National Women's History Museum

The National Women’s History Museum continues its “Past, Present and Future of U.S. Women’s History” lecture series at the Woodrow Wilson Center this fall with a lecture on September 19 from Dr. Richard Kurin on his new book “MadCap May: Mistress of Myth, Men and Hope.” Dr. Kurin is the current Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture at the Smithsonian. His book, which will be released on September 4th, explores the life story of the outrageous May Yohe (1866-1938), a popular entertainer of humble American origins who charmed her way to international acclaim despite tragic losses.

Eleanor Clift, contributing editor at Newsweek and The DailyBeast, will interview Dr. Kurin on his book on Sept 19th at the Woodrow Wilson Center, 6th floor Flom Auditorium from 4-5:30pm. The talk will be followed by a reception from 5:30-6pm. The event is free and open to the public.

May Yohe was a popular entertainer from humble American origins who married and then abandoned a wealthy English Lord who owned the fabled Hope diamond–one of the most valuable objects in the world and now exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. May was a romantic who had numerous lovers and at least three husbands–though the tabloids rumored twelve.  One included the playboy son of the Mayor of New York. May separated from him–twice–and cared for her next husband, a South African war hero and invalid whom she later shot.Crossing paths with Ethel Barrymore, Boris Karloff, Oscar Hammerstein, Teddy Roosevelt, Consuelo Vanderbilt, and the Prince of Wales, May Yohe was a foul-mouthed, sweet-voiced showgirl who drew both the praise and rebuke of Nobel laureate George Bernard Shaw. Nicknamed “Madcap May,” she was a favorite of the press. In later years she faced several maternity claims and a law suit which she won.  She was hospitalized in an insane asylum and escaped. She ran a rubber plantation in Singapore, a hotel in New Hampshire, and a chicken farm in Los Angeles. When all else failed, she washed floors in a Seattle shipyard, and during the Depression held a job as a government clerk. Shortly before her death, she fought, successfully, to regain her lost U.S. citizenship.

Please join us for this fascinating lecture:

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 – Lecture, 4-5:30 p.m. – Flom Auditorium, 6^th Floor

Reception, 5:30-6 p.m., Sixth Floor Dining Room

Woodrow Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20004

This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are requested.

Please respond with acceptances only to swinston@nwhm.org

Please allow time to go through building security.

Directions to the Wilson Center are available at: www.wilsoncenter.org/directions

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain love for one another. (Erma Bombeck)

So far, it’s been a busy summer at NWHM.  We have been working diligently on our Congressional legislation and on creating new online exhibits. But perhaps the most exciting development has been the creation of a volunteer structure for the Museum. Many of our members and friends have asked what they can do for the Museum. Until recently, these requests outweighed our ability to handle them. That was until we met the fabulous Joanie Moser.

Joanie joined NWHM as our volunteer Volunteer Coordinator in May. Her passion for women’s history stems from meeting a fantastic, inspiring women in 1973 who marched in the 1913 Suffrage parade in Washington, D.C. Joanie was a Volunteer Director for a local Red Cross Chapter. She brings enthusiasm, a passion for the Museum’s mission and a great sense of humor to NWHM and we are grateful and ecstatic to have her.

Would you like to get more involved with the Museum? We have a number of volunteer opportunities available whether you live in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area or anywhere else in the nation.  Some of these include: promoting the Museum in your community, organizing local membership drives, holding or sponsoring a fundraising event, assisting at an event in your area, writing or researching educational material, writing lesson plans for online exhibits, calling TV stations to get our public service ads on TV and assisting with general office tasks in our Virginia office.

Volunteers are absolutely essential for the success of building our Museum and education programs. If you want to donate your time toward making a permanent home for women’s history in our nation’s capital, please follow this link below to the volunteer page on our website. You will find another link to our volunteer application at the end of the second paragraph. Once we have received your completed form, we will contact you right away to discuss your interests.

NWHM Volunteer Page

Make helping tell American women’s stories part of your story!

“200,000 girls and adults from around the world are expected to come together on June 9, 2012 for the world’s largest Sing-Along.”

