JANUARY 5: TODAY'S INSPIRING WOMEN

Sissieretta Jones

Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones (known as Sissieretta Jones), an opera singer, was born today in 1869. At age 23, she would become the first Black performer to appear at the venue that would become known as Carnegie Hall.

Nellie Tayloe Ross

Today in 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross was sworn in as governor of Wyoming. She was the first woman governor in the United States.

LUCILLE THOMAS

Lucille Thomas purchased the Topeka baseball franchise in 1931. She was the first woman to purchase a baseball team.

Today in 1904, Lizzie Magie (Elizabeth J. Phillips) was granted a U.S. patent for her board game The Landlord's Game. The game was the precursor to Monopoly, meant to illustrate teachings of the progressive era economist Henry George.

Lizzie Magie

DEEPER DIVE

Learn more about the incredible career of Sissieretta Jones: