Welcome to Infinite Women

This Day In History

Activism

2018 Thousands of Oklahoma teachers began two weeks of walkouts and descended on the state Capitol to demand more education funding. Thousands of Kentucky teachers marched to the state Capitol to protest changes to their pension system; some districts that were not on spring break had to cancel classes.

Law

1992 Margaret White became Queensland's first female Judge of the Supreme Court.

Military

1863 During the US Civil War, in the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, about 5,000 people, mostly poor women, broke into shops and began seizing food, clothing, shoes, and jewelry before the local militia arrived to restore order. No one died and few were injured but tens of thousands of dollars worth of items were stolen. The riot was organized and instigated by Mary Jackson, a peddler and the mother of a soldier.

Science

1647 German entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian was born. She published several books about various species of insects over her lifetime, and is considered by David Attenborough to be among the more significant contributors to the field of entomology.

Sports

1931 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell, the second woman to play baseball in the all-male minor leagues, pitches an exhibition game against the New York Yankees and strikes out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The next day, the Baseball Commissioner voided her contract, claiming baseball was too strenuous for women. The ban was not overturned until 1992.