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Featured Resource
American Women’s History Online » teen pick
Find information on a wide variety of topics relating to women’s history, from the time of the American Revolution to the modern feminist movement. This resource includes biographies, timelines, primary sources, maps, images and video.
A Chicago Public Library card is required to use this resource unless using a Chicago Public Library computer.
Related Databases
Use these resources on any Chicago Public Library computer or on non-Library computers with your Chicago Public Library card.
American National Biography »
American National Biography Online contains substantial biographical articles on more than 18,000 deceased American men and women from all eras and walks of life. Find biographies of Mary Cassatt, Dorothy Day, Rita Hayworth and Audre Lorde, among many others. The Women’s History section under Research Ideas offers a select group of essays and biographies for further exploration.
Biography in Context » teen pick
This database integrates biographies with related full-text articles from hundreds of magazines and newspapers. Use the Person Search to create a list of famous women by occupation, nationality or ethnicity; or check out the list of Notable Women.
EBSCO Magazines & Journals »
Find articles from general interest magazines and scholarly journals.
Gale Virtual Reference Library »
Search encyclopedias and other reference titles related to the study of history, including the Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America, Gender Issues and Sexuality: Essential Primary Sources, Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia and Working Americans, 1880-2005: Women at Work.
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Featured CPL Collections and Programs
- Archival Collections »
The Chicago Public Library’s archival collections document the lives and activities of people and organizations in Chicago. Many resources highlight the role of women in Chicago’s history, including the papers of acclaimed singer and social activist Etta Moten Barnett and union activist and pastor Addie Wyatt. - Celebrating Diversity: Women’s History Month »
Every March, the Chicago Public Library celebrates the achievements and contributions of women through events and exhibits, and by highlighting select Library resources. - Chicago Renaissance Digital Collection »
This collection highlights images from the Chicago Public Library’s Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. During and after the Great Depression, African Americans in Chicago, among them many prominent women, created a new community on the South Side that was distinctly their own. Creativity, activism and scholarship flourished through the work of community leaders, performers, artists and writers. - Social Science and History Department »
The Social Science and History Department at the Harold Washington Library Center has a broad range of material on world, U.S., local and ethnic history, with a particular emphasis on Chicago history.
Helpful Websites
- Chicago Area Women’s History Council »
The Chicago Area Women’s History Council promotes interchange between people working on Chicago women’s history and supports projects in this area. Past projects include the publication of Women Building Chicago 1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary.
- Chicago Women’s Liberation Union Herstory Project »
The Chicago Women’s Liberation Union was a grassroots organization working for the liberation of women from 1969 to 1977. This site offers historical documents related to the CWLU as well as memoirs and personal stories.
- National Women’s Hall of Fame »
This organization was founded in 1969 in Seneca Falls, N.Y., the birthplace of the women’s rights movement in the United States. It is the nation’s oldest membership organization dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of great American women.
- National Women’s History Project »
The National Women’s History Project coordinates observances of National Women’s History Month throughout the country. Find links to biographies, women’s history museums and organizations, a quiz about women’s history and more in the Resource Center.
- Women’s History »
This resource highlights collections from the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress. There are photographs and scrapbooks from suffrage campaigns, as well as highlights from the manuscript division. A research guide highlights the Library’s holdings for the study of American women.
- Women’s History Teaching Resources »
This site features numerous collections from the Smithsonian Institution. Browse photographs of women, view images of women in the National Portrait Gallery or listen to a selection of women breaking musical barriers.