Virginia Women in History facts for kids

Virginia Women in History was a special program that celebrated amazing women from Virginia. It honored women, both from the past and those still living, for all the great things they did for their communities, their state, and even the whole country.

This program started in 2000. It was first supported by the Virginia Foundation for Women and the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. From 2006 to 2020, the Library of Virginia took over running the program. In 2021, it changed into a new program called "Strong Men and Women in Virginia History."

Celebrating Virginia's Amazing Women

The "Virginia Women in History" program was all about recognizing the incredible impact women have had. It showed how their actions helped shape Virginia and beyond.

What Was the Program About?

The main goal of the program was to highlight the achievements of women who made a real difference. These women came from all walks of life and contributed in many ways, like:

• Being leaders in their communities.
• Working to improve education for everyone.
• Fighting for equal rights and fairness.
• Making discoveries in science and technology.
• Creating beautiful art or music.
• Helping others through charity and social work.

Each year, a new group of women was chosen and celebrated. Their stories helped inspire others and showed the important role women play in history.

Who Were the Honorees?

Over the years, many inspiring women were honored. They came from different times and places in Virginia, and each had a unique story of courage, hard work, and dedication. Here are some of the women who were recognized:

2000 Honorees

• Ella Graham Agnew (1871–1958), Blacksburg, an educator and social worker.
• Mary Julia Baldwin (1829–1897), Staunton, an educator.
• Margaret Brent (c. 1601 – c. 1671), Stafford County, a successful landowner.
• Willa Cather (1873–1947), Frederick County, a famous writer.
• Jennie Dean (1848–1913), Manassas, an educator.
• Sarah Lee Fain (1888–1962), Norfolk, a legislator (someone who makes laws).
• Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945), Richmond, an author.
• Dolley Madison (1768–1849), Orange County, a First Lady of the United States.
• Pocahontas (c. 1596–1617), Jamestown, a Native American woman known for her role in early American history.
• Clementina Rind (c. 1740–1774), Williamsburg, a printer.
• Lila Meade Valentine (1865–1921), Richmond, a reformer and suffragist (someone who fought for women's right to vote).
• Maggie Lena Walker (1864–1934), Richmond, an entrepreneur (business owner) and civil rights leader.

2001 Honorees

• Rosa Dixon Bowser (1855–1931), Richmond, an educator and civic leader.
• Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell (1902–2004), Arlington, a pioneer in public television.
• Thomasina Jordan (1940–1999), Alexandria, an advocate for American Indians.
• Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly (1818–1907), Dinwiddie County, a seamstress and author.
• Theresa Pollak (1899–2002), Richmond, an artist and educator.
• Sally Louisa Tompkins (1833–1916), Richmond, a hospital administrator.
• Elizabeth Van Lew (1818–1900), Richmond, a spy during the Civil War.
• Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (1872–1961), Wytheville, a First Lady of the United States.

2002 Honorees

• Rebecca Adamson (born 1950), Fredericksburg, a Native American advocate and business developer.
• Janie Porter Barrett (1865–1948), Hanover County, an educator.
• Patsy Cline (1932–1963), Winchester, a famous singer.
• Hannah Lee Corbin (1728–1782), Westmoreland County, a landowner.
• Christine Mann Darden (born 1942), Hampton, an engineer.
• Lillian Ward McDaniel (1902–1981), Richmond, an educator and civic leader.
• Mary-Cooke Branch Munford (1865–1938), Richmond, a social reformer and community activist.
• Jessie Manfield Rattley (1929–2001), Newport News, a mayor and social activist.

2003 Honorees

• Nancy Langhorne Astor (1879–1964), Albemarle County, a member of the British Parliament.
• Pearl Bailey (1918–1990), Newport News, a singer and actor.
• Anna Whitehead Bodeker (1826–1904), Richmond, a woman suffrage advocate.
• Mary Ann Elliott (born 1943), Fairfax County, an entrepreneur.
• Annabelle Ravenscroft Gibson Jenkins (1827–1901), Richmond, a philanthropist (someone who gives money to good causes).
• Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864–1952), Fredericksburg, a photographer.
• Anne Dobie Peebles (1922–2012), Sussex County, a civic leader.
• Anne B. Spencer (1882–1975), Lynchburg, a poet.

