippie Wallace | (1898–1986) | 1993 | Musical entertainer | ||
| Edna Noble White | (1879–1954) | 1993 | Founding director of the Merrill-Palmer Institute, childhood development advisor to the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and to the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research | ||
| Irene Clark Woodman | (1905–1994) | 1993 | Military | ||
| Cora Mae Brown | (1914–1972) | 1992 | Legislative work, criminal law, and women's rights | ||
| Mary Lou Butcher | (b. 1943) | 1992 | Journalism | ||
| Sarah Emma Edmonds |  |
(1841–1898) | 1992 | Served with the Union troops during the Civil War, passing herself off as a man | |
| Violet Temple Lewis | (1899–1968) | 1992 | Improving the status of women through education and job skills | ||
| Luise Ruth Leismer Mahon | (1926–1975) | 1992 | Journalism | ||
| Gilda Radner |  |
(1946–1989) | 1992 | Entertainer | |
| Martha Romayne Seger | (b. 1932) | 1992 | Financial Economist and Former Governor of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C. | ||
| Ann M. Shafer | (1916–1991) | 1992 | Became a union leader while working at Kellogg's in Battle Creek. Co-founder of the Coalition of Labor Union Women. Founded the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek chapters of the National Organization for Women | ||
| Sylvia M. Stoesser |  |
(1901–1991) | 1992 | Chemist, Dow Chemical Company's first female research scientist. | |
| Lucy Thurman | (1849–1918) | 1992 | Devoted 37 years to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, helping them establish a National Department of Colored work | ||
| Charleszetta Waddles | (1912–2001) | 1992 | Social work, African-American activist, Pentecostal church minister, and founder of Mother Waddles Perpetual Mission | ||
| Rachel Andresen | (1907–1988) | 1991 | Founded Youth For Understanding | ||
| Mary V. Beck | (1908–2005) | 1991 | First woman elected to the Detroit City Council, member of Wayne County Board of Supervisors | ||
| Jan BenDor | (b. 1946) | 1991 | Founder of Women's Crisis Center in Ann Arbor. Organized a boycott against Domino's Pizza for its anti-woman policies. | ||
| Janet K. Good | (1923–1997) | 1991 | Helped establish the Older Women's League (OWL) in Michigan. Actin director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the Michigan Employment Security Commission. | ||
| Jo Jacobs | (1933–2015) | 1991 | Organized the committee to Study Sex Discrimination in the Kalamazoo Public Schools. | ||
| Virginia Cecile Blomer Nordby | (b. 1929) | 1991 | Helped draft the Michigan Criminal ... Conduct Act | ||
| Dorothy Comstock Riley | (1924–2004) | 1991 | Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court 1987–1991 | ||
| Edith Mays Swanson | (1934–1989) | 1991 | Civil rights, education, Edith Swanson Leadership Award established in her honor | ||
| Emily Helen Butterfield | (1884–1958) | 1990 | Artist, and first licensed female architect in Michigan | ||
| Erma Henderson | (1917–2009) | 1990 | First African American woman elected to the Detroit City Council | ||
| Dorothy Leonard Judd | (1898–1989) | 1990 | In conjunction with the League of Women Voters, spent her life rooting out corruption and cronyism in government. | ||
| Elba Lila Morse | (1882–1975) | 1990 | Superintendent of Northern Michigan Children's Clinic. Helped found the Bay Cliff Health Camp. Worked with the American Red Cross to recruit and train workers for disaster recovery. | ||
| Fannie M. Richards | (1840–1922) | 1990 | Founded a private elementary school for black children. Pushed for school desegregation, resulting in the Michigan Supreme Court's 1871 ruling ordering desegregation. | ||
| Emelia Christine Schaub | (1891–1995) | 1990 | First female practicing prosecuting attorney in Michigan. | ||
| Mary P. Sinclair | (1918–2011) | 1990 | Authority on nuclear energy and its impact on the environment | ||
| Merze Tate | (1905–1996) | 1990 | Political science scholar, author, professor at Harvard University | ||
| Delia Villegas Vorhauer | (1940–1992) | 1990 | Hispanic civil rights | ||
| Clara Arthur |  |
(1858–1929) | 1989 | Co-founder of the Detroit Equal Suffrage Association in 1886 | |
