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Margaret Sanger opens first birth control clinic in the United States
On October 16, 1916, Sanger — together with her sister Ethel Byrne and activist Fania Mindell — opened the country's first birth control clinic in Brownsville, Brooklyn. -
19th Amendment of the United States
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -
National Women’s Suffrage Movement formed
In 1869, Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association. Later that year, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and others formed the American Woman Suffrage Association. However, not until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919 did women throughout the nation gain the right to vote. -
The Alaska Equal Rights Act signed into law
The Daily Alaska Empire printed that her testimony "shamed the opposition into a 'defensive whisper. '" The bill was signed by Governor Gruening into law on February 16, 1945. -
Civil Rights Movement launched
When did the American civil rights movement start? The American civil rights movement started in the mid-1950s. A major catalyst in the push for civil rights was in December 1955, when NAACP activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man. -
Jeanette Rankin elected to Congress
She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916 for one term, then was elected again in 1940. Rankin remains the only woman ever elected to Congress from Montana. -
FDA Approves first birth control pill
Oral contraceptives are the most commonly used method of reversible contraception in the U.S. Oral contraceptive pills were first approved for prescription use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1960. -
Equal Pay Act was signed into law
Signed into law by President John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963, this historic legislation recognized that women's work—and their fair and equal treatment in the workplace—is vital to our country's economic prosperity. -
The Feminine Mystique was written
The Feminine Mystique is a book by Betty Friedan, widely credited with sparking second-wave feminism in the United States. First published by W. W. Norton on February 19, 1963, The Feminine Mystique became a bestseller, initially selling over a million copies. -
Civil Rights Act signed into law
Despite Kennedy's assassination in November of 1963, his proposal culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law just a few hours after it was passed by Congress on July 2, 1964. The act outlawed segregation in businesses such as theaters, restaurants, and hotels. -
“Battle of the Sexes” tennis match
On Sept. 20, 1973, top women's tennis player Billie Jean King defeated former No. 1 ranked men's tennis player Bobby Riggs in a "Battle of the Sexes" match. Watch the video above for moreKing beat Riggs in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. -
Title IX was passed into law
Title IX of the Civil Rights Act was signed into law on June 23, 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon. -
Roe v. Wade Court Case
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protected a right to have an abortion. -
Sandra Day O’Connor sworn in to US Supreme Court
When Justice Potter Stewart retired in 1981, President Reagan fulfilled that promise by nominating O'Connor, noting that she was a “person for all seasons.” The Senate unanimously confirmed her appointment on September 21, 1981, and four days later, she took her seat on the Bench.