2004 Honorees

• Grace Arents (1848–1926), Richmond, a philanthropist.
• Cockacoeske (fl. 1656–1686), Middle Peninsula, a Pamunkey chief.
• Katie Couric (born 1957), Arlington County, a television journalist.
• Ann Makemie Holden (1702–1788), Accomack County, a landowner.
• Mary Draper Ingles (1732–1815), New River Valley, a frontierswoman.
• Sarah Garland Boyd Jones (1866–1905), Richmond, a physician.
• Elizabeth "Annie" Snyder (1921–2002), Manassas, a preservationist (someone who works to protect historical places).
• Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (1731–1802), Fairfax County, a First Lady of the United States.

2005 Honorees

• Clara Leach Adams-Ender (born 1939), Prince William County, chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps.
• Caitlyn Day (born 1986), Craig County, a community activist.
• Bessie Blount Griffin (1914–2009), Princess Anne County, an inventor and forensic scientist.
• Nora Houston (1883–1942), Richmond, an artist and social reformer.
• Barbara Johns (1935–1991), Prince Edward County, a Civil Rights activist.
• Mary Johnston (1870–1936), Bath County, a writer and suffragist.
• Lee Marshall Smith (born 1944), Roanoke, a writer.
• Mary Belvin Wade (1951–2003), Richmond, a civic leader.

2006 Honorees

• Katherine Harwood Waller Barrett (1865–1948), Henrico County, a physician and educator.
• Sister Marie Majella Berg (1916–2004), Arlington County, president of Marymount University.
• John-Geline MacDonald Bowman (1890–1946), Richmond, a business executive.
• Grace Brewster Murray Hopper (1906–1992), Arlington County, a computer scientist and rear admiral.
• Mary Tyler Freeman Cheek McClenahan (1917–2005), Richmond, a civic leader.
• Benita Fitzgerald Mosley (born 1961), Haymarket, a media executive and Olympic gold medalist.
• G. Anne Nelson Richardson (born 1956), King and Queen County, a Rappahannock chief.
• Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune (1830–1922), Amelia County, a writer.

2007 Honorees

• Mary Willing Byrd (1740–1814), Charles City County, a landowner.
• Maybelle Addington Carter (1909–1978), Scott County, a singer.
• Laura Lu Scherer Copenhaver (1868–1940), Smyth County, founder of Rosemont Industries and Lutheran lay leader.
• Mary Alice Franklin Hatwood Futrell (born 1940), Lynchburg, an educator.
• Mary Jeffery Galt (1844–1922), Norfolk, a preservationist.
• Sheila Crump Johnson (born 1949), Loudoun County, founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and sports franchise owner.
• Opossunoquonuske (fl. 1607–1610), Chesterfield County, an Appamattuck leader.
• Camilla Williams (1919–2012), Danville, an opera singer.

2008 Honorees

• Frances Culpeper Berkeley (baptized 1634–c. 1695), James City County, a leader of the Green Spring faction.
• Lucy Goode Brooks (1818–1900), Richmond, founder of the Friends' Asylum for Colored Orphans.
• Providencia Velazquez Gonzalez (1917–2013), Dale City, a community activist.
• Elizabeth Bermingham Lacy (born 1945), Richmond, a judge of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
• Sharyn McCrumb (born 1948), Roanoke County, a writer.
• Patricia Buckley Moss (born 1933), Waynesboro, an artist and philanthropist.
• Isabel Wood Rogers (1924–2007), Richmond, a moderator for the Presbyterian Church (USA).
• Edith Turner (Wané Roonseraw) (c. 1754–1838), Southampton County, a chief of the Nottoway (Cheroenhaka).

2009 Honorees

• Pauline Adams (1874–1957), Norfolk, a suffragist.
• Caroline Bradby Cook (c. 1839 – after 1910), King William County, a Pamunkey leader and Unionist.
• Claudia Emerson (1957–2014), Fredericksburg, a poet.
• Drew Gilpin Faust (born 1947), Clarke County, a historian and president of Harvard University.
• Joann Hess Grayson (born 1948), Harrisonburg, an educator and advocate for abused children.
• Mary Randolph (1762–1828), Chesterfield County and Richmond, a writer.
• Virginia Estelle Randolph (1874–1958), Henrico County, an educator.
• Mary Sue Terry (born 1947), Patrick County, an attorney general.

2010 Honorees

• Mollie Holmes Adams (1881–1973), King William County, an Upper Mattaponi leader.
• Ethel Bailey Furman (1893–1976), Richmond, an architect.
• Edythe C. Harrison (born 1934), Norfolk, a civic leader.
• Janis Martin (1940–2007), Danville, a singer and composer.
• Kate Mason Rowland (1840–1916), Richmond, a writer.
• Jean Miller Skipwith (1748–1826), Mecklenburg County, a book collector.
• Queena Stovall (1888–1980), Lynchburg and Amherst County, an artist.
• Marian A. Van Landingham (born 1937), Alexandria, a civic leader.

2011 Honorees

• Lucy Addison (1861–1937), Roanoke, an educator.
• Eleanor Bontecou (1891–1976), Arlington County, an attorney.
• Emily White Fleming (1855–1941), Fredericksburg, a preservationist.
• Pearl Fu (born 1941), Roanoke, a civic leader.
• Lillian Lincoln Lambert (born 1940), Mechanicsville, a businesswoman and author.
• Bessie Niemeyer Marshall (1884–1960), Petersburg, a botanical illustrator.
• Felicia Warburg Rogan (born 1927), Albemarle County, a vintner (wine producer).
• Elizabeth Henry Campbell Russell (1749–1825), Saltville, a Methodist lay leader.

2012 Honorees

Monica Beltran, a soldier in the Virginia Army National Guard who was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, one of the 2012 honorees.

• Susie May Ames (1888–1969), Accomack County, a historian.
• Monica Beltran (born 1985), Woodbridge, an army Bronze Star Medal recipient.
• Christiana Burdett Campbell (c. 1723–1792), Williamsburg, an innkeeper.
• Betty Sams Christian (1922–2006), Richmond, a business executive and philanthropist.
• Elizabeth Peet McIntosh (1915–2015), Woodbridge, an intelligence agent.
• Orleana Hawks Puckett (died 1939), Patrick and Carroll Counties, a midwife.
• Judith Shatin (born 1949), Charlottesville, a composer.
• Alice Jackson Stuart (1913–2001), Richmond, a principal in a 1935 civil rights turning point.

2013 Honorees

• Mary C. Alexander (1893–1955), Lynchburg, an aviator (pilot).
• Louise A. Reeves Archer (1893–1948), Vienna, an educator.
• Elizabeth Ambler Brent Carrington (1765–1842), Richmond, a civic leader.
• Ann Compton (born 1947), Roanoke, a news correspondent.
• JoAnn Falleta (born 1954), Norfolk, a musician.
• Cleo Powell (born 1957), Brunswick County, a judge.
• Inez Pruitt (born 1962), Tangier Island, a physician assistant.
• Eva Mae Fleming Scott (1926–2019), Amelia County, a legislator.

2014 Honorees

• Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802–1896), Fredericksburg, an antislavery activist.
• Naomi Silverman Cohn (1888–1982), Richmond, a civic activist.
• Elizabeth Ashburn Duke (born 1952), Virginia Beach, a banker.
• Rachel Findlay (c. 1750–d. after August 17, 1820), Wythe County, a principal in a freedom suit.
• Christine Herter Kendall (1890–1981), Bath County, an artist and patron of the arts.
• Mildred Delores Jeter Loving (1939–2008), Caroline County, a principal in a 1967 civil rights turning point.
• Deborah A. "Debbie" Ryan (born 1952), Albemarle County, a basketball coach and cancer treatment advocate.
• Stoner Winslett (born 1958), Richmond, an artistic director and choreographer.

