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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 85 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Famous Women
Frances Perkins. She was Secretary of Labor during Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration.
53 cents. African-American women did a bit better. They earned {$64} cents for every dollar earned by a white male.
| What President's wife pleaded that he should 'remember the women' when devising policy and legislation? | Women's History and Facts
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Abigail Adams. She was an early feminist and well aware of the need for Women's Rights.
| According to the report "Women's Earnings in 2008", which kind of American woman suffers least from the gender pay gap? | Women's History and Facts
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A woman who has never married compared to a man who has never married. The report, published in 2009, declared that overall, women's income was 80% of that earned by men. This was up from 62% thirty years earlier. However, there were considerable differences in this wage gap depending on the demographic that the woman fell into.
Women aged between 35 and 44, on average earned 77% of the amount that men of the same age earned. For older women the gap was greater, although it was smaller for the 25-34 age group and smallest, with a gap of just 9%, for the 16-24 group.
The smallest gap came when women who had never married were compared against their male equivalents. On average the women in this group earned more than 94% of the salary commanded by their male equivalents, although the average wage for unmarried men and woman is significantly smaller than that of married men and women.
Antonia Novello. Novello served in the position from 1999 to 2006 raised national awareness in the medical profession about domestic violence.
| Who was the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at the convention of a major political party? | Famous Women's Claim to Fame
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Barbara Jordan. Jordan was the first and only African-American legislator in the Texas senate. She was a strong defender of the poor. Jordan was the keynote speaker at the Democrat National Convention.
Sacajawea. Sacajawea was the only Shoshone woman and guide on the Lewis and Clark expedition 1804-1806. She served as an interpreter-liaison with other tribes. Captured as a child by Mandan, she lived most of her life with them.
Wilma Mankiller. Mankiller held the position from 1985 to 1995. She brought about important programs including improved health and education programs.
Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe was an author and daughter of a minister. She wrote 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' in 1852.
| Who was the congresswoman from Michigan who successfully added sex discrimination as a resolution in the 1962 Civil Rights Act? | Famous Women's Claim to Fame
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Martha Wright Griffith. Griffith served from 1955-1975. She fought and won important victories for equal rights for women and minorities.
Rachel Carson. Rachel Carson had great concern over the damaging effects of pesticides and other poisons on our crops.
A ' New York World ' reporter. Nellie Bly was a reporter for the newspaper 'New York World'. She began an around-the-world voyage to beat the record of Phineas Fogg, the hero of Jules Verne's novel. She returned 72 days later setting a record time.
Jane Addams. Hull House was a refuge for the poor women and children in the Chicago slums. Jane Addams was a pacifist, and this caused her reputation to suffer. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Mary Baker Eddy. Mary Baker Eddy was the first woman to found a religion in the USA.
Mette-Marit. Crown Prince Haakon wed Crown Princess Mette-Marit in 2001. Mette-Marit has a son, Marius, from a previous relationship.
Princess Martha Louise is the sister of Crown Prince Haakon.
Sonja is the wife and queen consort of King Harald V of Norway.
Margrethe is the Queen regnant of Denmark.
Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina was Queen of the Netherlands for 58 years and 50 days. She abdicated in 1948 in favor of her daughter, Juliana. If she had not abdicated, at her death she would have ruled for 72 years and 5 days, making her the second longest monarch in history after Louis XIV of France.
In 1980 Queen Juliana, like her mother, abdicated in favor of her daughter, Beatrix.
Catharina-Amalia is the young granddaughter of Beatrix.
Maria Antonia. Maria Antonia, fifteenth of sixteen children of Maria Theresa, married the future Louis XVI of France and changed her name to Marie Antoinette. During the French Revolution, both Louis and Marie Antoinette were guillotined for treason in 1793.
Maria Caroline, Maria Amalia and Maria Anna were all sisters of Marie Antoinette and daughters of Maria Theresa.
Anne. The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed by the Act of Union in 1707 which merged England and Scotland. Anne was the queen at this time, and was the last Stuart monarch. The crown went to her cousin George I of the House of Hanover upon her death in 1714.
