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4-dollar Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus Stamp, Issued 1893.[1]The first portrait of a woman on a US postage stamp.
8-cent Martha Washington Stamp, Issued 1902 The first stamp featuring an American women.[2]

The history of women on US stamps begins in 1893, when Queen Isabella became the first woman on a US stamp.[3] Queen Isabella helped support Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage, and 1893 marked the end of a year-long celebration of the 400th anniversary of that voyage.[3][4] The first US stamp honoring an American woman honored Martha Washington, and it was issued in 1902.[5][6] In 1907, Pocahontas became the first Native American woman (and the first Native American) to be honored on a US stamp.[7] In 1978, Harriet Tubman became the first African-American woman to be honored on a US stamp.[8] In 2001, Frida Kahlo became the first Hispanic woman to be honored on a US stamp, though she was Mexican not American.[9][10]

Groups of women have also been honored on US stamps, for example Gold Star Mothers (1948) and "Women In Our Armed Services" (1952).[11][12]

There are also generic, unnamed women who appear on US stamps, such as a woman marching with men for the National Recovery Act (1933).[13]

US stamps have also depicted female goddesses and allegories, such as personifications of liberty.[13]

Approval process

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Since 1957, the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) has worked as the sole group responsible for selecting and recommending subjects to be featured on U.S. stamps. Members of the committee are appointed by the Postmaster General.[14] There are 11 members on the committee, currently three women and 8 men.

Forever Stamps

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First sold in April 2007, Forever Stamps can be used to mail a one-ounce letter regardless of when the stamps are purchased or used and no matter how prices may change in the future. In 2011, all first-class, one ounce stamps became Forever Stamps and all commemorative stamps began being issued as Forever Stamps.

Categorization of Stamps

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The U.S. Postal Service classifies many stamps featuring groups, artwork, works of literature, and social efforts and awareness campaigns as "women stamps". Among these groups are the artwork of Mary Cassatt (featured five times), the Nursing stamp, and the Breast Cancer Awareness Month stamp.

List of women on US stamps

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This list can be expanded with women stamps from here [15] or here.[16]

