TOLEDO, Ohio — As part of a special project published last week by the USA Today Network, commemorating the 19th Amendment, Halle Berry and Toni Morrison were among the women recognized as most inspiring in Ohio.
The network assigned different outlets from all over the country to chose 10 most worthy as 'Women of the Century' in their respective states.
In Ohio, the Cincinnati Enquirer selected Florence Allen, Halle Berry, Erma Bombeck, Ruby Dee, Agnes Meyer Driscoll, Maya Lin, Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock, Toni Morrison, Muriel Siebert and Katie Smith.
The women were chosen for the following accomplishments:
- Florence Allen: First woman appointed and confirmed to a federal appeals court judgeship.
- Halle Berry: First Black woman to win an Oscar for best actress.
- Erma Bombeck: Author and columnist, she is best known for writing nine best sellers and her syndicated column, “At Wit’s End,” published in more than 900 newspapers.
- Ruby Dee: Actress, she was a member of various civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, and was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in American Gangster.
- Agnes Meye Driscoll: Navy code breaker, she became best know for being the Navy’s primary cryptographer responsible for cracking Japanese Navy manual codes.
- Maya Lin: Designer and architect, Lin is known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1980.
- Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock: First woman to fly solo around the world.
- Toni Morrison: First Black woman of any nationality to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.
- Muriel Siebert: First woman to become a member of the New York Stock Exchange.
- Katie Smith: Basketball player and coach, she was the first American female basketball player to score 5,000 points in her professional career.
Aside from recognizing women from each state and D.C., the project also features women in general categories, such as Michelle Obama, Hilary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and more.
