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Women in History
Julia
Morgan (1872-1957)
Julia Morgan was a pioneer in an industry that fascinates me,
and would pursue given the opportunity.
Julia Morgan was the first woman licensed Architect in
California known mostly for her design of William Randolph
Hearst’s Castle at San Simeon near San Luis Obispo.
Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Hearst did not ‘pluck’
her out of obscurity, she had a great deal of experience and her own
profitable firm at the time Hearst approached her for his project.
Julia
Morgan was born in San Francisco on January 26, 1872 to prosperous
parents. She graduated from high school, and went on to study
engineering (as there was no architecture degree available east of
the Rockies) at the University of California.
She graduated in 1894 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, one
of the first women to have completed this degree.
Ms.
Morgan had the opportunity after college to work with Bernard
Maybeck, who encouraged her to take entrance examinations at the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. At this time, Ecole des Beaux-Arts had just opened the exam
to women. She packed
off to Paris to be rejected by the Beaux-Arts, but with the help of
many influential people who believed in her, this original decision
from the school came under criticism, and she was finally allowed to
attend as she passed her initial exams.
The work was rigorous, but she endured and excelled.
She was awarded eight ‘Mentions’ and two Medals.
When she left the school she was thirty years old.
From
1901 to 1902 Julia Morgan went to work for a firm in Paris, and then
returned to Oakland, California in 1902.
In 1904, after working for other firms and a dissolved
partnership, she continued her career as a sole practitioner.
In addition to San Simeon, she designed buildings for Mills
College, Fairmont Hotel, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, YWCA’s
in Oakland and San Jose, the Potrero Hill Settlement House, The Zen
Center in San Francisco, and many, many others.
There are over 700 buildings and homes attributed to Julia
Morgan.
In 1950 she closed her office, and passed away in February of
1957. She was the first
woman in California to be a licensed as an architect, and her firm
was one of the first California businesses to participate in the
concept of formalized profit sharing with employees.
She actively encouraged women in the sciences and hired many
women in her firm. Northern
California is filled with many of her buildings, but unfortunately
she ordered her files to be burned when she closed her office, so
people who believe that they have a Julia Morgan masterpiece, find
themselves on a long road of research and discovery to find the
appropriate documentation. To
read more about Julia Morgan check out your local library, or search
the Internet. There are
many wonderful sites dedicated to her, but I found the site www.juliamorgan.org
most factual, with links to examples of her buildings.
University at CalPoly also had a wonderful site and has many
of her personal affects. The
website for CalPoly is www.lib.calpoly.edu.
Susan B. Anthony was a woman of focused conviction.
The rights and ideas that she fought for so many years ago
are just as relevant today as they were during her lifetime.
She was an educational reformer, labor activist, suffragette,
and women’s/equal right’s campaigner.
These inalienable rights that she fought for continue to be
attacked, and now require our dedication.
Susan B. Anthony was born into a Quaker family on Feb.15,
1820.
Her introduction to activism started early, as her family was
active in the Anti-slavery movement.
Through out her entire life she continually fought for equal
rights for voting, education, and any other amenities afforded to
white society, not available for all members of our society.
Anthony worked tirelessly to have the University of Rochester
admit women.
After many petitions and money pledges, she was able to get
the University to finally admit women in 1900.
Equal pay for equal work was a tremendous battle Anthony took
on in 1868, which we still are fighting.
She believed in labor organization, better working
conditions, and equal pay.
In 1870 she formed the Workingwomen’s Central Association,
which monitored working conditions and tried to provide educational
opportunities for working women.
Anthony is best known for her contribution in the area of
women’s suffrage.
She is recognized for her work with Elizabeth Cady Stanton
and participation at the first women’s rights convention in
Syracuse, NY in 1852.
Anthony and Stanton in 1868 formed the American Equal Rights
Association, which campaigned for a constitutional amendment.
Anthony appeared before every congress between 1869 and 1906
petitioning the approval of a suffrage amendment.
In 1872 Anthony was arrested in Rochester for voting
‘illegally’.
She was fined, but refused to pay.
She died on March 13, 1906 after a long life of activism.
There is a great deal of information about her written in
books and on the Internet.
In 1881 Anthony, Stanton and Matilda Joslin Gage published
Volume I of “History of Woman Suffrage. “ Her home in Rochester,
NY is a historical site and has a wonderful website at www.susanbanthonyhouse.org.
At the Central San Diego City Library you can check out a
video produced for PBS by Ken Burns and Paul Barnes called, “Not
Ourselves Alone—The story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B.
Anthony.”
Your local library would also be a great resource if you want
to read more about Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, or any
other women. Remember to celebrate Susan B. Anthony’s life and
achievements on February 15th and maybe volunteer for a
cause you feel passionate about.
Esther
Peterson (1906-1991)
Esther Peterson was a woman with the ability to create change
with dignity and ethics. Mrs.
Peterson was born December 9th, 1906 in Provo, Utah.
She received her BA from Brigham Young University In 1927 and
her masters from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1930.
In twelve years of teaching she spent a great of that time
instructing women workers around Philadelphia, PA and in Esopus, NY.
In 1939 the Amalgamated
Clothing Workers of America appointed her assistant director of
education, which she maintained until 1944.
This post was perfect for her due to her teaching
experiences. She would
maintain this position until she was appointed a legislative
representative for the ACWA. Even
when she went abroad with her husband she continued to represent the
American trade movement at international conferences.
She worked closely with Sweden and Belgium on problems of
women workers from 1948 through 1957.
In 1961 she was the head
of the Women’s Bureau in the Department of Labor.
As Assistant Secretary of Labor, she achieved the creation of
the first presidential commission on women, headed initially by
Eleanor Roosevelt. This group focused federal attention on the
status and conditions of women in the workplace. As she always had, she continued to fight for and make
strides in the area of fair and equal standards for working women.
In addition to this
distinguished career, she was a champion of older Americans.
She helped to found the United Seniors Health Cooperative in
1985, which fights for seniors’ rights to easily accessible health
care and services. She
believed that older Americans should make their voices heard and
were a powerful force. She
once said in an interview that she kept going by, “…asking
myself every day what have I done to help another human being.”
This dedication and humility I cannot help but respect and
admire. She is a role
model for living an active and participatory life.
Her ideals made her one of the most respected women in
Washington D.C. in the 20th century.
If you are interested in more information on Esther Peterson
the book Restless: The Memoirs of Labor and Consumer Advocate Esther
Peterson, by Esther Peterson and Winifred Conckling is still
available. Also check
out www.greatwomen.org as a
resource for brief biographical information on women who have made a
difference in many different ways.
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