Since the movement was founded in 1912,  Girl Scouts have used songs to celebrate life, to bridge cultural boundaries and to communicate their commitment to the principles that guide the movement. On June 9, 2012 girls from across the country will gather on the National Mall  and use the power of music to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting.

 And  

Neiman Marcus

Mazza Gallerie

Washington, DC

Invite you to an exclusive preview of the

EILEEN FISHER
SPRING 2012 Collection

Seated Luncheon with Fashion Presentation
Featuring National Women’s History Museum supporters

Be entered to win a $1000 EILEEN FISHER shopping spree and
receive a gift with any $500 EILEEN FISHER purchase

Saturday, April 14
12:00 pm

R Room
Level Three

A $50 donation to NWHM is kindly requested.
To RSVP:
http://nwhm.ticketleap.com/neiman-marcus/

For questions:
202.966.9700, ext. 2352

Eileen Fisher is a proud supporter of the National Women’s History Museum (nwhm.org). Neiman Marcus and Eileen Fisher will donate a percentage of proceeds from the sales of the day to National Women’s History Museum. The Museum affirms the value of knowing Women’s History, illuminates the role of women in transforming society and encourages all people, women and men, to participate in democratic dialogue about our future.

Get your Women’s History Groove On…

Join the National Women’s History Museum at the Biergarten Haus on Tuesday, March 20th 

1355 H Street Northeast, Washington, DC 20002

8-10pm

 An evening of women’s history trivia in honor of Women’s History Month!

 No cover charge

Great beer and food specials!

 For directions and menu go to the Biergarten Haus website: http://biergartenhaus.com/index.php/home. 

 Prizes including $50 gift certificate to the Biergarten Haus, iTunes gift cards, and memberships to the National Women’s History Museum

 10% of all proceeds from the evening will be donated to the National Women’s History Museum.

 Questions please contact Marjahn at 703-461-1920 or mgolban@nwhm.org.

Right Here I See My Own Books Detailed Itinerary for Universities

The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress in partnership with the National Women’s History Museum and the Washington Area Group for Print Culture Studies  is hosting a special presentation of Right Here I See My Own Books: The Woman’s Building Library at the World’s Columbian Exposition (University of Massachusetts Press January 2012). The book’s co-authors, Sarah Wadsworth, associate professor of English at Marquette University and Wayne A. Wiegand, F. William Summers Professor of Library and Information Studies Emeritus at Florida State University, will be presenting on Friday, March 2 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, (10 First Street, S.E. Washington, DC), Whittall Pavilion. This is going to be a very special event with Right Here I See My Own Books offering new insights about this first effort to assemble a comprehensive library of women’s texts at the end of the 19th Century.

The Woman’s Building at the Columbian Exposition housed the Library featuring over 8,000 books written by women.  While American women wrote the majority of the books, women from other countries were also represented at this World’s Fair and their books spanned women’s writings from the 15th through the 19th Centuries. An interesting note is that one of our Coalition members, the American Library Association, headquartered in Chicago, participated in the construction of the original library in the Woman’s Building. One of the major benefits of the authors’ research for the book has once again gathered the titles of the books that were in the Library of the Woman’s Building. Using the power of the Internet, the authors are placing the information in an online database so that it can be accessed by researchers, students and those interested in women’s history throughout the world! Read the rest of this entry »

The National Women’s History Museum and United States Studies of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars invite you to the inauguration of the

Women’s History in Washington Lecture Series

 Women’s Rights, Family Values, and the Polarization of American Political Culture
 

A Lecture by Marjorie J. Spruill

Professor of History, University of South Carolina,

Wilson Center Fellow, 2010-11

 and the opening of the exhibit

Women on the Move: The First National Women’s Conference, Houston, 1977 

Photographs by its official photographer, Diana Mara Henry

Friday April 8, 2011 – Lecture, 3-5 p.m. – Flom Auditorium, Sixth Floor

Exhibit opening and reception, 5-6 p.m., Fifth Floor

Woodrow Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20004

This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are requested.

Please respond with acceptances only to usstudies@wilsoncenter.org