Women | US-TN | Tennessee

1800s

Sarah Childress Polk (04 sep 1803 – 14 aug 1891 | Murfreesboro TN – Nashville TN) US Presidential First Lady, active Presbyterian, Presidential consultant, hosted first annual Thanksgiving Dinner at the White House

Emily Donelson (01 jun 1807 – 19 dec 1836 | Donelson TN – Nashville TN) shortest-lived US First Lady, White House Hostess

Mary Ramsey Lemons Wood (20 may 1809 – 01 jan 1908 | Knoxville TN – Hillsboro OR) pioneer, died as oldest person (disputed), aka Oldest Methodist in the World, First Mother Queen of Oregon Pioneers


1810s

Eliza McCardle Johnson (04 oct 1810 – 15 jan 1876 | Telford TN – Greeneville TN) US Presidential First Lady, informal Presidential tutor / educator


1820s

Ann Eliza Worcester Robertson (07 nov 1826 – 19 nov 1905 | Brainerd TN – Muskogee OK) author, editor, teacher, missionary, translator, Muscogee / English linguistics scholar

Pamela Clemens Moffett (13 sep 1827 – 31 aug 1904 | Jamestown TN – Greenwich CT) musician, music teacher, literary family figure


1830s

Lucy Petway Holcombe Pickens (11 jun 1832 – 08 aug 1899 | La Grange TN – Edgefield SC) author, socialite, flag seamstress, Confederate icon, aka Queen of the Confederacy

Elizabeth Lyle Saxon (02 dec 1832 – 14 mar 1915 | Greenville TN – Memphis TN) speaker, memoirist, women’s rights activist, pioneer Southern suffrage leader

Larcena Ann Pennington Page Scott (10 jan 1837 – 31 mar 1913 | Nashville TN – Tucson AZ) pioneer, Western folk heroine, Indian kidnap survivor


1840s


1850s

Mary Susan Noailles Murfree (24 jan 1850 – 31 jul 1922 | Murfreesboro TN – Murfreesboro TN) novelist, short story writer, aka Charles Egbert Craddock

Margaret Elizabeth [Lizzie] Crozier French (07 may 1851 – 14 may 1926 | Knoxville TN – Washington DC) educator, suffragist, social reform activist

Virginia E. Walker Broughton (01 mar 1856 – 21 sep 1934 | Nashville TN – Memphis TN) African-American author, teacher, essayist, preacher, religious scholar, Baptist missionary

Mary Boyce Temple (06 jul 1856 – 16 may 1929 | Knoxville TN – Knoxville TN) socialite, biographer, philanthropist, first president of the Ossoli Circle

Matilda Lotz (29 nov 1858 – 21 feb 1923 | Franklin TN – Tata, Hungary) painter, world traveler, animal portrait artist

Elizabeth Lee Bloomstein (08 jan 1859 – 02 jan 1927 | Nashville TN – Nashville TN) suffragist, clubwoman, history professor, university librarian


1860s

Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer (18 nov 1861 – 16 dec 1951 | Montgomery TN – New Orleans LA) journalistcrime reporter, advice columnist, aka Dorothy Dix

Willie Betty Newman (21 jan 1863 – 06 feb 1935 | Murfreesboro TN – Nashville TN) portrait artist, worked / exhibited in Paris salons and in her native Tennessee and throughout the US

Virginia Frazer Boyle (14 feb 1863 – 13 dec 1938 | Chattanooga TN – Memphis TN) poet, author

Mary Eliza Church Terrell (23 sep 1863 – 24 jul 1954 | Memphis TN – Annapolis MD) suffragist, civil rights activist / leader, first female African-American college graduate

Claribel Cone (14 nov 1864 – 20 sep 1929 | Jonesboro TN – Baltimore MD) German-American art collector, physician, pathologist

Mary Frances Isom (27 feb 1865 – 15 apr 1920 | Nashville TN – Portland OR) librarian, community activist

Janie Brady Jones (29 oct 1866 – 21 nov 1958 | Jackson TN – Jackson TN) US folk figure, wife of legendary railroad engineer Casey Jones

Emma Azalia Hackley (29 jun 1867 – 13 dec 1922 | Murfreesboro TN – Detroit MI) singer, author, lecturer, musician, child prodigy, school teacher, music publisher, civic / social / civil rights activist, founding executive director Colored Women’s League, founded Hackley Choral Society and Voice Normal Institute 


1870s

Sarah Jane Layton Walker Cahier (08 jan 1870 – 15 apr 1951 | Nashville TN – Manhattan Beach CA) master teacher / vocal coach, contralto / mezzo-soprano opera and lieder singer, dual American-Swedish citizenship

Etta Cone (30 nov 1870 – 31 aug 1949 | Jonesboro TN – Baltimore MD) heiress, literary figure, modern art collector