| Anna Sutherland Bissell | (1846–1934) | 1989 | Philanthropist and CEO of Bissell Company in 1889. First woman chief executive officer in the United States. | ||
| Alexa Canady | (b. 1950) | 1989 | First African American woman in the United States to become a neurosurgeon | ||
| Anne R. Davidow | (1898–1991) | 1989 | Attorney who argued for the plaintiff in Goesaert v. Cleary before the United States Supreme Court, in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the appellees and upheld the State of Michigan's discriminatory laws regarding hiring practices of women barkeepers. US Congresswoman Martha Griffiths' support of the US Equal Rights Amendment was based on this case. | ||
| Bernadine Newsom Denning | (1930–2011) | 1989 | Human rights activist | ||
| Isabella Karle |  |
(1921–2017) | 1989 | Chemist who developed the Symbolic Addition Procedure for deriving molecular structures directly from x-ray diffraction experiments on crystals. | |
| Jean Ledwith King | (b. 1924) | 1989 | Advocate for gender equality | ||
| Olga Madar | (1915–1996) | 1989 | First woman elected to the executive board of the United Auto Workers. Under her influence, the UAW in 1970 became the first national union to endorse constitutional ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). | ||
| Mary Anne Bryant | (1845–1903) | 1989 | Born in a log cabin, she worked through the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry to improve the lives and educations of Michigan women. | ||
| Louise Brown | (1917–2011) | 1988 | Social worker, educator | ||
| Ethelene Crockett |  |
(1914–1978) | 1988 | Michigan's first African-American female board-certified OB/GYN | |
| Marcia J. Federbush | (1934–2007) | 1988 | Championed gender-equal academic and sports regulations in Michigan | ||
| Fran Harris | (1909–1998) | 1988 | First Woman To Broadcast News In Michigan | ||
| Agnes Mary Mansour | (1931–2004) | 1988 | Roman Catholic nun, president of Mercy College of Detroit, 1982 candidate for Congress | ||
| Helen Martin | (1889–1973) | 1988 | Michigan state geologist, prolific author | ||
| M. Jane Kay Nugent | (b. 1925) | 1988 | Former Vice President of Administration at Detroit Edison | ||
| Sarah Goddard Power | (1935–1987) | 1988 | Former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department | ||
| Marion Isabel Barnhart | (1921–1985) | 1987 | Medical researcher and first woman professor at Wayne State University (WSU); first recipient of the university's Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award | ||
| Patricia Hill Burnett | (1920–2014) | 1987 | Arts, women's rights; co-founded the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for Women | ||
| Ethel Calhoun | (1898–1989) | 1987 | Physician who helped pioneer the Sister Kenny method of treating Poliomyelitis | ||
| Georgia Emery | (1867–1913) | 1987 | Founder of Merrill Palmer School for Motherhood and Home Training, first director of the Women's Department of the Massachusetts Life Insurance Company | ||
| Betty Ford |  |
(1918–2011) | 1987 | First Lady of the United States | |
| Rosa Slade Gragg | (1904–1989) | 1987 | Civil rights advocate appointed in the 1940s to a national advisory post by President Franklin D. Roosevelt | ||
| Clara Raven | (1909–1994) | 1987 | First woman commissioned as American military Colonel, World War II Army Medical Corps, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner of Wayne County, 20 years research into Sudden infant death syndrome | ||
| Patricia Boyle | (1937–2014) | 1986 | Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan | ||
| Elizabeth C. Crosby | .jpg) |
(1888–1983) | 1986 | Comparative and human neuroanatomy. 1979 recipient of the President's National Medal of Science from Jimmy Carter | |
| Gwen Frostic | (1906–2001) | 1986 | Artists, illustrator | ||
| Elmina R. Lucke | (1889–1987) | 1986 | International social worker | ||
| Marjorie Swank Matthews | (1916–1986) | 1986 | First woman elected as bishop to the Methodist Church | ||
| Marjorie Peebles-Meyers | (1915–2001) | 1986 | First African-American woman to graduate from the Medical School of Wayne State University, the first to be accepted as an intern at Detroit Receiving Hospital.
and the first to become Chief Resident of a major Detroit hospital. |
||
| Mary Chase Perry Stratton | (1867–1961) | 1986 | Arts | ||
| Helen Thomas |  |
(1920–2013) | 1986 | Journalism, White House press corps | |
| Helen J. Claytor | (1907–2005) | 1984 | Civil rights, national president of the YWCA 1967–1973 | ||
| Caroline Bartlett Crane |  |
(1858–1935) | 1984 | Unitarian minister, suffragist, civic reformer, educator and journalist | |
| Virginia Allan | (1916–1999) | 1984 | Chair President Nixon's Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities. 1972 Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs | ||
| Marguerite Lofft De Angeli | (1889–1987) | 1984 | Newbery Medal for children's literature | ||
| Emma Genevieve Gillette | (1898–1986) | 1984 | Conservationist | ||
| Icie Macy Hoobler | (1892–1984) | 1984 | Biochemist. First woman chair of a local section of the American Chemical Society. Won 22 awards and honors for her laboratory's research. | ||
| Madeline La Framboise | (1779–1846) | 1984 | Early 19th century fur trader | ||
| Martha Longstreet | (1870–1953) | 1984 | Physician, community activist | ||
| Elly M. Peterson | (1914–2008) | 1984 | Republican National Committee co-chairman during the 1960s and 1970s | ||
| Jessie Pharr Slaton | (1908–1983) | 1984 | African-American attorney | ||
| Mary C. Spencer | (1842–1923) | 1984 | Michigan State Librarian 1893–1923 | ||
| Bertha Van Hoosen | (1863–1952) | 1984 | Medicine, health care, founder of the American Medical Women's Association in 1915, and the first woman to be head of a medical division at a coeducational university. | ||
| Harriette Simpson Arnow | (1907–1986) | 1983 | Novelist | ||
| N. Lorraine Beebe | (1910–2005) | 1983 | Michigan state senator | ||
| Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe | (1900–1991) | 1983 | Civil rights, politics, advocate for special education needs of children | ||
| Elizabeth Margaret Chandler |  |
(1807–1834) | 1983 | Quaker writer who incorporated abolitionism into her themes | |
| Mary Stallings Coleman | (1914–2001) | 1983 | First woman to be elected Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court . | ||
| Wilma T. Donahue | (1900–1993) | 1983 | Medicine, health care, author, and authority on Gerontology, founded International Center for Social Gerontology (ICSG) in Washington, D.C. | ||
| Grace Eldering | (1900–1988) | 1983 | Math, science, medicine, health care, along with Pearl Kendrick developed the vaccine for whooping cough | ||
| Josephine Gomon | (1892–1975) | 1983 | Medicine, health care, civil activist | ||
| Martha Griffiths |  |
(1912–2003) | 1983 | United States House of Representatives 1955–1974, guided the Equal Rights Amendment through both houses of Congress in 1972. Lt. Governor of Michigan 1983–1991 | |
| Dorothy Haener | (1917–2000) | 1983 | International Representative with the United Auto Workers International Union's Women's Department | ||
| Laura Smith Haviland |  |
(1808–1897) | 1983 | Quaker abolitionist who helped slaves escape, founded an orphanage, nursed wounded Civil War soldiers, and was active in women's suffrage. | |
| Mildred Jeffrey | (1910–2004) | 1983 | Labor and civil rights activist | ||
| Pearl Kendrick | (1890–1980) | 1983 | Math, science, medicine, health care. Along with Grace Eldering, developed the vaccine for Whooping Cough | ||
| Helen Milliken | (1922–2012) | 1983 | First Lady of Michigan, philanthropist, women's rights | ||
| Rosa Parks |  |
(1913–2005) | 1983 | Pivotal African American figure in the Civil Rights Movement | |
| Anna Howard Shaw |  |
(1847–1919) | 1983 | Suffrage, religion, medicine, health care | |
| Lucinda Hinsdale Stone | (1814–1900) | 1983 | Women's rights | ||
| Sojourner Truth |  |
(1797–1883) | 1983 | Abolition |
.png)
See also
In Spanish: Salón de la Fama de las mujeres de Míchigan para niños
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Michigan Women's Hall of Fame Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.