February 1

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Women peacemakers born today

  • 1882 Hiro Ohashi born Japan (d. 1973). Japanese botanist. Delegate to Fourth WILPF congress, Washington DC, 1924. President, Japan Women’s University, 1947-56.

  • 1972 Leymah Gbowee born Liberia. Nonviolent activist; worked to end Liberian civil war through nonviolent means, 2003. Shared Nobel Peace Prize with Tawakkol Karman & Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 2011.

  • 1980 Ellen Trane Norby born Herning, Denmark. Leader in Dutch Liberal Youth, 1995; president of European Liberal Youth, 2002-2004; elected to Danish parliament, 2005; UN delegate, 2006.

  • 1985 Asmaa Mahfouz born Egypt. Sparked nonviolent Egyptian revolution via video blog calling for assembly at Tahrir Square, 2011. Co-founder of April 6 Youth Movement.

Women's peacemaking on this day

  • Feast day of St. Verdiana (1182-1242) Nonviolent disciple of St. Francis who tamed snakes without fear.

  • 1892 In Vienna, Bertha von Suttner published first issue of peace journal Die Waffen nieder!

  • 1991 In Akron, OH, NOW's Young Feminist Conference protested the Gulf War.

  • 1992 Katherine Dunham, 83-year-old African-American dancer, began 47-day hunger strike in protest of America's forced repatriation of Haitian refugees.

  • 1999 Five British Women arrested Barrow, England for posting "Women Want Peace" on Trident submarine.