Important Dates in Women's History
by Susan G. Butruille

• August 1, 2008 Lammas Pagan Harvest Festival

• August 6, 1926 Gertrude Ederly became the first woman to swim the English Channel, breaking the previous record by two hours. A ticker-tape parade in New York honored the young woman who wasn't yet twenty years old.

• August 6, 1945 The U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

• August 8 Birth of the Virgin Mary celebrated.

• August 9, 1945 The U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan.

• Aug 12, 1867 Birth of Edith Hamilton, acclaimed scholar of Greek and Roman literature.

• Aug 13, 1818 Birth of Lucy Stone, feminist, abolitionist and suffragist who insisted on keeping her own name in marriage. She inspired the title of "Lucy Stoner," applied to other women who kept their names.

• August 13 Festival of Diana (protector of the living) and Hecate (protector of the dead), forerunner of the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

• August 15 Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, celebrating the ascension of Mary into heaven. A continuation of ancient feasts to the female deity in her Mother aspect.

• August 15 Festival of Isis, when stalks of grains are carried in procession to honor her as Grain Goddess.

• August 18, 1902 Birth of Mardy Murie, author and conservationist. Known as Mother of Wilderness, Murie worked tirelessly through her life of more than 100 years for wilderness preservation, including the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge, which today is in danger

• August 19, 1814 Birth of Mary Ellen "Mammy" Pleasant, who as a former slave helped thousands of slaves escape to freedom in Canada. She migrated to California, where she sued a streetcar company for discrimination and fought for the rights of Black people.

• August 23 Festival of Nemesis, Greek Goddess, protector of relics and memory of the dead. [The History Goddess]

• August 26, 1920 Women's Equality Day, 85th Anniversary of passage and ratification of the Susan B. Anthony (19th) Amendment granting woman suffrage. Many women devoted their adult lives to the cause, and some were jailed and force-fed after picketing the White House. See "Iron-Jawed Angels," the HBO movie portraying the last few years of the 72-year long struggle for suffrage in the U.S. Hilary Swank portrayed Alice Paul. Order from the National Women's History Project , www.nwhp.org.

• August 29 Festival of the nativity of the Egyptian Goddess Hathor.

• August 29, 1957 The U.S. Congress passes the Civil Rights Act.