By Tim Lambert
1902
Women in Australia are allowed to vote in federal elections
1903
Marie Curie is the first woman to win a Nobel prize
1905
In the USA Nora Stanton Blatch Barney becomes the first woman member of the American Society of Civil Engineers
1907
Women in Finland are the first in the world to become MPs
1908
Aldeburgh becomes the first town in Britain to have a female mayor
1910
The first policewoman begins duty in Los Angeles
1913
Mary Phelps Jacob invents the bra. Georgis ‘Tiny’ Broadwick becomes the first woman to parachute from a plane.
1914
Britain gets its first policewomen
1915
Denmark gives women the right to vote
1916
Jeanette Rankin becomes the woman elected to the US Congress
1917
In Britain, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps is formed. The Women’s Royal Naval Service is also formed
1918
In Britain women over 30 are allowed to vote if they meet a property qualification. Germany and Austria give women the right to vote. In Canada, women are given the right to vote in federal elections.
1919
In Britain the Sex Disqualification Act allows women to become lawyers, vets, and civil servants. Ada Summers becomes the first woman magistrate to sit in court. The Women’s Engineering Society is formed. Britain also gets its first female MP. The Netherlands gives women the right to vote.
1920
In the USA all women get the right to vote
1921
Sweden gives women the right to vote. Agnes Macphail becomes the first Canadian woman MP.
1922
Rebecca Latimer Felton is appointed (not elected) the first woman US senator. Carrie Morrison is the first woman solicitor in England.
1925
Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes the first woman governor of a US state (Wyoming)
1926
Gertrude Ederle is the first woman to swim across the English channel
1928
In Britain, all women over 21 are allowed to vote the same as men
1929
Margaret Bondfield becomes the first woman cabinet minister in Britain
1930
Amy Johnson flies from Britain to Australia. Ellen Church becomes the first air hostess.
1931
Spain gives women the right to vote
1932
Hattie Ophelia Caraway is the first woman elected to the US Senate
1933
In the USA Frances Perkins becomes the first woman appointed to a presidential cabinet. Elizabeth McCombs is elected the first woman MP in New Zealand in 1933.
1934
Women in Turkey gain full voting rights
1935
Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot on Antarctica
1943
Women are elected to the Australian parliament for the first time
1944
France gives women the right to vote
1945
Italy gives women the right to vote
1946
Lilian Lindsay becomes the first woman president of the British Dental Association
1951
Bette Nesmith Graham invents liquid paper
1952
Greece gives women the right to vote
1953
Jacqueline Cochran is the first woman pilot to break the sound barrier
1955
Barbara Mandell becomes the first woman newsreader on British TV
1956
Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman recorder in Britain
1958
Hilda Harding becomes the first woman bank manager in Britain
1960
Sirimavo Bandaranaike becomes the first woman prime minister of a country (Sri Lanka)
1963
Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space. In the USA the Equal Pay Act is passed.
1964
Geraldine Mock is the first woman to fly solo around the world
1965
Elizabeth Taylor becomes the first female High Court Judge in Britain
1967
Sharon Sites Adams becomes the first woman to sail across the Pacific Ocean solo. Muriel Siebert becomes the first woman to own a seat on the New York stock exchange.
1971
Switzerland gives women the right to vote
1972
Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman judge at the Old Bailey (The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales)
1973
In Britain, women are allowed to join the stock exchange for the first time. Isabel Peron becomes Vice president of Argentina.
1974
Isabel Peron becomes president of Argentina (she was vice president but the president was dying). She is the first woman president in the world.
1975
A new law makes it illegal to discriminate against women in employment, education, and training. Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to climb Mount Everest.
1976
Mary Langdon becomes the first female firefighter in Britain
1977
Nancy Goorey becomes the first woman president of the American Dental Association
1978
Naomi James becomes the first woman to sail solo around the world
1979
Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman prime minister of Britain
1980
Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes the president of Iceland. She is the first elected woman president in the world.
1981
Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes the first woman prime minister of Norway. Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman judge on the US Supreme Court.
1983
Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. Mary Donaldson becomes the first woman Lord Mayor of London.
1987
The First World Women’s Wrestling Championships are held
1990
Mary Robinson becomes the first woman president of Ireland. Antonia Novello becomes the first woman surgeon general of the USA.
1992
Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman speaker of the House of Commons. Barbara Mills becomes the first female Director of Public Prosecutions.
1995
Pauline Clare becomes the first female chief constable in Britain
1999
Mireya Moscoso became the first woman president of Panama