Mary Magdalena Lewis Tate (05 jan 1871 – 28 dec 1930 | Vanleer TN – Philadelphia PA) African-American, author, preacher, Bishop Mother, religious leader, Church of the Living God, Pillar and Ground of Truth founder

Alice Nielsen (07 jun 1872 – 08 mar 1943 | Nashville TN – Far Rockaway NY) operatic lyric soprano

Mary Engle Pennington (08 oct 1872 – 27 dec 1952 | Nashville TN – New York NY) author, egg carton inventor, bacteriological chemist, one of first female refrigeration engineers, aka The Ice Mother and The Mother of Refrigerated Shipping

Mary Carr Moore (06 aug 1873 – 09 jan 1957 | Memphis TN – Inglewood CA) author, vocalist, composer, conductor, music educator

Jeannette Augustus Marks (16 aug 1875 – 15 mar 1964 | Chattanooga TN – Westport NY) author, lecturer, educator, feminist

Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (01 feb 1878 – 21 dec 1950 | Bakerville TN – Falls Church VA) educator, politician, first woman elected full term US Senator

Anne Bradshaw Clopton (22 jul 1878 – 04 feb 1956 | Shelbyville TN – Huntsville AL) artist, cobweb painter, school teacher, Girl Scout activist

Henrietta Crawley Myers (10 nov 1878 – 25 mar 1968 | Nashville TN – Nashville TN) contralto singer, choral director, directed Fisk Jubilee Singers

Mary Susan James Barr (17 jun 1879 – 11 oct 1935 | Nashville TN – Kansas City MO) folk figure, daughter of Zerelda Mimms and outlaw Jesse James | women.born.today © susan.powers.bourne

Beth Slater Whitson (01 dec 1879 – 26 apr 1930 | Goodrich TN – Nashville TN) poet, lyricist, short fiction author


1880s

Maude Mary Hawk Fealy (04 mar 1883 – 09 nov 1971 | Memphis TN – Woodland Hills CA) actress, lecturer, playwright

Mary Ross Calvert (20 jun 1884 – 25 jun 1974 | Nashville TN – Nashville TN) author, astro-photographer, astronomical computer, Yerkes photographic plate collection and a high-level assistant at Yakes Observatory

Sue Shelton White (25 may 1887 – 06 may 1943 | Henderson TN – Washington DC) editor, author, lawyer, aka Miss Sue, reformer, suffragist, public official, National Women’s Party leader


1890s

Evelyn Dunn Scott (17 jan 1893 – 03 aug 1963 | Clarksville TN – New York NY) poet, critic, novelist, essayist, playwright, aka Daughter of Tennessee

Alberta Hunter (01 apr 1895 – 17 oct 1984 | Memphis TN – Roosevelt Island NY) nurse, composer, jazz / blues singer-songwriter, aka May Alix, Josephine Beatty

Lil Hardin Armstrong (03 feb 1898 – 27 aug 1971 | Memphis TN – Chicago IL) jazz singer, pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader

Mary Willie [Grace] Moore (05 dec 1898 – 26 jun 1947 | Del Rio TN – Copenhagen, Denmark) operatic soprano, film / musical theatre actress, autobiographical author, aka Tennessee Nightingale


1900s

Florence Patton Reece (12 apr 1900 – 03 aug 1986 | Sharps Chapel TN – Knoxville TN) poet, folk songwriter, labor / civil rights activist

Ida Lou Anderson (06 nov 1900 – 16 sep 1941 | Morgantown TN – Oregon) professor of speech, polio victim, pioneer in field of radio broadcasting, critic / mentor / guide / compass for legendary Edward R. Murrow


1910s

Elsie Quarterman (28 nov 1910 – 09 jun 2014 | Valdosta GA – Nashville TN) author, essayist, plant ecologist, rediscovered Tennessee coneflower (1969) thought extinct

Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (25 oct 1912 – 04 mar 1996 | Centerville TN – Nashville TN) memoirist, comedienne, aka Minnie Pearl, cookbook writer, autobiographical author

Carman Dee Barnes (20 nov 1912 – 19 aug 1980 | Chattanooga TN – Salzburg, Austria) novelist, studied with esotericist P. D. Ouspensky

Catherine Sarah Wood Marshall Le Sourd (27 sep 1914 – 18 mar 1983 | Johnson City TN – Boynton Beach FL) inspirational fiction / nonfiction author

Cornelia Clark Fort (05 feb 1919 – 21 mar 1943 |  Nashville TN – Merkel TX) aviator, first woman flight instructor (TN) / civilian pilot instructor at Pearl Harbor (HI), second one to join WAFS [Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron], first female pilot in US history to die  on active duty


