Women and Adversity: Alice Guy-Blaché First Woman Film Director

Alice Guy-Blaché, First woman director and film company owner (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Alice_Guy.jpg) Women and Adversity: Alice Guy-Blaché First Woman Film Director First Woman to own a Film Company The film industry emerged more than a century ago, but few people know that French-born Alice Guy-Blaché influenced its development. She was the first woman to direct films and the first…

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Women and Adversity: Margaret E. Knight, ‘Woman Edison’ Inventor of Machines

Margaret E. Knight, Inventor (Boston Sunday Post, March 31, 1912, p. 4) Women and Adversity: Margaret E. Knight   ‘Woman Edison’ Inventor of Machines Margaret “Mattie” Eloise Knight is quoted as saying, “I’m only sorry I couldn’t have had as good a chance as a boy.” Knight wasn’t like the average girl who played with dolls and wanted to be a wife and mother. Her world revolved around tools and…

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Women and Adversity: Marion Donovan Inventor of Disposable Diapers

                       Marion Donovan Marion O’Brien Donovan (Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History © Smithsonian Institution) Inventor of Disposable Diapers Marion Donovan is known for inventing the disposable diaper, but Victor Mills took her idea and founded Pampers. Since her mother died when Marion was seven, she grew up spending lots of time in the factory her father…

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Women and Adversity: Margaret Keane Artist: Creator of “Big Eyes” paintings

     Once Upon a Time by Margaret Keane, http://www.keane-eyes.com Women and Adversity: Margaret Keane Artist: Creator of “Big Eyes” paintings Margaret Keane was duped! She didn’t realize her husband, Walter Keane, was taking credit for her paintings until she was with him at The Hungry i club in San Francisco where he was selling them. Even after she found out, she allowed him to continue taking…

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Women and Adversity: Esther Lederberg Microbiologist: Pioneer in Bacterial Genetics Discovered Lambda Phage virus

Esther Lederberg, Microbiologist (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category: Esther_Lederberg) Women and Adversity: Esther Lederberg Microbiologist: Pioneer in Bacterial Genetics  Discovered Lambda Phage virus Few people know what lambda phage virus is, but Esther Lederberg discovered it in 1951. This discovery is said to have revolutionized how to understand viruses. I have no intention of…

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Women and Adversity: Amy Vine, Founder of Urban Vine and Promise Land Farm

Amy Vine, Founder, Urban Vine Botanical Center (Photo by Jo Ann Mathews) Women and Adversity: Amy Vine, Founder Urban Vine Botanical Center Amy Vine of Clarkston, Michigan wanted to provide activities and employment for her son and her adopted brother and sister, all of whom have special needs. With vocational programs closing in Michigan, these young people had limited choices. Vine believes…

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Women and Adversity: Ada Harris Inventor of the Hair Straightener

Photo by Rose Heichelbech (https://listverse.com/2021/09/17/10-inventions-and-theories-made-biy-women-but credited-to-men) Women and Adversity: Ada Harris Inventor of the Hair Straightener  At least 30 women were deprived of glory when men either stole their ideas or were given credit for what women discovered. Since this is Black History Month, I’m featuring Ada Harris, who invented the hair…

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Women and Adversity: Mary Hemphill, Ph.D., Educator, Leadership Coach

Mary Hemphill, Ph.D. Educator, Leadership Coach Women and Adversity: Mary Hemphill, Ph.D. Educator, Leadership Coach  I heard Dr. Mary Hemphill speak at the Brunswick County, North Carolina, Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Impact Brunch and knew I had to feature her on my blog. She emphasizes that every woman can overcome adversity and reach her goals. When she was 36 years old, she founded…

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Women and Adversity: My Interview for writersonthemove.com

Slide from Dr. Mary Hemphill presentation, Chamber of Commerce Women of Impact, Brunswick County, NC. Women and Adversity: My Interview for writersonthemove.com I was honored to be featured in writersonthemove.com by Suzanne Lieurance, author of 40 books and a writing coach. The complete interview is available at…

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Women and Adversity: Welcome, 2024!

WOMEN AND ADVERSITY: WELCOME, 2024! This year marks the 10th anniversary of me writing Women and Adversity. As I stated in my initial 2023 post, I started this blog to promote women writers and praise their achievements. I expanded past authors and have included musicians, athletes and businesswomen. In 2023 I featured women in politics across the globe and ended with the four women who won a…

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Women and Adversity: Adele Myers, novelist The Tobacco Wives

Adele Myers, Novelist Women and Adversity: Adele Myers, novelist The Tobacco Wives My last blog post in December is always a repeat of one I posted during the year, and this year I want to reprint my blog on Adele Myers. The reason is because she’s a North Carolina native, and her debut novel, The Tobacco Wives, is an excellent read. Pelican Bookstore in Sunset Beach, North Carolina scheduled…

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Women and Adversity: Karen C. Whalen, Novelist

     Women and Adversity: Karen C. Whalen, Novelist Friends Come to Call, Karen C. Whalen’s fourth novel in her Tow Truck Murder Mysteries, captivates the reader to the very end. Mystery, romance and intrigue combine to make the reader question, deliberate and draw conclusions, although not necessarily the solution to the mystery. With the Christmas theme, it’s a perfect gift to engross teens…

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Women and Adversity: Anne L’Huillier, 2023 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics

Anne L’Huillier, Nobel Prize in Physics (Anne_LHuiller_01-creative-commkons-attribution-share-alike-3.0-e1700165867760.jpg) Happy Thanksgiving Subscribe to my blog via email at the bottom of http://www.jamathews.com/blog Women and Adversity: Anne L’Huillier 2023 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics Anne L’Huillier was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics and is the  fourth woman to win a Nobel Prize in…

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Women and Adversity: Claudia Goldin, 2023 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics

Claudia Goldin, Nobel Prize in Economics (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Claudia_Goldin_Headshot.jpg) Subscribe to my blog via email at the bottom of http://www.jamathews.com/blog Women and Adversity: Claudia Goldin 2023 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Claudia Goldin is the third woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics, and the first woman to receive it without sharing it with another…

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Women and Adversity: Narges Mohammadi, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Narges Mohammadi, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner (Wikimedia Commons) Subscribe to my blog via email at the bottom of http://www.jamathews.com/blog Women and Adversity: Narges Mohammadi 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Winner The suppression of women in Iran goes beyond what any American woman can imagine. Maybe you were passed up for a job, like I was, because a man applied, but to be jailed because you…

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Women and Adversity: Katalin Karikó 2023 Winner of Nobel Prize in Medicine

Katalin Karikó, Nobel Prize in Medicine (httpscommons.wikimedia.orgwindex.phpcurid98114553-e1696875740748.jpeg) Women and Adversity: Katalin Karikó 2023 Winner of Nobel Prize in Medicine Katalin “Kati” Karikó’s scientific pursuit is a journey of determination. She believed in her research of mRNA technology despite countless humiliations. That determination paid off October 2 when she won the…

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