James I of England and VI of Scotland adopted the title of King of Great Britain on ascending the throne of England in 1603. However, as there was no Kingdom of Great Britain at the time, it was a 'style', a geographical description - and a demonstration of his self-importance. Although it was opposed by the English Parliament he had this 'style' put on the coins of England and Scotland.
Elizabeth I and Mary I were half-sisters and daughters of Henry VIII. They both were queens of England, but not Great Britain.
Matilda was the rightful heir of King Henry I in the twelfth century but was usurped by her cousin Stephen. She ruled for only a few months.
| Which noblewoman is considered one of the most important women of the Italian Renaissance and is the subject of a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci? | Famous Noblewomen in History
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Isabella d'Este. Isabella, daughter of the Duke of Ferrara, married Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. She was extremely well educated, which was unusual for a noblewoman at this time. The artists Raphael and Mantegna frequented her court at Mantua, and she was painted twice by Titian. The drawing of her by Leonardo da Vinci is currently in the Louvre. After her husband's death, she was regent for her eldest son and made her younger son a cardinal. She also helped elevate Mantua to a duchy.
Caterina Sforza was the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Milan and died in 1509.
Lucrezia Borgia, a contemporary of Isasbella and Beatrice, was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and sister of the infamous Cesare Borgia.
Marie de' Medici was the second wife of King Henry IV of France and lived 1573-1642.
| Which warrior queen, at the time much admired by the Catholic Church, expelled the remaining Jews and Muslims from her country? | Famous Noblewomen in History
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Isabella of Castile. Isabella, Queen of Castile in her own right, married King Ferdinand of Aragon. While best known for funding Columbus's expeditions to the New World, the darker side to her reign saw her beginning the Inquisition in 1478 to persecute those not of the Catholic faith. In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand expelled all the Jews and Muslims in Spain who refused to convert to Catholicism. For their work, Pope Alexander VI named Isabella and Ferdinand "The Catholic Monarchs". Her youngest child, Catherine of Aragon, went on to marry Henry VIII and continued to remain firm in her mother's faith after Henry broke from the Catholic Church.
Juana la Loca was Isabella and Ferdinand's daughter who became Queen of Castile after her mother's death.
Mary I of England was Isabella's granddaughter through Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. She was a dedicated Catholic, but her persecutions of Protestants earned her the nickname "Bloody Mary".
Maria of Spain was the great-granddaughter of Isabella and was Queen of Spain with her husband Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor (Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right) was married first to Louis VI of France. After her divorce, she married Henry II of England. Two of her sons became Richard I (the Lionheart) and John, both kings of England. She died in 1204 at the age of 82.
Isabella of Angouleme was the wife of Eleanor's son, King John, and considered one of the most beautiful women of the Middle Ages.
Catherine de' Medici was the wife of King Henry II of France and the mother of three kings.
Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England and was luckily divorced instead of beheaded when her husband wished to get rid of her.
| Who is the former actress and courtesan who married a powerful ruler and helped save his empire from rioting citizens intent on destroying her husband? | Famous Noblewomen in History
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Theodora. Theodora, who lived in the mid 500s CE, was was a popular theater performer and courtesan who caught the eye of the Emperor Justinian I. He made Theodora co-ruler of the Byzantine Empire and contemporary reports considered her to be smarter than any man.
Valeria Messalina was the third wife of the Emperor Claudius and lived approximately 20-48 CE.
Fabia Eudokia was the wife of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, who ruled in the seventh century.
Galla Placidia, who lived in the fifth century, was the daughter of Roman Emperor Theodosius I and has a beautiful mausoleum dedicated to her in Ravenna.
| Which wife of the first Roman Emperor was so powerful and intelligent that she became an influential advisor to her husband and sometimes acted as regent? | Famous Noblewomen in History
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Livia Drusilla. Livia was the wife of Octavian (also known as Augustus) and became the model for the ideal Roman woman. After her death at the age of 86, Livia was deified by her grandson, Emperor Claudius, and is sometimes known as Julia Augusta.
Calpurnia Pisonis was the third wife of Julius Caesar.
Servilia Caepionis was the mother of Brutus and one of Caesar's mistresses. Agrippina Major (Agrippina the Elder) was the daughter of Julia, Octavian's only surviving child, and was the mother of the Emperor Caligula.
| One of history's earliest queens regnant, this woman reigned over Egypt for approximately twenty-two years after the death of her husband (and half-brother). Who was it? | Famous Noblewomen in History
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Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut had herself crowned pharaoh and took to wearing the false beard which was traditionally worn by the rulers of Egypt. She lived in the mid 1450s BCE.
Cleopatra I lived approximately 215-176 BCE and was married to Ptolemy V. Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten and lived in the mid 1300s BCE. Berenice I was the mother of Ptolemy II and lived during the 300s BCE.
| Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, one of the largest endeavors started by a woman, included forays into publishing, television and textiles. Do you know what Ms. Stewart's first job was after finishing college? (Hint: when it came to the crime that landed her in prison she should have known better) | Famous Women in Business
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Stockbroker. After graduating from Barnard College, Stewart was a stockbroker on Wall Street from 1967-73 with the firm Monness, Williams, and Sidel. Previously, she had worked as a model with ads such as the Tarreyton cigarettes "I'd rather fight than switch" campaign to her credit. In 1975 she founded The Uncatered Affair, a catering firm in her hometown of Westport, Connecticut. When her book editor husband Andy Stewart got her a contract to publish a cookbook she was off and running.
| This remarkable woman born in 1867 to ex-slaves built a business empire based on her line of hair products for black women. She is cited as the first American female to become a millionaire in her own right. Though born Sarah Breedlove, she is better known today by what name? | Famous Women in Business
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Madam C.J. Walker. Walker acquired her name upon marriage to Charles Joseph Walker in the early 1900s. Having developed a scalp condition that caused her to lose her hair around 1890, Madam Walker experimented with home-made remedies and began a door-to-door sales campaign with her 'Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower' in the American South. Pittsburgh became the home base for her wide range of products including hair care, cosmetics and beauty schools. Her company employed as many as 3,000 people at its peak.
| Tamara Mellon started life in the rarified world of upper-class London but went on to found one of the most famous designer shoe companies in the world. Do you know the name of the company Mellon started that is now synonomous with designer footwear? (Hint: these shoes are mentioned by Adriana in "The Sopranos" and Anne Hathaway in "The Devil Wears Prada" as their favorites) | Famous Women in Business
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Jimmy Choo Ltd.. Born Tamara Yeardye in 1967, Mellon worked in public relations and as an assistant editor at "Vogue". Her official biography on the Jimmy Choo website states that she perceived a gap in the luxury ready-to-wear shoe market and approached Choo, a well regarded London shoemaker, about collaborating on a collection. She was briefly married to an heir of the famous Mellon banking family and retained his name after their divorce.
| According to Cokie Roberts' book "Founding Mothers" (2004) while this woman's husband received credit for establishing America's first postal service it was left to her to actually run the venture during his long absences abroad. Can you spot the woman who may have been the country's first Postmistress General? | Famous Women in Business
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Deborah Read Franklin. Deborah Franklin's able management of the many family businesses is cited by Roberts as allowing Ben Franklin the financial means to pursue an active role in national and international politics in the American Revolutionary War period, including living in Europe for almost 20 years. Her daughter Sally Franklin was Deborah's assistant for many years, even delaying her own marriage until a suitable replacement (male of course) could be found.
| Anita Roddick founded this company in 1976 with a single shop in Brighton, England that eventually grew to more than 2,000 retail outlets worldwide. She used her fame to champion causes like ending animal testing and was a pioneer in the concept of ethical, green consumerism. What was Roddick's highly successful chain? | Famous Women in Business
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The Body Shop. In her "New York Times" obituary, Roddick (1942-2007) was characterized as one of the UK's most visible business leaders who believed companies could be run ethically and with moral leadership and still turn a profit. She cited her travels to Tahiti, Australia and South Africa, where she saw people rubbing their bodies with cocoa butter and mud, as changing her ideas about skin care.
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