#OnThisDay, 12 Nov 1951, Celia Franca's National Ballet of Canada holds its first performance. Franca had gathered the company from across Canada in just 10 months. She goes on to co-found the National Ballet School.

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #CanadianHistory #BalletHistory

#OnThisDay, 11 Nov 1865, Dr Mary Edwards Walker receives the Medal of Honor from US President Andrew Johnson for her services as a field surgeon in the American Civil War.

A lifelong "dress reformer", she wore trousers under short dresses and eventually switched to trousers and jackets. She was frequently arrested for her choice. "I don't wear men's clothes, I wear my own clothes."

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #WomenInWar #AmericanHistory #Histodons

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#WomensEpics that need an English translation ASAP, round two:

- Catakantaravanan: a Tamil epic that elaborates on the Ramayana, but in this story, it is Sita who fights a demon king

- Matabagka Seeks the Deity of the Wind: epic from the Philippines about a girl's heroic journey (this one has an English translation, but only in a thesis manuscript in the UP library)

#WomensEpics #epics #folklore #women #WomensHistory

Once again, on my social media feed:

"Elizabeth Báthory is one of the most prolific serial killers in history!"

No 👏 She 👏 Is 👏 Not 👏

It was a political trial. She was a widow with vast lands and lots of money. There is an entire book written by a legal historian about her trial and how it was constructed to grab her wealth.

She was definitely not a vampire, but she was also not a celebrity murderess.

#women #WomensHistory #history

Bonus for this one:
Do you know this viral photo of three women doctors, from India, Japan, and Syria?

They were also the first women doctors (with a western degree) in their respective countries. Dr. Anandabai Joshee, Dr. Kei Okami, and Dr. Tabat M. Islambooly.

They were Dr. Susan La Flesche's classmates.

How is this girl squad not a high profile HBO show yet?!

#TVshows #WomensHistoryMonth #WomensHistory #WomenInSTEM

@bookstodon I think it's got to be Michael Wood's The Story of China for me.

It taught me a lot about a civilisation about which I should know more. And I liked his bringing of Chinese women's experiences to the fore.

#notthewest #china #womenshistory

During WWI, Marie Curie created a vehicle that contained a hospital bed, a generator, an X-ray machine and photographic darkroom equipment. These “petite Curies" (below) could be driven right up to the Front. Curie also helped train 150 women as radiology technicians.

#histmed #histsci #WWI #warhistory #war #medhist #science #womeninstem #womenshistory #histodon #histodons #twittermigration #twitterexodus

Topic 11: History of Science

Book:
The lady and the octopus: How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology, by Dana Staaf

This is a beautiful and colorful book on another trailblazing woman scientist, the inventor of the first aquariums. Jeanne Villepreux-Power contributed a lot to science, including research on how the argonaut gains its shell.

#science #WomensHistory #MarineBiology #octopus

Topic 9: 20th century classical music

Book:
From kitchen to Carnegie Hall: Ethel Stark and the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra, by Maria Noriega Rachwal

This one would deserve an HBO show. It's about the first full symphonic orchestra in North America that consisted solely of women, started in 1940. The story has many comical and even more inspiring moments as a group of women of all backgrounds turns into a musical success - and it's all true.

#WomensHistory #music #ClassicalMusic

Topic 2: Hungarian poetry

Book:
Il pane perduto by Bruck Edith

This one is the autobiography of a Hungarian Jewish poet who is also a Holocaust survivor. She was labeled by the media "the Anne Frank who lived", which I think is a bit iffy, but the book is nonetheless interesting. Most of it tells about her trying to find her place and purpose in the world again after surviving Auschwitz. She ended up living and publishing in Italy.

#poetry #JewishWomen #WomensHistory #Hungary #biography

Topic 1: Cartoons and Animation

Book:
Queens of Animation: The untold story of the women who transformed the world of Disney and made cinematic history, by Nathalia Holt

This one was a fascinating read about the first woman animators and story artists hired by Walt Disney, and their lasting effect on the most famous Disney movies.
Most of it was new to me, and I loved the details about their lives and personalities.

#Disney #animation #WomensHistory #women #art

I'm reading a book about the Montreal Women's Symphony Orchestra that was founded in 1940 (because women were generally not considered fit to be performing musicians in orchestras at the time). It is inspiring and fascinating, and goes on my "how is this not a prestige TV show yet?" list.

#bookstodon #AmReading #WomensHistory #music #feminism #books #Canada

https://secondstorypress.ca/adult/from-kitchen-to-carnegie-hall