Welcome to Infinite Women

This Day In History

Crime

1865 Mary Surratt is first woman executed by U.S. federal government, for her role as a conspirator in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

Law

1981 Sandra Day O’Connor is nominated by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She retires in 2006, after serving for 24 years.

1987 Jane Mathews became New South Wales's first female Judge of the Supreme Court. In 1987, she had become New South Wales's first female Judge, and Chief Judge, of the District Court.

Military

1917 British Army Council Instruction Number 1069 formally establishes the British Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), authorizing female volunteers to serve alongside their male counterparts in France during World War I.

1976 For the first time in history, women are enrolled into the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. On May 28, 1980, 62 of these female cadets graduated and were commissioned as second lieutenants.

Politics

1983 Samantha Smith, an 11-year-old American girl, begins a two-week visit to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Soviet leader Yuri Andropov. Some American observers believed that Smith was merely being used by the Soviets for their own propaganda purposes, while others saw her visit as a positive step toward improving U.S.-Russian relations.

Sports

1986 Jackie Joyner-Kersee emerged as the dominant heptathlete, setting a world record (7,148 points) at the Goodwill Games in Moscow. Her score bettered the old record by 202 points, making her the first heptathlete to top 7,000 points.

2019 After a dominating tournament showing, the U.S. women’s national team brings home a record fourth FIFA World Cup title—its second in a row.