Women Year Notable for
Isabella I of Castile 1893 Queen Isabella appeared with Christopher Columbus on a 4-dollar stamp. Her portrait is the first portrait of a woman to appear on a US postage stamp.[17]
Martha Washington 1902, 1923, 1938 First First Lady of the United States
Pocahontas 1907 Pocahontas was a Native American woman and a member of the Native American group Powhatans. She was an intermediary between the Native Americans and the nearby English colonists. She was taken captive by colonists, which culminated in 150 armed colonists going to Powhatan to demand ransom, burn down villages, and kill Native American men.[18] Issued as a part of the Jamestown Exposition Issue.[19]
Molly Pitcher 1928 The nickname of a woman, whose identity is not definitively known, who is said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War
Susan B. Anthony 1936, 1955 American feminist, social reformer, and civil rights activist
Virginia Dare 1937 First European child born on American soil
Louisa May Alcott 1940 American author, best known for writing Little Women and Little Men
Frances Willard 1940 American educator, reformer, lecturer, and women's suffrage supporter
Jane Addams 1940 American social worker and reformer, the founder of Hull House in Chicago, a social welfare center
Clara Barton 1948, 1995 Founder of the American Red Cross
Juliette Gordon Low 1948 Founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA
Moina Michael 1948 Initiated the Veterans of Foreign Wars fundraising drive selling red poppies in 1915
Betsy Ross 1952 American upholsterer credited with creating the first official flag of the United States
Sacagawea 1954, 1994 Shoshone guide who assisted the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804
Amelia Earhart 1963 American pilot, first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean
Eleanor Roosevelt 1963, 1984, 1998 American diplomat, writer, social reformer, and First Lady of the United States
Mary Cassatt 1966, 1988, 1998 American painter best known for her works of mothers and children
Lucy Stone 1968 Nineteenth century abolitionist and women's rights leader
Grandma Moses 1969 American painter who took up painting at the age of 76
Emily Dickinson 1971 American poet who wrote more than 1,700 poems
Willa Cather 1973 American novelist
Elizabeth Blackwell 1973 American physician, the first female physician in the U.S.
Sybil Ludington 1975 American-born heroine of the American Revolutionary War
Clara Maass 1976 American nurse best known for having died as a volunteer for yellow fever medical experiments
Harriet Tubman 1978, 1995 American abolitionist and social activist who was part of the Underground Railroad
Emily Bissell 1980 American social worker and activist best known for introducing Christmas Seals to the United States
Helen Keller 1980 American author and disability rights advocate
Anne Sullivan 1980 American teacher best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller
Dolley Madison 1980 First Lady of the United States
Frances Perkins 1980 American workers-rights advocate and fourth United States Secretary of Labor, the first female to hold a cabinet-level position in the United States government
Edith Wharton 1980 American novelist best known for her novels Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence
Rachel Carson 1981 American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist, best known for writing Silent Spring in advance of the environmental movement
Edna St. Vincent Millay 1981 American poet
Babe Didrikson Zaharias 1981 American multi-sport athlete
Mary Walker 1982 American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war, and surgeon, the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor
Dorothea Dix 1983 American advocate for the indigent mentally ill
Pearl S. Buck 1983 American writer and novelist, best known for the novel, The Good Earth
Lillian Moller Gilbreth 1984 American psychologist and industrial engineer, a pioneer in the field of time-and-motion studies
Abigail Adams 1985 First Lady of the United States
Mary McLeod Bethune 1985 American educator, social activist, and founder of the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, now known as Bethune-Cookman College
Belva Ann Lockwood 1986 American politician, the first female candidate for President of the United States
Margaret Mitchell 1986 American novelist and journalist, best known for the novel Gone with the Wind
Sojourner Truth 1986 Born Isabella Baumfree, she was the first black woman to speak publicly against slavery.
Julia Ward Howe 1987 Composer of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".
Mary Lyon 1987 Education pioneer who founded Mount Holyoke College.
Evelyn Nesbit 1989 American chorus girl, artists' model, actress and controversial historical figure.
Helene Madison 1990 A gold medalist in the 1932 Olympic Games in swimming.
Marianne Moore 1990 Poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1951 for her Collected Poems.
Ida B. Wells 1990 Civil rights activist who cofounded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman 1990 Olympic gold medalist credited with doing more to build American and international women's tennis than any other player.
Fanny Brice 1991 Singer and comedian who created the "Baby Snooks" radio character.
Harriet Quimby 1991 First American woman pilot to fly the English Channel.
Dorothy Parker 1992 Poet and short story writer
Patsy Cline 1993 Popular American country singer
Sara Carter and Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family 1993 Pioneers of American country music
Grace Kelly 1993 American film actress
Dinah Washington 1993 "Queen of the Blues"
Clara Bow 1994 Silent film actress
ZaSu Pitts 1994 Silent film actress
Theda Bara 1994 Silent film actresse
Nellie Cashman 1994 The "Angel of Tombstone", an anti-violence advocate who raised orphans and campaigned against public hanging
Ethel Waters 1994 American jazz, swing, and pop singer and actress
Bessie Smith 1994 American blues singer
Billie Holiday 1994 American jazz and swing singer
Mildred Bailey 1994 Native American jazz singer
Ethel Merman 1994 American actress and singer of musical comedy
Annie Oakley 1994 American sharpshooter
Virginia Apgar 1994 Doctor who developed a newborn assessment method
Ruth Benedict 1995 American anthropologist
Mary Boykin Chesnut 1995 American Civil War author
Phoebe Pember 1995 American nurse and hospital administrator for Confederate States military hospital
Bessie Coleman 1995 First woman to earn an international pilot's license
Alice Hamilton 1995 Pioneer in industrial medicine
Marilyn Monroe 1995 American film actor
Alice Paul 1995 Founder of National Women's Party and author of the Equal Rights Amendment
Jacqueline Cochran 1996 Pioneer pilot who had more than 200 aviation records, firsts, and awards. She was the first woman to break the sound barrier
Georgia O'Keeffe 1996, 2013 American-born abstract painter
Dorothy Fields 1996 Popular songwriter of the 1920s and 1930s. She wrote the words for "On the Sunny Side of the Street"
Lily Pons 1997 French-American operatic soprano and actress
Rosa Ponselle 1997 American operatic soprano
Women in the military 1997 This stamp honored the nearly 2 million women have served and are serving in the U.S. armed forces
Mary Breckinridge 1998 Founder of the Frontier Nursing Service
Mahalia Jackson 1998 American gospel singer
Roberta Martin 1998 American gospel composer, singer, pianist, arranger, and choral organizer
Sister Rosetta Tharpe 1998 American singer and guitarist
Clara Ward 1998 American gospel singers
Margaret Mead 1998 Famous anthropologist who studied child rearing, personality, and culture, mainly in the South Pacific
Madam C. J. Walker 1998 African American who became one of the wealthiest women in the 1910s by developing and selling hair care products
Ayn Rand 1999 Author of the novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged
Patricia Roberts Harris 2000 Lawyer and political adviser; in 1977 she became the first African American woman named to a presidential cabinet
Louise Nevelson 2000 Twentieth-century American sculptor who worked with wood, metals, and found objects
Hattie Wyatt Caraway 2001 First woman elected to U.S. Senate
Rose O'Neill 2001 American illustrator
Lucille Ball 1999, 2001, 2009 American comedian and actress
Frida Kahlo 2001 Mexican artist
Nellie Bly 2002 American journalist best known for her 72-day trip around the globe
Marguerite Higgins 2002 American reporter and war correspondent
Ethel L. Payne 2002 American journalist, editor, and foreign correspondent
Ida Tarbell 2002 American writer, journalist, and lecturer, famous as a muckraking reporter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Zora Neale Hurston 2003 African American novelist in the Harlem Renaissance
Audrey Hepburn 2003 Film actress and goodwill ambassador for UNICEF
Mary Cassatt 1988, 2003 American artist known for her portraits of motherhood
Agnes Lee and her daughter Peggy 2002 American author and, with her daughter, the subject of a photograph by American photographer Gertrude Käsebier featured on a US postage stamp
Florence Owens Thompson 1998 American depression-era woman who was the subject of a photograph by American photographer Dorothea Lange entitled "Migrant Mother" which was featured on a US postage stamp
Ida Pabst 2002 Daughter-in-law of Frederick Pabst (the German-American brewer for whom Pabst Brewing Company was named) and the subject of a portrait by American photographer Imogen Cunningham which was featured on a US postage stamp
Agnes de Mille 2004 American dancer and choreographer
Martha Graham 2004 American modern dancer and choreographer
Wilma Rudolph 2004 Track and field star
Marian Anderson 2005 Opera singer who was the first African-American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera
Greta Garbo 2005 Actress of the silver screen
Hattie McDaniel 2006 Singer and actress who was the first African-American to win an Oscar
Frances E. Willis 2006 Diplomat
