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 so ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, 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, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

in a public ceremony. The event is held on

Women's Equality Day file:Women’s Equality Day (30004393205).jpg, Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo, Barbara Lee and Jackie Speier on the 96th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, when women won the right to vote. Women's Equality Day is celebrated in th ...

, which commemorates the August 26, 1920, ratification of the

Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its U.S. state, states from denying the Suffrage, right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recogni ...

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 The Iowa State Patrol (ISP) is the state patrol organization in the state of Iowa. Currently, there are just over 267 officers in the patrol, roughly 183 troopers short of their authorized strength of 455. The State is broken int16 Districts The ...

; 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 associa ...

; 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 Woma ...

, and founder of the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (born Carrie Clinton Lane; January 9, 1859#Fowler, 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 t ...

; and

Annie Turner Wittenmyer Annie Turner Wittenmyer (August 26, 1827 – February 2, 1900) was an American charitable organization leader, known for social reform, relief work, and her writing. She served as the first National President of the Woman's Christian Temperance ...

who founded the

Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

, formed an aid society to support Union Army soldiers during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, 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 (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

of contributions by the state's women. Two First Ladies of the United States,

Lou Henry Hoover Lou Henry Hoover (March 29, 1874 – January 7, 1944) was an American philanthropist, geologist, and the first lady of the United States from 1929 to 1933 as the wife of President Herbert Hoover. She was active in community organizations and v ...

and

Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was 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 in Colo ...

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 S ...

veteran

Rosa Cunningham Rosa Ethel Cunningham (February 19, 1890May 25, 1987) was an American soldier and civil rights advocate. She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. Biography Cunningham was born on February 19, 1890, in Kansas City, Missouri, to paren ...

in 1980 and by former

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Judge Advocate General officer Phyllis Propp Fowle in 2001.

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

era anti-war activist

Peg Mullen Margaret Ellen Mullen (née Goodyear; June 11, 1917 – October 2, 2009) was an American antiwar activist who was motivated to protest after her son was killed in Vietnam by shrapnel fired from friendly artillery in 1970. She became an active o ...

was inducted in 1997.

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winner

Susan Glaspell Susan Keating Glaspell (July 1, 1876 – July 28, 1948) was an American playwright, novelist, journalist and actress. With her husband George Cram Cook, she founded the Provincetown Players, the first modern American theatre company. First know ...

was a 1976 inductee.

Hualing Nieh Engle Hualing Nieh Engle (11 January 1925 – 21 October 2024), née Nieh Hua-ling (), was a Chinese novelist, fiction writer, and poet. She was a professor emerita at the University of Iowa. Early life and education Nieh Hua-ling was born on 11 Janu ...

, who in 1976 was co-nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

, 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 (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

for her legal assistance to the farm community.

Inductees

References

External links

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame official site

Mildred Wirt Benson Collection
{{Authority control Women's halls of fame Lists of American women History of women in Iowa Halls of fame in Iowa Women's Hall of Fame