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Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin
Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution. -
First Women's Rights Convention
In the first women’s rights convention organized by women, the Seneca Falls Convention is held in New York, with 300 attendees, including organizers Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Sixty-eight women and 32 men (including Frederick Douglass) sign the Declaration of Sentiments, which sparked decades of activism, eventually leading to the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. -
Sojourner Truth Delivers her "Ain't I a Women" Speech
Born a slave, and after she gained her freedom 1827, Truth became a well known anti-slavery speaker. During the historic Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851, Truth delivered her most famous “Ain’t I a Woman” speech. At the time, her speech wasn’t transcribed, therefore a completely accurate rendition of what Sojourner Truth actually said has been lost. What is accurate, however, is the historic impact her speech and actions towards equal rights had on the U.S. -
Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden
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The term ecology is coined in German
The term ecology is coined in German as Oekologie by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel -
Wyoming Passes America's First Women Suffrage Law
Wyoming was the first territory or state in our nation's history to grant women the right to vote. When Wyoming was still a territory, legislators passed the Wyoming Suffrage Act of 1869. This act gave women in the territory the right to vote. Lawmakers had different motives for supporting this act. -
The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith
The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith in the book Air and Rain -
The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux
The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in a London meeting to express concern over air pollution -
US Congress created the National Park Service
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Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic
Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in the United States. Located in Brownsville, Brooklyn, her clinic was deemed illegal under the “Comstock Laws” forbidding birth control, and the clinic was raided on October 26, 1916. When she had to close two additional times due to legal threats, she closed the clinic and eventually founded the American Birth Control League in 1921—the precursor to today’s Planned Parenthood. -
Women Win The Right To Vote
After a 72-year-long fight, the 19th Amendment finally passed. Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. On August 18, 1920, women’s suffrage was ratified, granting women the right to vote in the U.S. -
Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring
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The Equal Pay Act Passes
This was addressed through President John F. Kennedy’s Commission on the Status of Women. It was established in order to advise the President on the issues that still concerned the status of women such as discrimination and the fact that employers were legally able to pay women less than men for doing the same job. The Equal Pay Act aimed to abolish the wage discrimination against women. It was signed on June 10, 1963, by John F. Kennedy. -
The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise
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US Environmental Protection Agency established
Earth Day – April 22., millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day organized by Gaylord Nelson, former senator of Wisconsin, and Denis Hayes, Harvard graduate student. US Environmental Protection Agency established -
Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, and Betty Friedan form the National Women’s Political Caucus
The caucus was formed in order to support, recruit and train women who are seeking a space in public office. The organization’s mission is to improve the status of women by giving them voice in government. That very first gathering brought 320 women to Washington D.C. in support of the NWPC founding. -
Gloria Steinem Starts Ms. Magazine
The same year she helped organize the National Women’s Political Caucus, Steinem started Ms. magazine. It was the first magazine to honestly address and open up discussions revolving around women’s issues. In 1976 it became the first issue to feature the matter of domestic violence on its cover. -
Sandra Day O’Connor becomes the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Sandra Day O’Connor is nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court. At the time, only six percent of all federal judges were women. On September 25, 1981, O’ Connor was sworn in as the 102nd justice, making her the first woman justice in Supreme Court history. -
Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force
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Clinton signs the Violence Against Women Act
Clinton signs the Violence Against Women Act as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, providing funding for programs that help victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, stalking and other gender-related violence. -
The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto
The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases -
U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol
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U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation
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U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation
