January 24

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Women peacemakers born today

  • 1876 Beulah Marie Dix born Kingston, MA (d. 1970). American pacifist playwright, author, and screenwriter. Wrote several antiwar plays opposing WWI.

  • 1877 Louise Van den Plas born Brussels, Belgium (d. 1968). Pacifist; founder of the Belgian Christian feminist movement.

  • 1890 Jeanne Humbert born Romans, France (d. 1986). Militant anarchist pacifist feminist and neo-Malthusian; jailed many times for her radical views. Wrote book Against the Coming War, 1933.

  • 1910 Doris Haddock born Laconia, NH. Walked 3200 miles from Pasadena, CA to Washington DC in support of campaign finance reform, 1999.

  • 1924 Catherine Hamlin born Sydney, Australia. Obstetrician/gynecologist. Received Right Livelihood Award for providing Ethiopian women surgery for obstetric fistulas (often resulting from sexual violence), 2009.

  • 1930 Shirley Farlinger (née Tabb) born Toronto, Ontario (d. 2012). Canadian peace activist; poet and playwright; leader in Canadian Voice of Women (VOW), Pugwash Science for Peace; editor, Peace Magazine.

  • 1947 Ellen Thomas born Brooklyn, NY. American peace activist. Founded Proposition One against nuclear weapons, 1990; maintained Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil at White House 1984-2002. Sentenced to 3 months prison for camping in Lafayette Park, 1984.

  • 1960 Abigail Disney born North Hollywood, CA. Filmmaker; peace activist; produced Pray the Devil Back to Hell about women’s peacemaking in Liberia, 2008; PBS Women, War & Peace, 2011; founded Peace is Loud 2008 featuring women peacemakers; trip to Dem. Repub. Congo to support women's peacemaking, 2011; Sri Lanka 2012 to start Sri Lankan Women’s Agenda on Peace; joined Ahava boycott, 2012; crossed Korean demarcation line in appeal for peace 2015; International Advocate for Peace award 2011.

  • 1960 Leila Nadya Sadat born Newark, NJ. American professor of international law; authority on International Criminal Court and human rights.

Women's peacemaking on this day

  • 1983 British Dept. of Environment restricts common land status of Greenham Common in effort to restrict protesters.

  • 2005 Following the Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko appointed Ukrainian Prime Minister.

  • 2011 Speaking at York University, Toronto policeman Michael Sanguinetti admonished, "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized," inspiring world-wide Slut Walk protests.

  • 2013 Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence ended six-week fast after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed to discuss First Nations issues.

  • 2014 Cairo police shot and killed Shaima al-Sabbagh as she celebrated the Arab Spring, carrying roses and singing, "Living—freedom—social justice."