Last week, the United States celebrated the 95th anniversary of women’s right to vote, a milestone made possible by the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Kentucky was the 23rd state to ratify that amendment, but it did not clear its final legislative hurdle until Tennessee became the 36th in Aug. 1920. Interestingly, that decision was a close one, occurring only when a young legislator voted in favor at the request of his mother.
A year later, Mary Elliott Flanery of Boyd County became the first woman from the South to be elected to a state legislature. She was certainly ready for the challenge; “I can hold my own with the boys when I get to Frankfort,” she reportedly said.
Kentucky has many other women who were pioneers as well. Elizabeth Blackwell, who spent part of her life teaching in Henderson, was the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree, and Margaret Ingels of Bourbon County was the country’s first female mechanical engineer, becoming a leader in the early development of air conditioning.
Rose Will Monroe, a Pulaski County native, was the model for “Rosie the Riveter” in World War II; and Alice Dunnigan, who was born in Russellville, was the first African-American female reporter to cover the White House.
Kentucky became the seventh state to have a woman serve as governor when Martha Layne Collins was elected in 1983, and the Kentucky Commission on Women was one of the first of its kind in the nation when it was created in 1964.
Two famous Kentucky women have ties to the water. Mary Meagher Plant held the women’s world records for the 100 and 200 meter butterfly for nearly two decades, with her performance in the 100 meter race called the “fifth greatest, single event of all time in any sport” by Sports Illustrated.
Tori Murden McClure, meanwhile, became the first woman – and the first American – to cross the Atlantic Ocean by rowboat, and she was also the first American to ski to the geographic South Pole.
Kentucky is also home to two Miss Americas. Our own Heather French Henry, of course, won in 2000 and has since become the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, where she has continued her tireless work helping veterans across the state.
While Commissioner Henry remains the only woman representing Kentucky to win that title, Venus Ramey, who has lived for decades in Southern Kentucky, was also crowned Miss America; she earned her title in 1944 as the representative from Washington, D.C.
The Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence, who is from Louisville, is the second-youngest person ever to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards, while Patricia Neal of Whitley County won her Best Actress award in the early 1960s acting opposite of Paul Newman in Hud. Diane Sawyer and another local star, Rosemary Clooney, are two other well-known Kentuckians who have shined in the television news and entertainment industries.
Earlier this year, the Kentucky Commission on Women premiered Dreamers and Doers: Voices of Kentucky Women, which features 40 women, including many just mentioned. The documentary was also promoted last week at the Kentucky State Fair and is being distributed to schools and public libraries across the state.
If you have any questions about this or any area of state government, please let me know.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Rep. Mike Denham, a Democrat from Maysville, has represented House District 70 (Bracken, Fleming and Mason counties) since 2001.