This Day In History
- Activism
- 1916 Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in the United States. Located in Brownsville, Brooklyn, her clinic was deemed illegal under the “Comstock Laws” forbidding birth control, and the clinic was raided on October 26, 1916. When she had to close two additional times due to legal threats, she closed the clinic and eventually founded the American Birth Control League in 1921—the precursor to today’s Planned Parenthood.
- Aviation and Aeronautics
- 1936 Pioneering international aviator Jean Batten lands in New Zealand, setting a world record when she flies 22,891 km (14,224 mi) from England in 11 days 45 minutes, including two days 12 hours in Sydney.
- Politics
- 0690 Empress Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire.
- 1384 Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland.
- Writing
- 1847 Jane Eyre is published by Smith, Elder and Co. Charlotte Brontë, the book’s author, used the pseudonym Currer Bell. The book, about the struggles of an orphan girl who grows up to become a governess, was an immediate popular success.
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“I don't think it's helpful to go dismantling the past, but you can refuse to honor aspects of it that you don't believe in anymore.”
Winnie Byanyima
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Women have influenced every aspect of humanity, but history is full of their contributions being undermined, stolen or hidden because of their gender. Infinite Women aims to help bring these stories into the light, to acknowledge and share the value of women’s work, now and throughout human history.
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