Q: Who was the first woman to become chief of a Native American nation?

A: Wilma Pearl Mankiller was the first woman to become Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1985.  She was principal chief until 1995.  The Oklahoma native grew up in a destitute family that lived first in Oklahoma and then in California.  In 1983, she was elected deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation.  When Principal Chief Ross Swimmer left in 1985, to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Mankiller became chief.  She was freely elected in 1987 and re-elected in 1991, with 83 percent of the vote.

She said that prior to her election “young Cherokee girls would never have thought that they might grow up and become chief.”

Mankiller died of pancreatic cancer on April 6, 2010.

Q: This singer, songwriter and musician was named the most successful female songwriter of 1955-99.  At the age of 18, she co-wrote what would become the first song by a girl group to hit No. 1 on the American charts, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.”

A: Carole King has written or co-written 118 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

Q: Who was the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as U.S. Surgeon General?  Hint: she served from 1990 to 1993.

A: Antonia Novello, MD, served as the 14th U.S. Surgeon General from 1990 to 1993.  Her work as Surgeon General focused on the health of women, children and minorities, underage drinking, smoking and AIDS.

Q: Who was the first black woman from a Southern state to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives?  Hint — she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994.

A: Barbara Jordan was the first African-American elected to the Texas Senate after reconstruction and the first Southern black woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.  In 1976, she became the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Her speech is ranked 5th in Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th Century list and is considered by some historians to have been the best convention keynote address in modern history.  She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors.

Q: Who was the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected to Congress?

A: Patsy Mink, a third generation Japanese American, represented Hawaii in the U.S. House 12 times.  In 1972, she became the first Asian American to seek the Democratic nomination for President, running as an anti-war candidate.  The Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act was named after Mink.

Q: Who was the first female filmmaker to win an Oscar for best director?

A: In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director.  Bigelow won for The Hurt Locker.  She was the fourth woman in history to be nominated for the Best Director Award.  The previous female nominees were: Sofia Coppola (for 2003’s Lost in Translation), Jane Campion (for 1993’s The Piano) and Linda Wertmuller (for Seven Beauties in 1975).

Q: Who was the first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court?

A: Appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan in 1981, Sandra Day O’Conner served on the high court for more than two decades before retiring in 2006.

Q: Which prolific poet and book author said: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”?

A: Dr. Maya Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.  A young, single mother, Dr. Angelou held a variety of jobs before her passion for the arts led her to dance, record an album and then write her first novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was published in 1970.

Q: Who was the first black woman elected to Congress?

A: Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to Congress in 1968.  She served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969-1982.  In 1972, she became the first major-party black candidate for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

A native New Yorker, Chisholm began a career in elementary education before being elected to the New York State Legislature in 1964.  In 1968 she was elected to the  U.S. House, representing New York’s 12th District congressional seat.  All of the staffers she hired for her officer were women and half of them were black.

During her presidential campaign, she survived three assassination attempts.  During the Democratic National Convention, she received 152 first-ballot votes for the nomination.

During her tenure in the U.S. House, Chisholm championed several issues including education, civil rights, aid for the poor and women’s rights.  She retired from Congress in 1982 and went back into education, teaching politics and women’s studies.

Q: Who was the first American First Lady to run for public office?

A: Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first U.S. First Lady to run for office when she ran for U.S. Senate in 2000.