| 1848 |
The first women’s rights convention is held at Seneca Falls, New York. |
| 1866 |
Michigan’s first bill on woman’s suffrage is defeated by one vote. |
| 1867 |
For the first time, women taxpayers are allowed to vote in school elections. |
| 1872 |
Fannie M. Richards, Detroit’s first African American teacher, founds the first public school kindergarten in Michigan. |
| 1893 |
Marie Owen becomes the first woman police officer in the U.S., serving the Detroit Bureau of Police. |
| 1899 |
The National American Women’s Suffrage Association holds its annual convention in Grand Rapids. |
| 1900 |
Alice Chaney of Detroit becomes the first female ship captain on the Great Lakes. |
| 1912 |
Kalamazoo Corset Company employees go on strike. It is one of the first disputes to cite examples of sexual harassment. |
| 1912 |
The Detroit Business Women’s Club is founded, it is the first professional women’s club in the U.S. |
| 1918 |
A state constitutional amendment grants suffrage to Michigan women. |
| 1919 |
Congress passes the Nineteenth Amendment. Michigan is the second state to ratify the amendment on June 10. Women vote for the first time in a presidential election on November 2, 1920. |
| 1921 |
After her election to the Michigan Senate, Eva McCall Hamilton of Grand Rapids becomes the first woman to serve in the Michigan legislature. |
| 1923 |
The Equal Rights Amendment is first introduced in the U.S. Congress. |
| 1943 |
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which includes the Battle Creek Belles, the Kalamazoo Lassies, and later the Grand Rapids Chicks, is formed. |
| 1960 |
Grand Rapids native Marion Van Oosten
Ladewig, called the greatest woman bowler of all time, wins the Women’s Professional Bowling Association National Championship. She was named to the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. |
| 1963 |
The Equal Pay Act passes on June 10. |
| 1967 |
Noreen Hillary of Grand Rapids and Kay Whitfield of Flint become Michigan’s first women State
Police Troopers. |
| 1968 |
The Michigan Women’s Commission is established by the state legislature. |
| 1971 |
One of the first rape crisis centers in the country, the Women’s Crisis Center, is founded in Ann Arbor. |
| 1973 |
The Michigan Women’s Studies Association is founded, the first state women’s studies association in the U.S. |
| 1973 |
Carolyn King of Ypsilanti becomes the first girl in the country to play Little League Baseball. |
| 1987 |
The Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame opens in Lansing. |
