Charlotte Perkins Gilman, best known as the writer of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” was born on this day in 1860. The short story illustrated the cultural views on women’s mental and physical health in the 19th century. Gilman experienced what is now believed to be severe post-partum depression after the birth of her only child, which inspired the tale. The great-niece of influential humanists Harriet Beecher Stowe, Catharine Beecher and Isabella Beecher Hooker, Gilman believed that economic independence was the only thing that could really bring freedom to women, making them equal to men.

Lace up your sneakers and get ready to run at the 10th Annual Comcast Firecracker 5k Event/Expo benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hosptial.  901.765.4409 or firecracker5k.com

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Happy Independence Day.

Veronica Guerin was born on this day in 1958—watch Cate Blanchett portray the Irish journalist in the heartbreaking namesake film, Veronica Guerin. Her life and death inspired fellow Dubliners to crack down on the growing drug trade and clean up the city for good.

“I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” Artist Frida Kahlo was born on this day in 1907.

Today is the 415th birthday of Artemisia Gentileschi, an Early Italian Baroque painter, who is now considered to be one of the most talented painters (besides Caravaggio) of the era. She was the first female painter to become a member of the Academy of Art and Design in Florence, and one of the first females to paint religious and historical themes in a time when these things were considered beyond a woman’s reach.

It’ll be a hot night for an outdoor concert, but who’d want to miss Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at the Mud Island Amphitheatre?  ticketmaster.com

Author Ann Radcliffe was born today in 1764. Considered the pioneer of the gothic novel, her stories of heroic young girls exploring mysterious and dangerous locales became very popular and influenced the work of writers like Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott. Read Austen’s Northanger Abbey for examples of imitation and parody of her work.

Aphra Behn was born on this day in 1640. She was one of the first women to earn a living as a writer. Behn’s work was revolutionary, discussing race and female sexuality—something not touched upon by the predatory Libertine male writers of her time. Virginia Woolfe said of her, “All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn...for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”

Simone Veil, France’s former Minister of Health, was born on this day in 1927. Veil was a Holocaust survivor (she, her mother and sister were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau) who went on to build a good life and political career, despite losing her father, brother and mother during the Holocaust. She pushed the notable laws of making access to contraceptives easier (1974) and legalizing abortion (1975) and went on to become President of the European Parliament (1979-1982) and still continues to be socially and politically active.

You’ve got the ring, now figure out everything else:  The Bridal Rhapsody Extravaganza has everything you need to know for your Big Day.  901.266.2466 or agricenter.org

Vive la France!  Celebrate Bastille Day with a baguette in one hand and a glass of vin rouge in the other.

Maggie L. Walker, the first female founder/president of a bank in the US, was born on this day in 1887 to a former slave and an abolitionist. She worked her entire life trying to make life better for African Americans and women—the founding of her bank was due to her idea that people should pool their money together to help each other. Her bank, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, still exists today as the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company in Richmond, VA.

On this day in 1862 Ida B. Wells was born. Wells fought for equality of women and African Americans—especially the equality of African American women in the suffragist movement. 71 years before Rosa Parks, Wells refused to give up her seat on a train, and when they made her move, she sued the railway company. She won her case in the local court but lost when the railroad took it to the Tennessee Supreme Court.  Her refusal to stand in the back of suffragist parades garnered her more media attention for her causes.

Stop procrastinating and learn how to manage your time at the “Time Mastery--Developing Self Management Skills” workshop today, hosted by the Memphis Chamber of Commerce.  901.543.3518 or memphischamber.com

Today is the 160th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention—the first women’s rights convention in the United States.

Hear the soulful sounds of Earth, Wind & Fire at Live at the Garden tonight at 8:30pm.  901.636.4107 or liveatthegarden.com

Buy, sell, or design your own hand-crafter jewelry at the two-day Intergalactic Bead & Jewelry show hosted by Agricenter International.  agricenter.org

Buy, sell, or design your own hand-crafter jewelry at the two-day Intergalactic Bead & Jewelry show hosted by Agricenter International.  agricenter.org

Learn more about online communication and internet technology at the Fusion Desire2Learn Conference held at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.  901.576.2256 or desire2learn.com

Hear Sue Thomas, nationally recognized speaker and author of Silent Night, at the Women Against Multiple Sclerosis luncheon at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis.  Call 901.755.0994 for tickets.

Amelia Earhart Day honors the birthday of the woman who took aviation and feminism to new heights.

Look, smell, taste--learn the basics of wine tasting at the Memphis Botanic Garden’s Tuesdays on the Terrace wine tasting event.  Your last chance this month to sample is tonight.  901.636.4131 or memphisbotanicgarden.com

Maria Mitchell, the first professional female astronomer in the United States, was born on this day in 1818. Mitchell was raised in a Quaker community, which was one of the few groups that felt women should have equal educational opportunities as men. She had the notable discovery that sunspots are “whirling vertical cavities” and not, as thought at the time, clouds. 

Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming.” Myrna Loy would have been 103 today. She used her fame in the 1930s-40s to champion the rights of black actors and to give them dignity onscreen, rather than the stereotypes they often played at the time.