Alabama Women's Hall of Fame
Celebration of achievements of women associated with Alabama, United States
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The Alabama Women's Hall of Fame honors the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Alabama. Established in 1970, the first women were inducted the following year. The Hall of Fame was originally located on the campus of Judson College in Marion, Alabama.[1] It became a state agency in 1975 by an act of the Alabama Legislature. The AWHF was moved to the University of West Alabama in Livingston in 2022. The organization is governed by an eleven-member board. They are elected to three-year terms with a minimum of one board member from the fields of art, business, community service, education, law, medicine, politics, religion, and science. In addition to the board, the President of the University of West Alabama and Governor of Alabama both serve as voting members.[2]
Inductees
| Name | Image | Birth–Death | Year | Area of achievement[3] | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes Baggett |  |
(1905–1992) | 2025 | Alabama State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Secretary of State | [4] |
| Helen Shores Lee | (1941–2018) | 2025 | First African American woman to serve as judge on the Jefferson County Circuit Court. Daughter of attorney Arthur Shores | [5] | |
| Janet Nolan | (1942–2019) | 2024 | Found object artist | [6] | |
| Mary Olive Enslen Tinder | (1905–1981) | 2024 | Pioneer radio broadcaster and television host | [7] | |
| Mahala Ashley Dickerson | (1912–2007) | 2023 | Activist, First African American woman to pass the State Bar in Alabama and in Alaska, Recipient of the Maud McClure Kelly Award, first African American to serve as the president of the National Association of Women Lawyers. | [8] | |
| Alice Finch Lee | (1911–2014) | 2023 | One of Alabama's first female lawyers, recipient of the Maud McClure Kelly Award from the Alabama Bar Association. Sister of author Harper Lee | [9] | |
| Vestal Goodman |  |
(1929–2003) | 2022 | "Queen of Gospel Music" | [10] |
| Allison Wetherbee | (1970–2016) | 2022 | Advocate for persons with disabilities, 1974 Alabama March of Dimes Child | [11] | |
| Emera Frances Griffin | (1843–1917) | 2021 | President of the Alabama Woman’s Suffrage Association, first woman to address a legislative body in Alabama | [12] | |
| Vivian Malone Jones |  |
(1942–2005) | 2021 | One of the first two black students to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963, and in 1965 became the university's first black graduate. | [13] |
| Mother Angelica | (1923–2016) | 2020 | Founder of Eternal Word Television Network | [14] | |
| Janie Shores |  |
(1932–2017) | 2020 | First woman elected to the Alabama Supreme Court | [15] |
| Milly Francis | (1803–1848) | 2019 | Native American of the Creek tribe, who survived the Trail of Tears | [16] | |
| Harper Lee | _(cropped).jpg) |
(1926–2016) | 2019 | Author of To Kill a Mockingbird | [17] |
| Jessie Welch Austin | (1884–1987) | 2018 | Sheriff of Elmore County; warden of Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women | [18] | |
| Jeanne Friegel Berman | (1884–1987) | 2018 | Founded the Alabama League of Women Voters | [19] | |
| Mary Ward Brown | .jpg) |
(1917–2013) | 2017 | American short-story writer and memoirist | [20] |
| Sara Crews Finley | (1930–2013) | 2017 | Pioneer in medical genetics. Co-founded with her husband, Dr. Wayne Finley, the first medical genetics program in the southeastern United States. | [21] | |
| Anne Mae Beddow | (1893–1974) | 2016 | Nurse anesthetist and lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps as a lieutenant; developed a technique to administer pentothal sodium intravenously | [22] | |
| Sarah Haynsworth Gayle | (1804–1835) | 2016 | Diarist who kept a journal from 1827 to 1835 | [23] | |
| Kathryn Tucker Windham | (1918–2011) | 2015 | American storyteller, author, photographer, and journalist who was born in Selma and grew up in Thomasville | [24] | |
| Hazel Mansell Gore | (1923–2001) | 2014 | Australian physician who taught at the University of Alabama in Birmingham | [25] | |
| Zora Neale Hurston |  |
(1891–1960) | 2013 | Folklorist, anthropologist, and noted author of the Harlem Renaissance. | [26] |
| Frances C. Roberts | (1916–2000) | 2013 | Chaired the History Department at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and directed their Academic Advisement and Information Center | [27] | |
| Nina Miglionico |  |
(1913–2009) | 2012 | First female member of the Birmingham City Council | [28] |
| Evelyn Daniel Anderson | (1926–1998) | 2011 | Educator, community volunteer, disability rights advocate | [29] | |
| Ada Ruth Stovall | (1913–2008) | 2011 | First woman appointed Assistant State Director of Vocational Education for the Alabama Department of Education | [30] | |
| Mary Ivy Burks | (1920–2007) | 2010 | Environmental activist, conservationist, co-founder of the Alabama Conservancy | [31] | |
| Margaret Charles Smith | (1906–2004) | 2010 | Noted African American midwife | [32] | |
| Coretta Scott King |  |
(1927–2006) | 2009 | Author, human rights activist, civil rights activist | [33] |
| Rosa McCauley Parks | (1913–2005) | 2008 | Civil rights activist | [34] | |
| Fran McKee |  |
(1926–2002) | 2007 | First woman line officer to hold the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy | [35] |
| Martha Crystal Myers | (1945–2002) | 2007 | Physician, missionary | [36] | |
| Virginia Foster Durr | .jpg) |
(1903–1999) | 2006 | Civil rights activist | [37] |
| Mary Celesta Johnson Weatherly | (1890–1976) | 2006 | Mother of the Year in 1962 for the state and nation | [38] | |
| Vera Hall |  |
(1902–1964) | 2005 | Blues and folk music singer | [39] |
| Juliette Hampton Morgan | (1914–1957) | 2005 | Librarian, author, civil rights activist | [40] | |
| Nancy Batson Crews |  |
(1920–2001) | 2004 | Aviator, one of twenty-eight professional women pilots accepted for the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron during World War II | [41] |
| Rosa Gerhardt | (1898–1975) | 2004 | First woman president of a bar association in the state | [42] | |
| Louise Branscomb | (1901–1999) | 2003 | Pioneer female physician, human rights advocate | [43] | |
| Bess Bolden Walcott | (1886–1988) | 2003 | Librarian, teacher, author, first African American woman to serve as a Red Cross Acting Field Director | [44] | |
| Idella Jones Childs | (1903–1998) | 2002 | Civil rights advocate | [45] | |
| Jane Lobman Katz | (1931–1986) | 2002 | Advocate for state government reform, equal rights advocate | [46] | |
| Ida Vines Moffett | (1905–1996) | 2001 | Nurse for more than 70 years | [47] | |
| Sibyl Pool | (1901–1973) | 2001 | First woman elected to a statewide office, second woman elected to the Alabama Legislature | [48] | |
| Florence Golson Bateman | (1891–1987) | 2000 | Songwriter, singer | [49] | |
| Maria Fearing |  |
(1838–1937) | 2000 | Educator, missionary, established the Pantops Home for Girls in Luebo, Democratic Republic of the Congo | [50] |
| Margaret H. Booth | (1880–1953) | 1999 | Educator, became principal of Demopolis High School in 1900, founded Demopolis Public Library, lecturer | [51] | |
| Juliet Opie Hopkins |  |
(1818–1890) | 1999 | Civil War nurse | [52] |
| Martha Foster Crawford |  |
(1830–1909) | 1998 | First foreign missionary of the Southern Baptist Convention, she and her spouse spent over fifty years in China as missionaries | [53] |
| Maria Howard Weeden | .jpg) |
(1846–1905) | 1998 | Artist, author | [54] |
| Hattie Hooker Wilkins |  |
(1875–1949) | 1997 | Promoter of woman's suffrage, first woman elected to the Alabama Legislature | [55] |
| Marion Walker Spidle | (1887–1983) | 1997 | Educator, university administrator, community leader | [56] | |
| Elizabeth Burford Bashinsky | (1867–1968) | 1995 | Civic leader | [57] | |
| Maude McKnight Lindsay | (1874–1941) | 1995 | Author, established the state's first free kindergarten in 1898 | [57] | |
| Doris Marie Bender | (1911–1991) | 1994 | Social worker | [58] | |
| Lottice Howell |  |
(1897–1982) | 1994 | Singer | [59] |
| Ida Elizabeth Brandon Mathis | (1857–1925) | 1993 | Agricultural practices reformer | [60] | |
| Mary George Jordan Waite | (1917–1990) | 1993 | First woman elected president of a state banking association, extensively involved with Alabama Girls State | [61] | |
| Bessie Morse Bellingrath | (1878–1943) | 1992 | Developer of Bellingrath Gardens | [62] | |
| Frances Scott Fitzgerald | (1921–1986) | 1992 | Writer, political activist, arts patron, daughter of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald | [63] | |
| Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald |  |
(1900–1948) | 1992 | Author, ballerina, painter, wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald | [64] |
| Frances Virginia Praytor | (1899–1974) | 1991 | Teacher, co-owner of Birmingham's Smith and Hardwick Bookstore | [65] | |
| Anna Linton Praytor | (1914–1989) | 1991 | Teacher, co-owner of Birmingham's Smith and Hardwick Bookstore | [65] | |
| Julia Tarrant Barron | (1805–1890) | 1991 | Helped establish Judson College and Howard College, co-founder of The Alabama Baptist | [66] | |
| Maud McLure Kelly |  |
(1887–1973) | 1990 | Suffragist, genealogist, historian, first woman to practice law in Alabama (admitted to the Bar in 1908), first woman to be admitted to the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court as a practicing lawyer in the South in 1914, inducted into the Alabama Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2014 | [67] |
| Octavia Walton Le Vert |  |
(1811–1877) | 1990 | Socialite, Civil War nurse, author | [68] |
| Gwen Bristow |  |
(1903–1980) | 1989 | Author, journalist | [69] |
| Geneva Mercer |  |
(1889–1984) | 1989 | Artist, sculptor | [70] |
| Katharine Cooper Cater | (1914–1980) | 1988 | Dean of Women and Dean of Student Life at Auburn University | [71] | |
| Mary Elizabeth Phillips Thompson | (1855–1927) | 1988 | First woman principal Lincoln Normal School | [72] | |
| Elizabeth Caroline Crosby | .jpg) |
(1888–1983) | 1987 | Scientist, teacher, author | [73] |
| Lella Warren |  |
(1899–1982) | 1987 | Author | [74] |
| Chamintney Stovall Thomas | (1899–1979) | 1986 | Musician, teacher, author | [75] | |
| Martha Strudwick Young | .jpg) |
(1862–1941) | 1986 | Folklorist, author, poet | [76] |
| Blanche Evans Dean | (1892–1974) | 1985 | Conservationist, naturalist, author | [77] | |
| Katherine Vickery | (1898–1978) | 1985 | President of the Alabama Psychological Association; fellow of the Alabama Academy of Science and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science | [78] | |
| Mildred Westervelt Warner | (1893–1974) | 1984 | President of Gulf States Paper Corporation, conservationist, philanthropist | [79][80][81] | |
| Katherine White-Spunner | (1892–1978) | 1984 | Nurse, hospital administrator | [82] | |
| Anne Mathilde Bilbro |  |
(1870–1958) | 1983 | Composer, music teacher, author | [83] |
| Clara Weaver Parrish | (1861–1925) | 1983 | Artist, author, designer for Tiffany Studios | [84] | |
| Chrysostom Moynahan | (1863–1941) | 1982 | Nun, first Registered Nurse licensed in Alabama, hospital administrator, founded St. Vincent's School of Nursing | [85] | |
| Loula Friend Dunn | (1896–1977) | 1982 | Alabama's Commissioner of Public Welfare, first female executive director of the American Public Welfare Association | [86] | |
| Tallulah Bankhead | .jpg) |
(1903–1968) | 1981 | Stage, film, and voice actress. | [87] |
| Elizabeth Johnston | .png) |
(1851–1934) | 1981 | Founder of Alabama Boys' Industrial School, social service worker; also known as Mrs. R. D. Johnston | [88] |
| Kathleen Moore Mallory |  |
(1879–1954) | 1980 | Social services, magazine editor, Woman's Missionary Union executive | [89] |
| Ruby Pickens Tartt |  |
(1880–1974) | 1980 | Author, folklorist, artist, librarian | [90] |
| Myrtle Brooke | (1872–1948) | 1979 | Educator, social services, mental health pioneer | [91] | |
| Carrie A. Tuggle |  |
(1858–1924) | 1979 | Educator, social services, instigator of Juvenile and Domestic Courts, founder of orphanage for African Americans | [92] |
| Annie Rowan Forney Daugette | (1876–1974) | 1978 | Author, historian, designed the Seal of Alabama | [93] | |
| Patti Ruffner Jacobs |  |
(1875–1939) | 1978 | Political scientist, promoter of women's suffrage | [94] |
| Amelia Gayle Gorgas |  |
(1826–1913) | 1977 | Librarian, nurse, teacher, university counselor | [95] |
| Augusta Jane Evans Wilson |  |
(1835–1909) | 1977 | Author, Civil War nurse | [96] |
| Ruth Robertson Berrey | (1906–1973) | 1976 | Physician, missionary | [97] | |
| Annie Lola Price | (1903–1972) | 1976 | Attorney, first woman to serve on high court of Alabama, Chief of Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals | [98] | |
| Dixie Bibb Graves |  |
(1883–1965) | 1975 | Social and political services, first Alabama woman elected to the United States Senate | [99] |
| Marie Bankhead Owen |  |
(1869–1958) | 1975 | Author, historian, director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History | [100] |
| Henrietta Gibbs | (1879–1960) | 1974 | Social services, youth counselor, leader of American women's causes | [101] | |
| Loraine Bedsole Tunstall |  |
(1879–1953) | 1974 | Social services, creator of child welfare services, first woman to head a department in the state government of Alabama | [102] |
| Edwina Donnelly Mitchell | (1894–1968) | 1973 | Humanitarian, social services, prison reformer | [103] | |
| Lurleen Burns Wallace | .jpg) |
(1926–1968) | 1973 | First female Governor of Alabama | [104] |
| Agnes Ellen Harris | (1883–1952) | 1972 | Educator, Dean of Women at Auburn University and University of Alabama | [105] | |
| Margaret Murray Washington |  |
(1856–1925) | 1972 | Founder of county and industrial schools, Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute Principal, wife of Booker T. Washington | [106] |
| Hallie Farmer | (1881–1960) | 1971 | Political scientist, educator, author, prison reformer | [107] | |
| Helen Adams Keller |  |
(1880–1968) | 1971 | Deafblind author, political activist, lecturer, scholar | [108] |
| Julia Strudwick Tutwiler |  |
(1841–1916) | 1971 | Author, Alabama Normal College President, prison reformer, author of official state song, Alabama | [109] |