Celebrate the Women in Your Life During 2013 Women's History Month

Little known facts about women's achievements

The first windshield wiper was invented by Mary Anderson in 1902. Initially a rubber blade operated by a lever inside the vehicle, this concept became standard on all vehicles in 1916.

* In 1909, Alice Huyler Ramsey was the first woman to drive cross country, making the 3,800 mile journey from New York to San Francisco in only 59 days--a record for the time.

* Actress Florence Lawrence invented the first turn signal and brake light concepts around 1923. These original versions were modifed through the years but by the 1940s Flo's features were customary on most vehicles.
Visit "Women's History Month.

About Women’s History Month from the Law Library of Congress' guide to the legislative history of Women's History Month:

 

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet have proved invaluable to society.

Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week."

Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as "Women’s History Week." In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month."

Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month.

Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”