2015 Honorees

• Nancy Melvina Caldwell (1868–1956), Carroll County, a legislator.
• Nikki Giovanni (born 1943), Blacksburg, a poet.
• Ruth Coles Harris (born 1928), Richmond, a business professor.
• Dorothy Shoemaker McDiarmid (1906–1994), Fairfax County, a legislator.
• Rebekah Dulaney Peterkin (1849–1891), Richmond, a philanthropist.
• Vivian W. Pinn (born 1941), Lynchburg, a pathologist and women's health advocate.
• Elizabeth Bray Allen, also known as Elizabeth Bray Allen Smith Stith (c. 1692–1774), Isle of Wight County, a landowner and philanthropist.
• Karenne Wood (1960–2019), Fluvanna County, a Virginia Indian scholar and advocate.

2016 Honorees

• Flora D. Crittenden (1924–2021), Newport News, an educator and legislator.
• Mary Elizabeth Nottingham Day (1907–1956), Staunton, an artist.
• Sarah A. Gray (c. 1847–1893), Alexandria, an educator.
• Edwilda Gustava Allen Isaac (1937–2022), Farmville, a civil rights pioneer.
• Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson (1918–2020), Hampton, a mathematician who worked for NASA.
• Ana Ines Barragan King (born 1957), Richmond, founder and Artistic Director of the Latin Ballet of Virginia.
• Betty Masters (1929–2015), Salem, a photojournalist.
• Meyera Oberndorf (1941–2015), Virginia Beach, a mayor.

2017 Honorees

• Corazon Sandoval Foley (born 1950), Fairfax County, a community activist.
• Nora Houston (1883–1942), Richmond, an artist and social reformer.
• Cynthia Eppes Hudson (born 1959), Nottoway County, Chief Deputy Attorney General of Virginia.
• Mary Virginia Jones (born 1940), Prince William County, a mechanical engineer.
• Louise Harrison McCraw (1893–1975), Buckingham, an author and executive secretary of the Braille Circulating Library.
• Doris Crouse-Mays (born 1958), Wythe County, a labor leader.
• Undine Smith Moore (1904–1989), Ettrick, an educator and composer.
• Martha Rollins (born 1943), Richmond, a community activist and philanthropist.

2018 Honorees

• Gaye Todd Adegbalola (born 1944), a blues singer and guitarist, teacher, lecturer, activist, and photographer.
• Rita Dove (born 1952), a poet and essayist.
• Isabella Gibbons (d. 1890), a teacher and minister.
• Marii Kyogoku Hasegawa (1918–2012), a peace activist.
• Kay Coles James (born 1949), president of the Heritage Foundation.
• Barbara Kingsolver (born 1955), a novelist.
• Mary Aydelotte Rice Marshall (1921–1992), a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
• Temperance Flowerdew Yeardley (d. 1628), an early settler of the Jamestown Colony.

2019 Honorees

• Sharifa Alkhateeb (1946–2004), a Muslim writer and teacher.
• Queen Ann (Pamunkey chief) (fl. 1706–1712), a Pamunkey chief.
• Claudia Lane Dodson (1941–2007), a women's sports advocate.
• India Hamilton (c. 1879 – 1950), an educator.
• Georgeanna Seegar Jones (1912–2005), an American physician who helped pioneer in vitro fertilization in the United States.
• Ona Maria Judge (c. 1773 – 1848), a person who escaped from slavery from President George Washington's home.
• Lucy Randolph Mason (1882–1959), a civil rights activist, labor activist, and suffragette.
• Kate Peters Sturgill (1907–1975), a musician and folk song collector.

2020 Honorees

• Pauline Adams (1874–1957), a suffragist.
• Fannie Bayly King (1864–1951), a social reformer and suffragist.
• Elizabeth Dabney Langhorne Lewis (1851–1946), a suffragist.
• Sophie G. Meredith (1851–1928), a suffragist.
• Josephine Mathes Norcom (1873–1927), a community activist and suffragist.
• Mary Elizabeth Pidgeon (1890–1979), a suffragist and labor economist.
• Ora Brown Stokes (1882–1957), an educator, probation officer, temperance worker, and clubwoman.
• Lila Meade Valentine (1865–1921), a reformer and suffragist.
• Maggie Lena Mitchell Walker (1864–1934), an entrepreneur and civil rights leader.