First Ladies Salute First Women 1999-2001
First Ladies Salute First Women was an event founded by the National First Ladies' Library to salute and honor living women who are the first to attain a nationally prominent position, post, or achievement in their chosen field of endeavor, or who are pioneers or have made significant contributions in their field.
In honoring women of significant achievement through the First Ladies Salute First Women awards, the National First Ladies' Library celebrates the rich heritage of all American women and restores their heritage to mainstream American culture.
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2001 The Honorable Corinne "Lindy" Boggs , the first female ambassador to the Vatican
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2001 Elizabeth Dole , the first female Secretary of Transportation
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2001 Bernadine Healy, M.D., the first female director of the National Institutes of Health |
2001 Wilhelmina Holladay , founder and Chairman of the Board of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the first and only center of its kind |
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2000 Althea Gibson - first African American women to win both Wimbledon and U.S Open championships and the first African American to hold an LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) card |
2000 Frankie Hewitt - producing artistic director of Ford's Theatre; turned the museum into a living memorial to a beloved president |
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2001 Coretta Scott King , founder of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change |
2000 Kathryn Sullivan - first American woman to walk in space |
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2000 Antonia Novello - first female and first Hispanic to serve as U.S. Surgeon General |
2000 Helen Thomas - first female president of the White House Correspondents Association, the first female officer of the National Press Club and the first female member - later president - of the Gridiron Club |
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1999 Shirley Chisholm - first African American woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representative |
1999 Gwendolyn Brooks - first African American Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry |
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1999 Elizabeth Campbell - the founder and Vice President for Community Affairs of WETA Public Television |
1999 Sandra Day O'Connor - the first female Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court |
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1999 Madeleine Albright - the first female U.S. Secretary of State |
1999 Hillary Rodham Clinton – special award presented to the sitting First Lady |