Category Archives: women’s history

Brassy Barbara Stanwyck and Pre-Code Hollywood

In 1934, the Hays Code began to be strictly enforced in Hollywood to clean up alleged indecency in movies. All evil-doers had to meet their just rewards. What spurred the prudish policing? Hardboiled flicks like Baby Face. This 1933 film had … Continue reading

Posted in Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Politics, popular culture, Uncategorized, Women in Hollywood, women's history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

suffrage \ noun suf·frage \ ˈsə-frij , sometimes -fə-rij \ Definition: The right to vote, especially in political elections

Wyoming is unique among the states that form our nation, in granting women the right to vote in 1869. The territory of Wyoming paved the way for the rest of the country, not only by being the first to allow … Continue reading

Posted in American history, Gender Equality, Suffrage -- United States, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming history, Women -- suffrage, Women in Politics, women's history, Women's suffrage, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mileva Maravic remembers Gebo, Wyoming

110 years ago, the coal-mining town of Gebo was established about twelve miles north of Thermopolis in Hot Springs County. The town took its name from Samuel W. Gebo, an entrepreneurial developer of the coal mines in Washakie and Hot … Continue reading

Posted in Coal industry, Economic Geology, found in the archive, Local history, mining history, newly processed collections, Western history, women's history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Nellie Tayloe Ross: The (First) Governor Lady

On Nov 4, 1924, Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected governor of Wyoming, and became the first woman governor in the United States. Ross was elected a month after her husband, Governor William B. Ross, died suddenly of appendicitis. On the … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Ross, Nellie Tayloe, western politics and leadership, Women in History, Women in Politics, women's history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jean Howard, Photographer for the Glamorous Hollywood Set

Jean Howard parlayed her extraordinary beauty, ethereal glamour and light-hearted intelligence to become a Ziegfeld girl, a Hollywood starlet, a legendary hostess and the “house photographer” of the film colony. Her circle included Tyrone Power, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Humphrey … Continue reading

Posted in Biography and profiles, found in the archive, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Photography, popular culture, women's history | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Adeline M. Leitzbach Papers: Part II of a Two-Part Series

Adeline Leitzbach once mused: “[In] the old days in pictures… we used to go out on a lot with a couple of actors, a horse, a camera man and an author. We used to shoot scenes, and mould them into … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Authors and literature, Hollywood history, Interns' projects, motion picture history, newly cataloged collections, popular culture, radio history, Uncategorized, women's history, writers and poets | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Elizabeth Orpha Sampson Hoyt, Notable Woman of the West

Born December 7, 1828 in Athens, Ohio to an adventurous father and a pragmatic mother, Elizabeth Sampson early on displayed qualities of both parents. A letter to Grace Raymond Hebard from Elizabeth’s son Kepler tells a delightful story from his … Continue reading

Posted in Biography and profiles, Uncategorized, University of Wyoming, University of Wyoming history, Women in History, women's history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Wyoming Equality Day: Liz Byrd’s quest to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

Did you perhaps wonder as you sipped your coffee this morning about how Wyoming Equality Day originated?  Cheyenne native and Wyoming state legislator Harriett Elizabeth “Liz” Byrd was the guiding individual behind it.  Byrd was the first black woman to … Continue reading

Posted in African American history, Martin Luther King Jr., Political history, Social justice, Women in Politics, women's history, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 19th Amendment and Wyoming’s own Grace Raymond Hebard

“To get thirty sixth state, mobilizing one woman each state…want you and only you…” So wrote national woman suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt on April 12, 1920 in a telegram to Wyoming historian, prolific writer, and noted University of Wyoming … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized, Women -- suffrage, Women in History, women's history, Women's suffrage, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Celebrating Wyoming Women

As a celebration of women’s accomplishments and progress towards equal footing with men, here are a few Wyoming women with notable firsts. Of course, no mention of women’s history in Wyoming could be complete without paying homage to Nellie Tayloe … Continue reading

Posted in Women -- suffrage, Women in Politics, women's history, Women's suffrage, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment