Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Women in Red/100 Women

This is part of a paper and contains material from www.womeninred.org talk page. It has been since edited and a structure has emerged from the discussion. We aim to create a list of 100 representative ex women in red. It will be prettied up into a list article and we MAY format it as an e-book. Rosie Carol and Roger hope to present it at Wikimania ... but that is only a hope at the mo. Victuallers (talk) 16:40, 24 May 2025 (UTC)

I've chosen a few WIR editors so as we add to the range of authors (lots not mentioned... sorry ) As you can see from the "working list" overleaf, we need 1. 100 Interesting women who are not generally known 2. A photo of them 3. A DYK hook that intrigues our readers 4. A List or Event or Author list that she is included in. When I say "need", I mean if you can spare the time obvs. Just some of this would be useful. We are just under 50% there, and ideally we could do with 120 candidates so we could weed out the less intriguing. The point is to invite the reader to learn more and to tell them a bit about the editor, the list, our project, your interest etc. We need diversity and intrigue in the list.

Great ideas from WAUpdates .... We do really need more diversity in the sciences and in non-English speakers. I wonder if @Jesswade88: might name the scientists she found so intriguing and why? Victuallers (talk) 09:47, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

and @Penny Richards: ... can you name a few amazing women you have discovered and tell us about your work on Pinterest?

As you know, I mostly avoid amazing women, in favor of interesting ones. :) A few of my earliest article subjects are still my favorites: Maud Younger was an heiress, a suffragist and a labor leader in San Francisco; Haydée Tamzali was a teenager who wrote two of the first films made in Tunisia. The Women in Red pinterest boards are an outreach, a chance to present some of our work as a wall of images, all linked to their respective articles. Depending on our themes, a visitor there might find a lot of smiling young athletes born in the 21st century, or performers in sparkly costumes, or a lot of solemn faces that reflect the losses and work of decades. But usually all of the above, because we definitely mix it up. Penny Richards (talk) 14:45, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

Thanks Penny, Ive included both of them and I intend to choose a Pinterest Monthly page as an added graphic - The image is a good graphic for the whole list! Would it be possible to create a special one for this list? Victuallers (talk) 09:02, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

I can make a special Pinterest board for the list you create for this event, yes--is that what you mean? If so, just say the word and I'll set it up.Penny Richards (talk) 15:51, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

and @Mary Mark Ockerbloom: ... Hi MMO, can you name a few amazing women you have discovered and why you edit?

• @Victuallers:Re: "3. A DYK hook that intrigues our readers", can you clarify whether you want an article that actually went to DYK, or just a fact in the style of a DYK fact? I just want to be sure I understand the problem space. Mary Mark Ockerbloom (talk) 17:58, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

I'm just stealing the dyk idea to show that we're concentrating on the interest and let the reader find the facts @Mary Mark Ockerbloom:. HTH Victuallers (talk) 19:55, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

• @Victuallers:As to why I edit: every women about whom I edit inspires me. Here are a few :-) Mary Mark Ockerbloom (talk) 19:10, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

Thats great Mary, I'll add them all, but I will be trying to choose the most diverse and interesting.

More information disappeared - a list of nominated articles, Article name ...

disappeared - a list of nominated articles

Article name Photo Category DYK / hook List or Event or Author list index Rachel Brem Scientist ... that Rachel Brem discovered a tumor in her own breast while testing ultrasound equipment for her hospital? PBS: Breakthrough Women in Science & Medicine Mary Mark Ockerbloom, breast cancer Olga Lander File:Olga Lander WWII.jpg Soviet documentary photographer and Journalist Did You Know that Olga Lander's camera required her to work close to the dangerous wartime subjects she photographed? Yes a Russian and her biography is here in English but its also available in Bashkir, Czech, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and of course Russian. She was a wartime photographer and we have not only her story but her photographs as well as they have been released by the Russian International News Agency (RIA Novosti) who have been released lots of images. Want to find out more? Well you can as she is no longer a "Women in Red". WikiProject Women in Red's Press women theme for May / Russian International News Agency? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, journalist, Russian Marie Meyer (aviator) Aviator ... that Marie Meyer's aerobatic stunts included standing on the upper wing of a biplane while it looped-the-loop (pictured)? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, aviator Laura J. Crossey Scientist that Laura J. Crossey has shown that travertines are more likely to form when meteoric groundwater mixes with deeper groundwater from the Earth's mantle? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, scientist Natacha Aguilar de Soto Spanish scientist that research on short-finned pilot whales by Natacha Aguilar de Soto is leading scientists to reassess foraging models for the behavior of marine predators? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, scientist Mary Zicafoose Textile artist that dyeing the threads for a weaving by Mary Zicafoose may involve wrapping, tying, and untying as many as 80,000 ikat ties? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Ikat, weaver Jan Yager Jewelry artist that Jan Yager's artwork American Ruff is made from discarded crack-cocaine vials and caps? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, artist Eleanor Vadala Scientist ... that Eleanor Vadala piloted, studied, and repaired balloons, and drove chase cars after them? #1day1woman Elizabeth Richards Tilton American suffragist ... that although Elizabeth Richards Tilton was a central figure in a six-month-long trial, she was never allowed to speak in court? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, suffragist Winifred Hallwachs Scientist ... that tropical ecologist Winifred Hallwachs helped develop and expand the Área de Conservación Guanacaste in Costa Rica, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Women in STEM: Ecologists WikiSalon Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Costa Rica Sylvia Stoesser Scientist that Sylvia Stoesser was called the "nasal chemist" because she could often identify the ingredients in an unknown laboratory mixture by smelling it? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, smelling, chemist Gao Xiaoxia File:Gao Xiaoxia.jpeg Chinese Scientist ... that Gao Xiaoxia abandoned her PhD studies to leave America in 1951, just before the US government banned Chinese students from returning home? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Chinese, Scientist Betsabeé Romero Mexican visual artist ... that the Day of the Dead was commemorated by Betsabeé Romero in Mexico City in 2016 with an installation of 103 trajineras decorated as memorial offerings? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Mexican, artist Theodosia Burr Shepherd Scientist ... that the company set up by horticulturist Theodosia Burr Shepherd is considered the foundation of the California seed industry? #1day1woman Women in Horticulture Mary Mark Ockerbloom, hortivultualist Caroline Ransom Williams Scientist that Egyptologist Caroline Ransom Williams supervised the reception and installation of the Tomb of Perneb at the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Art+Feminism Edit-a-thon @ Moore College of Art & Design Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Egypt Pamela Cunningham Copeland Scientist that Pamela Cunningham Copeland was honored by the Garden Club of America for her vision in preserving rare and endangered plants at Mount Cuba? Wikipedia:Meetup/PlantsAndPeopleMCC2017 @ Mt. Cuba Center Mary Mark Ockerbloom, gardener Salinee Tavaranan Thai Scientist that Salinee Tavaranan and her Border Green Energy Team installed solar panels and micro-hydro turbines at the Mae La refugee camp? BBC 100 Women Online Editathon, Mary Mark Ockerbloom, thai, scientist Claudine Picardet French Scientist ... that 18th-century chemist Claudine Picardet translated scientific articles from Swedish, English, German, and Italian into French? Ada Lovelace Day (Women in Science) Mary Mark Ockerbloom, French, scientist Marion Boulton Stroud File:Photo of Marion Boulton Stroud.jpg American museum director ... that Marion Boulton Stroud created The Fabric Workshop as a place for artists "to explore, to take liberties, to be a studio and laboratory of new design"? Philadelphia ArtandFeminism 2018 Mary Mark Ockerbloom, museum Omowunmi Sadik Nigerian-American Scientist ... that Omowunmi Sadik has developed highly sensitive microelectrode biosensors that can detect explosives? Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Nigerian Kathryn Hach-Darrow Scientist ... that Kathryn Hach-Darrow flew her small plane over 7,000 miles (11,000 km), promoting water purification equipment? Women's history month Mary Mark Ockerbloom, scientist Josephine Silone Yates African American Scientist ... that Josephine Silone Yates was the first black woman to head a college science department in the United States and a was a major figure in the African-American women's club movement? Black History Month African American, scientist Bettye Washington Greene African American Scientist ... that Bettye Washington Greene was the first African American female Ph.D. chemist to work in a professional position at the Dow Chemical Company, where she researched latex and polymers? Oklahoma Women in science edit-a-thon Mary Mark Ockerbloom, African American, scientist Gertrude Foster Brown American suffragist ... that Gertrude Foster Brown helped to found the National League of Women Voters and wrote Your Vote and How to Use It (1918)? U.S. Election Day Mary Mark Ockerbloom, American, suffragist Fatima Denton British-Gambian Scientist ... that research by Fatima Denton suggests that the adoption of new agricultural strategies is positively correlated with young workers (ages 6–14) and female-headed households? Wikipedia:WikiProject Africa/The 10,000 Challenge Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Gambian, scientist Carolyn Parker African American Scientist ... that Carolyn Parker was one of the few African-American scientists and technicians on the Manhattan Project? Wiki Education African American, scientist Geraldine Chacón Venezuelan lawyer that legal orders for the release of Geraldine Chacón, issued by the Venezuelan judicial system, were ignored by prison authorities? Amnesty International prisoner of conscience Venezualan, lawyer Mary Jobe Akeley American explorer, author, mountaineer, and photographer (1) That Mary Jobe Akeley collected plant specimens and mapped parts of the Belgian Congo, Kenya, and Tanzania on an expedition for the American Museum of Natural History? or (2) a peak in the Canadian Rockies in named after Mary Jobe Akeley, who led expeditions to explore the mountain in 1914 and 1915? WIR: Photographers (2018) American, mountaineer, explorer, photographer, author

Close

and @Missvain: ... can you name a few amazing women and a place where you discovered them?

and @Oronsay: ... can you name a biography that enraptured you and who clearly deserved to be on wiki?

and @DrThneed: ... can you name a few interesting women you have discovered and why is she unusual?

@Victuallers: My fave is Mary Steadman Aldis (1838?–1897) a committed campaigner for social reform on many fronts - she pushed for women's education in the UK and NZ, wrote a maths primer and astronomy book, and was one of my most-viewed DYKs with "Did you know... that "noted controversialist" Mary Aldis (depicted) tried to get Auckland City Council to stop a woman being fired from a cannon in 1887?". She was also lampooned in a cartoon in the newspaper. She had a lot of opposition but never seemed to give up.

I also offer you zoologist, radio host and documentary maker Alison Ballance, cook and TV personality Jo Seagar and actress Miriama McDowell, because they are household names in NZ and all gave me that "how on earth does this woman not have a page already?" reaction when they came across my radar. Some other favourites include Jeya Wilson who invited NZ prime minister David Lange to debate at the Oxford Union, giving a quote he is most famous for (about smelling uranium on his opponent's breath), and which he regarded as the high point of his political career! I shoudl mention that Jeya is interesting in her own right though, as she wrote a book about touring South Africa during apartheid as part of a mixed-race couple. Miriam Saphira who founded the Charlotte Museum of lesbian culture. Also a little trio of biochemists - Jeanette Crossley pioneered the use of bloodspot testing for cystic fibrosis in newborns, Anne Simmonds pioneered research on purine and pyrimidine metabolism, and Dianne Webster studied purine/pyrimidine metabolism and went on to direct NZ's national newborn metabolic screening programme for more than twenty-five years. That's probably enough from me!

That should keep the list going! Ive added the first two. I'll quote you on "how on earth does this woman not have a page already?". Feel free to draught some on the list if you have time. When I put my Mr Angry hat on then I might add "Did You Know that Unesco, RNZ and Oxford University have photos of the role model Jeya Wilson but we are are not allowed to use any of them? Victuallers (talk) 09:02, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

Ahaha yes on the images - I'm sorry I didn't read the details of the assignment properly and remember to recommend only women with images. Always such a problem to get them! DrThneed (talk) 21:38, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

• @Victuallers: how about Helen Noble Curtis? She was a Black YMCA worker during WWII, an anti-lynching activist and involved in the Pan African Congresses. I just stumbled onto her while researching women's suffrage. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 19:01, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

and @PamD: ... can you name a few amazing women you have discovered and why?

cheers Roger aka Victuallers (talk) 11:20, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

How about (interesting rather than amazing, perhaps?):

• Florence Wallace Pomeroy, Viscountess Harberton - created as part of WiR 65: Fashion, though more of an anti-fashion activist, a campaigner for "rational dress" for women. Her unsuccessful lawsuit against a pub which refused to serve her because of her clothing was said to have "hit the national headlines, made CTC a lot of friends, led to more women's cycling groups, and was a milestone on the road to female emancipation".
• Isabel Zendal, Spanish nurse and vaccination pioneer, born 1773 - created for WiR 58: Women in Healthcare; lots of streets, hospitals etc are named after her eg Hospital de Emergencias Enfermera Isabel Zendal in Madrid

PamD 14:56, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

Thanks Pam, I added them.... feel free to tweak or add another. Victuallers (talk) 21:02, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

OK we have about 70 but we need 50 more I reckon so that we can do a triage to reduce it to the very top 100. Why so many from the UK and the US and lots by Mary Mark Ockerbloom and Victuallers? Can you help to fix the balance by adding a few more? So calling some of our editors ...

@Rosiestep: ... can you name a few more women you have discovered or ones that others brought to your attention?

How about: Did you know that Adelaida Ferré Gomis was a historian of lace-making in Catalonia? --Rosiestep (talk) 03:11, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

Did you know that Madeleine Juneau was a Quebecois nun and also a musicologist? --Rosiestep (talk) 03:19, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

Did you know that Jane Cakebread set a record for number of newspaper paragraphs devoted to a woman during the reign of Queen Victoria, besides the queen herself? --Rosiestep (talk) 03:24, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

Did you know that the Angolan revolutionary, Deolinda Rodrigues, was a pen pal of Martin Luther King Jr. ? --Rosiestep (talk) 03:26, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

Did you know that it has been suggested that Modesta Ávila, a Californio folklore heroine, is a possible identity for a ghost known as the "White Lady"? --Rosiestep (talk) 03:35, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

Did you know that the Peruvian environmental defender, Irma Poma Canchumani, is also a mate burilado artist? --Rosiestep (talk) 03:46, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

Super!! Feel free to delete, copy edit etc. That's a good list. Thank you Rosie. Victuallers (talk) 10:27, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

Did you know that Ólafía Jóhannsdóttir was an Icelandic temperance leader whose book De ulykkeligste (The Miserables) had a wide circulation? --Rosiestep (talk) 03:51, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

and @Lajmmoore: ... can you name a few clever women you have discovered and why the lists?

and @Dsp13: ... can you name a few amazing women - why the interest in women from far off lands?

and @Bungle: ... can you name a few intriguing women you have discovered?

and @TJMSmith: ... can you name a few that you particularly remember?

and @97198: ... can you name a few amazing women you have discovered and what you were doing at the time?

and @Chocmilk03: ... can you name a few intriguing women you have discovered and how you did it?

and @Gaia Octavia Agrippa: ... name a woman or two who's now blue because of you and what you do?

and @Missvain: ... What was it like before Women in Red started :) ?

and ((ping|Editor in Red}}... 100s of editors not mentioned here including @Ipigott:

Have a go, just add a name or copy edit the whole list. Too busy? Not interested? Thats OK. Don't feel nagged Victuallers (talk) 13:46, 9 June 2025 (UTC)

@Victuallers, is there scope for including previous DYK hooks or is the expectation all should be fresh? Bungle ^{(talk • contribs)} 18:35, 10 June 2025 (UTC)

Hiya! I've been a bit awol lately, but would highlight Mona Williams (writer, born 1943) - great photo. I previously nominated her for DYK so there are a couple of hook-y suggestions there, possibly could think of something better.

Also Ariana Tikao who is known for being part of the revival of traditional Māori musical instruments and composer Maewa Kaihau spring to mind. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 21:55, 15 June 2025 (UTC)

That would be fine @Bungle:, if we have a good hook then lets use it! Victuallers (talk) 22:15, 10 June 2025 (UTC)

We still need 40 or so, more. At the moment we have a lot of Americans and Brits. Can we find some more Africans, Latin Americans, Arabs, Antarctica? Victuallers (talk) 09:33, 13 June 2025 (UTC)

• I'll nominate Sarah Margru Kinson (born about 1832, died after 1854), "considered the first woman born in Africa to be educated in an American college" --she was an African child on the Amistad, arrived in New England in 1839, returned to West Africa in 1842, returned to the United States to attend Oberlin College in 1846, returned to West Africa again as a missionary teacher in 1849. So, eventful mid-19c life; and the page even has an image of Kinson. Penny Richards (talk) 02:44, 14 June 2025 (UTC)

Thank you so much for putting this up it is so interesting and also very diverse. I found a few articles to translate in French.

I would also like to suggest Rosette Wolszak on the list :). Nattes à chat (talk) 21:12, 13 June 2025 (UTC)

Thank you, Ive added her and creditted you. Any suggestions you have and particularly for Francophones would help us add some balance. Do tell us of any articles you translate. Victuallers (talk) 14:23, 14 June 2025 (UTC)

Who are the most interesting 100 women? Maybe I'll ask some very very experienced editors. Looking for women who are intriguing, with a hook and a pic, in the last ten years, preferably not US or UK. See the list 100 Women list for a clue. Don't need dozens. One or Two would be ideal. Its to celebrate 10 years of Women in Red

I could ask @Jane023: ... can you name a few intriguing women you have discovered? Dutch painter? with photo and interesting hook

and @Pigsonthewing: ... can you name a few articles about women that you particularly remember?

and @Gatoclass: ... you've seen a hook or two?

and @Materialscientist: ... not famous, just interesting, with photo and interesting hook

and @PFHLai: ... any you particularly remember?

and @Daniel Case: ... long time ...?

and @Anthere: Have you seen a few interesting articles? Any that stick in your memory?

Feel free to ignore ... but just thought I'd ask some DYK veterans. My very best regards Roger aka Victuallers (talk) 09:04, 15 June 2025 (UTC)

I've added an article by @Roundtheworld: and several others Victuallers (talk) 14:55, 15 June 2025 (UTC)

Coming very late to this, I would have nominated pioneer of oral history in Australia, Hazel de Berg. Perhaps we should consider creating the WIR equivalent of Salon des Refuses, where those who didn't make the Top 100 may still find a place to again be celebrated? Oronsay (talk) 06:13, 21 June 2025 (UTC)

I hope it's made clear that this is just a tiny sampling of interesting stories, and that 100 is a satisfying but artificial number; no kind of ranking or cut-off should even be implied. We could really highlight hundreds of interesting stories from our articles, every month; our bench is deep.Penny Richards (talk) 15:55, 28 June 2025 (UTC)

@David Eppstein: ... there was a woman in ancient Egypt who tried to calculate how many years it would be before a woman first dabbled in mathematics. As her scribe hit the clay she realised she didn't exist.

Thanks for the contribution. Forgive the image please it does help I think with the understanding. I can't get limericks to scan but maybe you can. Victuallers (talk) 12:08, 21 June 2025 (UTC)

Twas a woman named Pandrosian's dismay

Who decided the first female maths day

She handled the ambiguity

but not the discontinuity

She disappeared as her pen hit the clay

Victuallers (talk) 12:08, 21 June 2025 (UTC)

This is such a cool idea -- I'm excited about it! I've got a question about the intro on the main page. I read these few sentences: "Will Marie Curie and Nefertiti be in this list? No. They will may be in the index." -- I think there must be typo in the last sentence, but I don't feel confident of its intent, so I'm not going to edit it directly. Possibilities:

• They may well be in the index.
• They may be in the index. [I think this is the most likely but I'm not sure]
• They will be in the index.

- Kenirwin/(talk) 12:51, 27 June 2025 (UTC)

Oh be bold! You can only be wrong :-) "They may well be in the index." Your reticence means you pass the test to alter as much as you think you can improve, Its a lot of work but I do hope it turns into a cool document (or vanity book?). It will be tabled in August in Nairobi. Victuallers (talk) 09:08, 28 June 2025 (UTC)

bold or not, I wonder what kind of process you're looking for to compile the list -- there's a table on both this talk page and the main project page. I added an entry for Mary Jobe Akeley to the talk page table, but I didn't know if you or a team was doing some vetting/triage before adding folks to the main page. I did a bunch of WIR articles a few years ago, and she's the one who most stands out in my memory. - Kenirwin/(talk) 21:07, 28 June 2025 (UTC)

There is a table on both pages because someone created another as a gift. I didnt notice that you had editted their work on the talk page. I'm adding articles and some are slipping off the bottom. That's the level of vetting. Articles about US/UN with no photo are of less priority .... but if they are interesting then they're in. I have added a photo for Mary to help the entry. HTH Roger aka Victuallers (talk) 07:19, 30 June 2025 (UTC)

I hid the list on this page Victuallers (talk) 07:57, 30 June 2025 (UTC)

Happy birthday, WiR! But I admit to being somewhat dismayed whenever I see a phrase like "read Penny Richards' Wikipedia article which is in several languages." Because, well, it's not my article. I started it, but I don't control what happens next and don't consider it mine they way I do academic articles or creative writing. And I certainly didn't write any of the translated versions. When I'm talking to new editors, I try to emphasize this--it's not your article, it's an encyclopedia article that you started or improved. Taking too much ownership of an article can lead to disappointment when it gets changed or deleted. And collaboration is the magic; the best articles I have started no longer resemble that first published version, with input and adjustments from many others, and that's a good thing!

Just a little point that caught my eye in the current draft of things. You don't have to change anything, I just wanted to air my concern. Penny Richards (talk) 18:27, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

Hi @Penny Richards:, sorry for the delayed reply. I understand your concern. It isn't "your" article. In fact when you publish the first version of an article then its not so much a claim to ownership but more a gift from you to the world. How that article develops is the result (hopefully) of many editors. However this isn't "my" list either - you are allowed to change stuff :) But I will have a look cos I understand and agree with your point. Victuallers (talk) 18:06, 25 July 2025 (UTC)

I like that understanding of it as not my article, but my gift--yes, that fits with my thinking too. Penny Richards (talk) 20:24, 25 July 2025 (UTC)