The document summarizes the history of Women's History Month and profiles several pioneering women in maritime history and their accomplishments. It begins with an overview of how Women's History Week evolved into an official month-long celebration in the United States each March. The rest of the document provides brief biographies of influential female figures in maritime and naval fields, including the first women to command ships, work as lighthouse keepers, join the navy and coast guard, work in engineering and physics, and more. It concludes by highlighting several pioneering women in the history of SUNY Maritime College.

1. The Stephen B. Luce
Library celebrates
Women’s History Month
2015.
A celebration of remarkable
women in Maritime History
and Society.

2. The Origins of Women’s History Month
• “Women’s History Week” was founded by the
Education Task Force of the Sonoma County
(California) Commission in 1978.
• In 1980, President Jimmy Carter renamed it
“National Women’s History Week”.
• March was selected to coincide with
International Women’s Day which is
celebrated annually on March 8th.
• National Women’s History Week
became Women’s History Month in
1987 through the help of Congress.

3. MARY ANN PATTEN
First woman to command a US merchant vessel
• Sailed on the Neptune’s Car from New York to San
Francisco with her husband, Captain Joshua Patten,
July 1856. It was her third voyage.
• After her husband became bedridden with fever, she
had to take over the navigation and the control of
the ship through bad weather around Cape Horn.
• Faced a mutiny attempt from the first mate who had
been removed from duty for neglect and
insubordination. The crew stuck with her.
• The Neptune’s Car arrived in San Francisco on
November 15, with Mary having commanded the
boat for 51 days. When not on deck, she attended to
her infirmed husband. She was 19 at the time.

4. IDA LEWIS
Life-saving lighthouse keeper
• Keeper of the Lime Rock Light in
Rhode Island from1879-1911.
Assumed these duties for her
paralyzed father from 1857 onward.
• Famous for her heroic rescues in
the line of duty. She gained
national recognition for the 1869
rescue of 2 soldiers. This rescue
earned her a cover of Harper’s
Weekly, and visits from President
Grant and Vice President Cofax.
• She saved at least 17 other lives
before she passed away in 1911, still
the active lighthouse keeper.

5. LILLIAN GILBRETH
• Parent of 12
children. The book,
Cheaper by the
Dozen, was based
on her family life.
• She and her husband, Frank Bunker Gilbreth Sr., introduced
revolutionary concepts of time and motion management,
and design into engineering.
• Industrial Engineer and
American Psychologist.
• Fulltime mother
and working
woman, one of the
first working
female engineers.
• First woman to be a
member of the Society
of Mechanical
Engineers.

6. LT. HARRIET IDA PICKENS and ENS. FRANCES ELIZA WILLIS
First African American WAVES
• Graduates from the final
class of the Naval Reserve
Midshipmen’s School at
Northampton,
Massachusetts in December
1944.
• First African-American
females to be admitted to
the Women Accepted for
Volunteer Emergency
Service (WAVES)
commissioned in the U.S.
Navy.

7. CHIEN-SHIUNG WU
“First Lady of Physics”
• Chinese-American Nuclear Physicist.
• Worked on the Manhattan Project.
Helped to develop the process for
separating Uranium 235 (the
proposed fuel for the atomic bomb)
from Uranium 238.
• First Chinese-American to be elected
into the United States National
Academy of Sciences.
• First female president of the
American Physical Society (1975).

8. OLIVIA J. HOOKER
First African American woman to enlist in the U.S.
Coast Guard
• Survivor of the Tulsa,
Oklahoma race riots on
May 31-June 1, 1921.
• In 1945, she became the
first African American
woman to join the U.S.
Coast Guard, where she
would eventually earn
the rank of Yeoman
Second Class in the
Coast Guard Women’s
Reserve.
• Earned her M.A. in
Psychology from Columbia
University’s Teachers
College. This was followed
by her doctorate from the
University of Rochester.
• March 2015, the Coast
Guard named the galley at
its Staten Island base after
her in recognition of her
“distinguished service to
the Coast guard and her
wonderful efforts in serving
and helping others”.

9. LYNN KORWATCH
First female captain of a commercial ship
• Graduated from California Maritime
Academy in 1976, and became a chief
mate for Matson Navigation commercial
ships.
• She was made the first female captain
when she was put in command of the
Maui in 1988.
• Later served as general manager of
marine operations for Matson,
overseeing 14 vessels.
• Currently the executive director of the
Marine Exchange of the San Francisco
Bay Region.

10. KALPANA CHAWLA
First Indian-American astronaut
• Born in Karnal,
India in 1961 and
moved to the U.S.
to pursue higher
education in
aeronautical
engineering.
• She started
astronaut training
in 1994, and made
her first flight on
the Columbia
Space Shuttle in
1997.
• Her second flight was
on the ill-fated
Columbia flight in
2003. After
completing over 80
experiments during a
16-day mission, the
shuttle broke upon
reentry, killing all 7
crew members 16
minutes before their
scheduled landing.

11. KARIN STAHRE-JANSON
First female captain of a cruise ship
• Born in Sweden. Began her
maritime career as a junior seaman
at the age of 19 on a small
petroleum tanker. Worked her way
up through the ranks.
• On May, 2007, Royal Caribbean
International gave her command of
the 2,400-passenger ship, Monarch
of the Seas. That was the first time
in maritime history that a woman
was appointed to the position of
captain of a cruise ship.

12. ADMIRAL MICHELLE HOWARD
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
• Confirmed December 2013, making her
the first female four-star admiral, and
the first African-American woman with
any four-star rank.
• She graduated from the Naval Academy
in 1982, the third class which admitted
women, and in 1999 became the first
African-American woman to command a
ship.
• In 2009, she took command of Combined
Task Force 151, the counter-piracy strike
force that coordinated the rescue of
Captain Richard Phillips, which was
dramatized in the movie “Captain
Phillips”.

13. Women of SUNY Maritime History
MARJORIE MARY MURTAGH-COOKE - Class of 1974
First Female Graduate
• First woman to graduate from
SUNY Maritime College and
earn a U.S. Coast Guard license.
• Graduated as a Naval Architect
from the Marine Engineering
Department in May 1974.
• Became Assistant Dean of
Students at SUNY Maritime
College where she was
instrumental in establishing the
first program for female cadets.

14. Women of SUNY Maritime History
LISA M. DOWNING – Class of 1979,
First African American Female Graduate
• First African American woman to attend
SUNY Maritime College, member of
second class of women to join the
regiment.
• Graduated in 1979 with Bachelors of
Science degrees in Economics and Marine
Transportation Management.
• Earned a Master of Public Administration
degree from the George Washington
University.
• Over 25 years service in the U.S.
Government Intelligence Community.

15. Women of SUNY Maritime History
FILOMENA MAGAVERO,
First Female Faculty at SUNY Maritime College
• Filomena served the
library at SUNY
Maritime College for
over 54 years. When
Filomena retired in
2003, she became
the longest serving
librarian at SUNY
Maritime College.
• In 2007, Filomena’s
experiences and long
tenure as a librarian
serving SUNY
Maritime College
were published in the
book, Mrs. Magavero:
A History Based on
the Career of an
Academic Librarian.

16. Women of SUNY Maritime History
DR. KAREN MARKOE
First Female Department Chair
• Holds an M.A. in Modern European
History and a Ph.D. in American History
from Columbia University.
• Dr. Markoe joined the faculty of SUNY
Maritime College in 1974 as Assistant
Professor.
• Arrived at Maritime with the first class
(of four) female cadets.
• She has been the chair of the
Humanities Department since 1992.

17. Women of SUNY Maritime History
Catie Hanft
First Female Navy Scholarship Graduate
Deputy Commandant of Cadets
• Class of 1985. Earned
her B.S. in
Meteorology/Oceano
graphy from SUNY
Maritime. She also
has a Masters in
Systems Management
from the Naval
Postgraduate School
(specializing in Shore
Installation
Management/Public
Administration).
• CAPT Hanft was
commissioned directly into
the Navy upon graduation
and served 26+ years (17
PCS moves) in the Fleet
Support Community.
• Selected as a Battalion
Officer and Ethics
Instructor at USNA. Board
selected for three
Command Tours – it include
the Navy prison in
Charleston, SC and the
Navy first Expeditionary
Guard Battalion in
Guantanamo.

18. Women of SUNY Maritime History
DR. KATHY OLSZEWSKI
First Female Department Chair for the
Science Department
• Since its inception in 2004, Dr.
Olszewski has been the
Program Coordinator for the
very successful SUNY
Maritime-ITUMF (Istanbul
Technical University Maritime
Faculty) Dual Diploma
Program.
• In 2007, she was the recipient
of a State University
Chancellor’s Award for
excellence in Teaching.
• Earned her B.S. in Chemistry
from The State University at
Albany. This was followed by
an M.S. and Ph.D. from Stony
Brook University. After
finishing her postdoctoral
work at Harvard Medical
School, she joined the Science
Department faculty at SUNY
Maritime.
• Since 2006, Dr. Olszewski has
been the chair of the Science
Department; she is first
female to hold this position.

19. Women of SUNY Maritime History
MEREDITH JOHANSSON
First Female Inductee into SUNY Maritime’s Athletic Hall of Fame
Cadet Shipping Coordinator
• Member of the Class of 1991.
Graduated with a B.S in
Meteorology/Oceanography.
• In 1991, Mrs. Johansson was the first
female in SUNY Maritime’s history to
be awarded the Student Athlete of the
Year.
• In 1994, she became the first woman
admitted to the NY/NJ Sandy Hook
Pilots Association. She entered as chief
mate.
• In 1997, she was the first female to be
inducted into SUNY Maritime’s Athletic
Hall of Fame.