Her Half of History

On November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony, age 52, marched into her local polling place at the head of fourteen other women. They were there to vote, like any other respectable citizen. And their names were on the list of registered voters, so it should have been easy and straightforward, right? The only trouble was that Susan B. Anthony was a woman. And somehow that was a problem.
The music in this episode was composed by Maria Szymanowska in 1819. It was recorded by Gregor Quendel and published under Creative Commons license.
I am currently on research break preparing Series 17: Women Together. This is a special bonus episode from the On This Day in Women's History newsletter.
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Either way, the story about the historical woman is free, along with news about the podcast, and a place to share your recommendations for historical books, movies, shows, etc. If you sign up as a subscriber, you're also helping me keep this show going, and I'll send you bonus content each week as a thank you.
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In 1975, Icelandic women went on strike from everything including housework, and they made their point.
Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
Sign up for the newsletter On This Day in Women's History, available on ⁠Patreon⁠ or ⁠Substack⁠. There are free options in both places.
This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present.
Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 42 BCE, the Roman government was in the midst of Civil War and one faction tried to fund it by taxing its women. Roman women banded together and said, nope, we don't want to pay taxes to fund a civil war. Hortensia's speech to the Roman senate applied a logic that was used millennia later by other groups of rebels: No taxation without representation.
Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.
Sign up for the newsletter On This Day in Women's History, available on ⁠Patreon⁠ or ⁠Substack⁠. There are free options in both places.
This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present.
Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.
Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Evergreen Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to more great shows.
Follow me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠ as Her Half of History.
Sadly I am unaware of any actual picture of Hortensia, so the feature image is not actually of her. It’s actually an unknown woman, portrayed in a fresco in Pompeii, so just a little before Hortensia’s time. It’s commonly called the Sappho fresco, though there is absolutely no reason to think this Roman woman was supposed to be the Greek poet.
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The Vestal Virgins were right at the heart of Rome's self-image. The mother of Romulus and Remus was a Vestal, and throughout Romes thousand-year history, the Vestals were charged with guarding the sacred flame of Vesta, which kept Rome safe and strong. This episode goes through the origins, the selection process, the duties, the pitfalls, the privileges, and the end of the Vestals.

Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Sign up for the newsletter On This Day in Women's History, available on ⁠Patreon⁠ or ⁠Substack⁠. There are free options in both places.

This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present.

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Evergreen Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to more great shows.

Follow me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠ as Her Half of History.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On October 8, 1871, a fire broke out in Kate O'Leary's barn. It quickly got out of hand and became the Great Fire of Chicago.

Vote for me in the Signal Awards! It's free, and I'd really appreciate it. Go to https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/shows/genre/history to vote.

I am currently on research break preparing Series 17: Women Together. This is a special bonus episode from the On This Day in Women's History newsletter.

There are two ways to sign up for the newsletter:


⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235)


⁠Substack ⁠(https://bit.ly/4wpOe5h)

Either way, the story about the historical woman is free, along with news about the podcast, and a place to share your recommendations for historical books, movies, shows, etc. If you sign up as a subscriber, you're also helping me keep this show going, and I'll send you bonus content each week as a thank you.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Evergreen Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to more great shows.

Follow me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠ as Her Half of History.


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.