March 8 is International Women’s Day, so in celebration, here are ten more sorority women whose membership surprises many people. This group has international ties.
Mildred “Micky” Tuttle Axton (1919-2010), Alpha Delta Pi. American aviator and test pilot. She was one of the first three Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) to be trained as a test pilot and was the first woman to fly a B-29.
Margaret Bourke-White (1904-71), Alpha Omicron Pi. Photographer.
Louise Bryant (1885-1936), Chi Omega. Journalist. The 1981 film Reds tells the story of Bryant’s time with John Reed.
Pearl Buck (1892-1973), Kappa Delta. Author. She grew up in China. The Good Earth won the 1932 Pulitzer Prize. In 1938, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Lillian Copeland (1904-64), Alpha Epsilon Phi. At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, she won a Gold medal in the discus competition.
Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976), Pi Beta Phi. Pioneering photographer. During 1909-10, she studied in Germany on a Pi Beta Phi Fellowship. That year helped shape her career. See wp.me/p20I1i-eg for more info.
Imogen Cunningham
N. Jan Davis, Ph.D., Alpha Xi Delta. Astronaut.
Dian Fossey, Ph.D. (1932-85), Kappa Alpha Theta. Zoologist.
Anna McCune Harper (1902-99), Sigma Kappa. Tennis player. She was a Wimbledon tennis champion in 1931 and won other numerous state and national tennis championships. She served as national president of Sigma Kappa from 1939-42. See wp.me/p20I1i-1dm
Jessie Wilson Sayre (1887-1933), Gamma Phi Beta. Political Activist. Daughter of Woodrow and Edith Wilson. She was active in women’s suffrage and social issues.
Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch (1867-1951), Kappa Kappa Gamma. In 1902, she founded and served as Director of the non-sectarian Greenwich House Settlement in New York City.
Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch
Here is my first post about ten women whose membership in a National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organization surprises many people. http://wp.me/p20I1i-1sy. The women included in that post are:
Mary Ritter Beard (1876-1958), Kappa Alpha Theta, DePauw University.
Carrie Lane Chapman Catt (1859-1947), Pi Beta Phi, University of Iowa.
Laurel Salton Clark, M.D. (1961-2003), Gamma Phi Beta, Wisconsin-Madison.
Ada Comstock Notestein (1876-1973), Delta Gamma, University of Minnesota.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Cornell University.
Betsey Johnson, Alpha Xi Delta, Syracuse University.
Alice Duer Miller (1874-1942), Kappa Kappa Gamma, Barnard College.
Condoleezza Rice, Ph.D., Alpha Chi Omega, University of Denver.
Pat Summitt, Chi Omega, University of Tennessee-Martin.
Frances Willard (1839-98), Alpha Phi, Syracuse University (Honorary).
Please visit my Pinterest page with information on more than 225 sorority/fraternity women http://www.pinterest.com/glohistory/notable-sorority-women/
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved.
