Contributions
Artists and Writers
Mary Boykin Chesnut (1823-1886) Civil War-era diarist
Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973) One of American’s most prolific artists/sculptresses
Penina Moise (1797-1880) Jewish hymnist, poet, and author
Business
Darla Moore(1954- ) Vice-President of Rainwater, Inc. and founder of the Palmetto Institute
Civil Rights
Septima Poinsette Clark(1898-1987) Educator and civil and human rights activist
Civil War
Harriet Tubman (ca. 1820-1913) Conductor on the Underground Railroad, US Army spy & scout
Education/Advocacy
Ty’Sheoma Bethea (1995- ) Eighth-grade student leader, Dillon, SC
Marian Wright Edelman(1939- ) Founder & Pres. of the Children’s Defense Fund; 1st black woman admitted to Mississippi State Bar
Entertainment
Vanna White (1957- ) Television game show hostess for Wheel of Fortune
Medical
Dr. Leda Bruce Hurst (1894-1975) First licensed [1919] woman dentist in SC
Military
Kathryn G. Frost (1948-2005) Army’s highest ranking woman officer when she retired in 2005
Museums Administration
Laura Bragg (1881-1978) First woman to head a major museum (Charleston Museum, 1909-1920) in US
Naturalist History
Hannah English Williams (?-1722) First female in American colonies
Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722-1793) Youthful agriculturalist responsible for commercializing indigo
Political Leaders
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) Founder of Bethune Cookman College, major advisor to several early to mid- 20th century presidents
Mary Gordon Ellis (1890-1934) First woman to be elected to South Carolina state legislature (1928-33)
The Hon. Jean H. Toal (1943- ) First woman to serve on SC Supreme Court and as Chief Justice of the SC Supreme Court
The Hon. Ferdinan B. Nancy Stevenson (1928-2001) First woman to serve as Lt. Gov. of SC, 1979-1982
Elizabeth Gasque Van Exem (1886-1989) First woman elected (1938-1939) to Congress from SC
Preservation
Ann Pamela Cunningham (1816-1875) Preserved Pres. George Washington’s Mt. Vernon home
Revolutionary War Heroines
Grace Martin and Rachel Martin (?--?;?--?) They confiscated important documents from British soldiers to help the American Patriots
Social Leader
Angelica Singleton Van Buren, (1817-1877) Daughter-in-law of Pres. Martin Van Buren. She sometimes acted as Fist Lady for the widowed president
Sports
Althea Gibson (1927-2003) First South Carolinian to win Wimbledon & U.S. Open, 1957 & 1958; first African-American to enter the LPGA (1968-77)
Lucile “Ludy” Godbold (1900-1981) First South Carolinian to play and win international track meet. First female track & field champion from SC and first woman inducted into the SC Athletic Hall of Fame.
Louise Smith (1916-2006) First woman race car driver in the United States.