1920s

Betty Jayne Schultz (12 feb 1921 – 22 nov 2018 | Greenville TN – Santa Monica CA) actress, operatic singer

Mildred T. Stahlman (31 jul 1922 – Nashville TN) essayist, researcher, professor pediatrics and pathology, founded first newborn intensive care unit in the world, initiated Angel Transport mobile intensive-care for newborns

Mary Elizabeth McHughes Ferrell (26 oct 1922 – 20 feb 2004 | Memphis TN – Dallas TX) historian, legal secretary, independent researcher, JFK assassination expert, namesake for Mary Ferrell Foundation

Muriel Davis Wilkins (06 dec 1923 – 01 oct 1990 | Memphis TN – Memphis TN) pianist, musician, woman referred to in song Walking in Memphis

Nancy Roman (16 may 1925 – Nashville TN) US educator, astronomer, public speaker, women-in-science activist / advocate, one of first female executives at NASA, aka Mother of Hubble

Margaret [Peggy] Doris Hawkins Keane (15 sep 1927 – Nashville TN) artist, painter, known for her big-eyed waifs portraits

Anita Jean Grilli (13 oct 1927 – Memphis TN) singer, pianist, author, arranger, memoirist, composer, conductor, music producer, aka Anita Kerr

Mignon Dunn (17 jun 1928 – Memphis TN) dramatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher / coach / judge, faculty member Manhattan School of Music

Joan Williams (26 sep 1928 – 11 apr 2004 | Memphis TN – Westport CT) author, novelist, literary figure

Selwa Carmen Showker [Lucky] Roosevelt (13 jan 1929 – Kingsport TN) author, journalist, freelance writer, Lebanese-American, longest-serving US Chief of Protocol

Billie Nipper (22 nov 1929 – 24 feb 2016 | Cleveland TN – Cleveland TN) horse breeder, horse portrait artist


1930s

Mary Costa (05 apr 1930 – Knoxville TN) operatic soprano, voice actress, children’s / teen motivational speaker, Childhelp anti-child abuse activist

Polly Bergen (14 jul 1930 – 20 sep 2014 | Knoxville TN – Southbury CT) author, actress, tv host, entrepreneur, née Nellie Paulina Burgin

Margaret A. Newman (10 oct 1933 – Memphis TN) nurse, author, professor, nursing theorist, focus on theory of health as expanding consciousness

Kathleen Armstrong Thomerson (18 feb 1934 – Jackson TN) organist, hymnist, organ teacher, church music director

Bette Greene (28 jun 1934 – Memphis TN) reporter, essayist, screenwriter, short fiction writer, children’s / young adult novelist

Jane Wagner (26 feb 1935 – Morristown TN) writer, director, producer, Lily Tomlin’s wife / writer / collaborator

Jennie M. Forehand (17 dec 1935 – Nashville TN) teacher, statistician, Maryland State legislator, businesswoman, juvenile court probation counselor, founded Forehand Antiques and Interiors

Marilou Awiakta (24 jan 1936 – Knoxville TN) poet, essayist, translator, short story writer, US Air Force officer, Eastern Band Cherokee

Dorothy Butler Gilliam (24 nov 1936 – Memphis TN) journalist, columnist, first female African-American reporter at Washington Post

Jeanette Brooks Priebe (04 jul 1937 – Bolivar TN) civil rights / affirmative action activist, first female Director of Louisville KY Civil Service Board

Mary Frances Berry (17 feb 1938 – Nashville TN) historian, non-fiction author, civil rights activist, history / social thought professor

Beverly Fey Lowry (10 aug 1938 – Memphis TN) novelist, educator, short story writer

Lara Parker (27 oct 1938 – Knoxville TN) actress, novelist, born Mary Lamar Rickey

Naomi C. Matusow (31 oct 1938 – Nashville TN) lawyer, state politician, former public school mathematics teacher

Tina Turner (26 nov 1939 – Nutbush TN) singer, dancer, author, actress, born Anna Mae Bullock, dual American-Swiss citizenships


1940s

Wilma Glodean Rudolph(23 jun 1940 – 12 nov 2012 | Saint Bethlehem TN – Brentwood TN) Olympic runner, elementary teacher, sports broadcaster, autobiographical author, civil rights / women’s rights pioneer, aka The Tornado, The Fastest Woman on Earth

Lucy Morgan (11 oct 1940 – Memphis TN) reporter, editorialist

Paula Robison (08 jun 1941 – Nashville TN) flutist, music teacher, founding member Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Sandra Cecelia Seaton (10 jul 1942 – Columbia TN) librettist, playwright

Yolanda Cornelia [Nikki] Giovanni Jr. (07 jun 1943 – Knoxville TN) poet, writer, activist, educator, essayist, commentator, member of Black Arts Movement

Sondra Louise Smith Locke (28 may 1944 or 1947 – Shelbyville TN) singer, actress, film director

Lisa Alther (23 jul 1944 – Kingsport TN) author, novelist

Patricia [Pat] McKissack (09 aug 1944 – 07 apr 2017 | Smyrna TN – Bridgeton MO) biographer, children’s book author, aka L’Ann Carwell, Pat McKissack, Patricia C. McKissack

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot (22 aug 1944 – Nashville TN) author, sociologist, professor, pioneer developer of portraiture social science methodology, first African-American female to have Harvard and Swarthmore endowed professorship named in her honor

Mary Jo Nye (05 dec 1944 – Nashville TN) editor, author, science historian, humanities professor,  scientific discovery and social / political phenomena specialist

Nancy Deborah Goldring (25 jan 1945 – Oak Ridge TN) artist, etcher, professor, multi-media / foto-projections artist

Shirley Raines (15 apr 1945 – Jackson TN) retired academic, leadership consultant, motivational speaker, former  professor of early childhood education, former president of University of Memphis

Rita Coolidge (01 may 1945 – Lafayette TN) singer, painter, memoirist, songwriter, recording artist, founding member of Walela Cherokee / Native American music trio

Judith Lang Zaimont (08 nov 1945 – Memphis TN) pianist, educator, composer, performer, female composer advocate

Dolly Rebecca Parton (19 jan 1946 – Sevier County TN) actress, memoirist, singer-songwriter, philanthropist, instrumentalist, children’s book author

Frances Bagley (07 apr 1946 – Fayetteville TN) mixed-materials sculptor

Beverly Guy-Sheftall (01 jun 1946 – Memphis TN) author, editor, feminist scholar

Barbara Barg (29 apr 1947 – 22 may 2018 | Memphis TN – US) poet, writer, musician

Jean Rosenberg Feldman (15 mar 1947 – Milan TN) aka Dr. Jean, author, teacher, musical artist, focus on children’s learning songs

Margaret Sloan-Hunter (31 may 1947 – 23 sep 2004 | Chattanooga TN – Oakland CA) poet, public speaker, editor of Ms. magazine, civil rights advocate, black feminist lesbian, co-founded Women’s Foundation, National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO), Berkeley Women’s Center and Feminist School for Girls

Margaret Rhea Seddon (08 nov 1947 – Murfreesboro TN) physician, clinical researcher, retired NASA astronaut, one of first women on US space shuttles

Kathleen Doyle [Kathy] Bates (28 jun 1948 – Memphis TN) actress, director, producer

Lee Wilson McGeorge Durrell (07 sep 1949 – Memphis TN) author, naturalist, zookeeper, television presenter, known for work at Isle of Jersey Zoological Park


1950s

Kay George Roberts (15 sep 1950 – Nashville TN) orchestral conductor, professor of music, founder / musical director of the New England Orchestra

Debbie Willhite (28 dec 1951 – Memphis TN) political activist / consultant

Ellen McLain (01 dec 1952 – Nashville TN) opera singer, voice actress

Lynne P. Sullivan (25 dec 1952 – Kingsport TN) author, curator, archaeologist, feminist / gender archaeology movement activist / contributor

Mary Alice McEvoy (13 mar 1953 – 25 oct 2002 | Knoxville TN – Eveleth MN) author, educator, campaign manager, plane crash victim, childhood disabilities / education scholar and researcher

Deborah Lynn Thurmond (30 sep 1953 – Memphis TN) author, actress, producer, publisher, singer-songwriter, aka Deborah Allen

Mary Rebecca Wadsworth Brandewyne (04 mar 1955 – Knoxville TN) romance novelist

Rosanne Cash (24 may 1955 – Memphis TN) author, memoirist, singer-songwriter

Dee Bagwell Haslam (05 jul 1955 – Knoxville TN) philanthropist, tv producer, businesswoman, NFL team co-owner, CEO / executive producer RIVR Media

Carol S. Batey (11 sep 1955 – Nashville TN) author, aesthetician, lifestyle coach, reflexologist, entrepreneur, massage therapist, professional speaker

Joan Jeanrenaud (25 jan 1956 – Memphis TN) avant-garde cellist, former member of Kronos Quartet

Park Overall (15 mar 1957 – Nashville TN) actress, environmental / women’s rights activist, former US Senate candidate

Leigh Allison Wilson (23 oct 1957 – Rogersville TN) novelist, short story writer, writing professor

Teresa Wynn Roseborough (28 nov 1958 – Memphis TN) lawyer, former US Deputy Assistant Attorney General

Tamara [Tammy] Jernigan (07 may 1959 – Chattanooga TN) scientist, former NASA astronaut, veteran of five shuttle missions