Judy Garland 2006 Actress and singer, star of The Wizard of Oz
Ella Fitzgerald 2007 Jazz singer
Gerty Cori 2008 Biochemist
Maria Goeppert Mayer 2008 Nuclear physicist
Bette Davis 2008 American actress
Martha Gellhorn 2008 Journalist who covered the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Vietnam War
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Yearling
Mary Church Terrell 2009 Civil rights and women's rights activist
Mary White Ovington 2009 Civil rights activist
Daisy Bates 2009 Civil rights activist
Fannie Lou Hamer 2009 Civil rights activist
Ella Baker 2009 Civil rights activist
Ruby Hurley 2009 Civil rights activist
Mary Lasker 2009 Health activist and philanthropist
Anna J. Cooper 2009 African-American scholar
Vivian Vance 2009 American actress and singer
Dinah Shore 2009 American singer, actress, and television personality
Fran Allison 2009 American comedian, singer, and TV and radio personality
Gracie Allen 2009 American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian
Harriet Nelson 2009 American singer and actress
Katharine Hepburn 2010 American actress
Kate Smith 2010 American contralto singer
Mother Teresa 2010 Albanian-born Indian Catholic nun canonized as a Catholic saint in 2016, best known for her life devoted to charitable work
Julia de Burgos 2010 Puerto Rican pro-independence poet
Carmen Miranda 2011 Portuguese-born Brazilian-American samba singer, dancer, and actress
Selena 2011 American Tejano singer
Celia Cruz 2011 Cuban-American singer
Oveta Culp Hobby 2011 First secretary of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, first commanding officer of the Women's Army Corps
Helen Hayes 2011 American actress
Maria Goeppert Mayer 2011 German-born American theoretical physicist
Greta von Nessen 2011 Swedish-born American industrial designer
Barbara Jordan 2011 American politician and a leader of the Civil Rights Movement
Elizabeth Bishop 2012 American poet and short-story author
Gwendolyn Brooks 2012 American poet, author, and teacher
Denise Levertov 2012 British-born American poet
Sylvia Plath 2012 American poet and author
Édith Piaf 2012 French singer
Isadora Duncan 2012 American dancer and choreographer
Katherine Dunham 2012 American dancer and choreographer
Lady Bird Johnson 2012 First Lady of the United States
Rosa Parks 2013 Civil rights activist
Lydia Mendoza 2013 Latin music legend
Althea Gibson 2013 Tennis player
Shirley Chisholm 2014 Politician - first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress
Janis Joplin 2014 Singer and songwriter
Julia Child 2014 Chef, author, television personality
Joyce Chen 2014 Chef, author, television personality
Edna Lewis 2014 Chef, author
Maya Angelou 2015 Poet, author and civil rights activist
Flannery O'Connor 2015 Writer
Ingrid Bergman 2015 Actress
Sarah Vaughan 2016 Singer
Shirley Temple 2016 Actress, later businesswoman and diplomat
Dorothy Height 2017 Civil rights and women's rights activist
Lena Horne 2018 Singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist
Sally Ride 2018 Astronaut, engineer, physicist
Gwen Ifill 2020 Journalist; first African-American woman to host a major political talk show: PBS's "Washington Week in Review" in 1999[20]
Chien-Shiung Wu 2021 Nuclear physicist
Edmonia Lewis 2022 Sculptor; first African-American and Native American sculptor to earn international recognition[21]
Eugenie Clark 2022 American ichthyologist
Nancy Reagan 2022 First Lady of the United States
Anna McNeill Whistler 1934 Mother of American-born painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Blanche Scott 1980 Inventor and pioneering aviator
Ethel Barrymore 1982 American film actress
Lila Acheson Wallace 1998 American magazine publisher and philanthropist; co-founder of Reader's Digest
Lynn Fontanne 1999 English actress
Neysa McMein 2001 American illustrator and portrait painter
Enda Ferber 2002 American author of novels, short stories, and plays
Barbara McClintock 2005 American genetecist
Katherine Anne Porter 2006 American author and journalist
Margaret Chase Smith 2007 American Congresswoman and Senator from Maine, the first woman to serve in both houses of the US Congress
Harriet Beecher Stowe 2007 American author and abolitionist, best known for writing Uncle Tom's Cabin
Freda Josephine Baker 2008 Josephine Baker was an African American dancer, activist, and spy during World War II. She succeeded as a dancer in Vaudeville shows in the United States and participated in the Harlem Renaissance. She eventually moved to Paris, where she became a widely sought-after performer. Her performances used African themes and styles. During World War II, she helped the French military by passing on secrets she learned while performing.[22]
Women Cryptologists of World War II 2022 Honoring the around 11,000 women cryptologists of World War II who helped decipher enemy military messages.[23]
Women's Soccer 2023 Celebrating women's soccer in the United States, from youth leagues to the world champion U.S. national team.[24]
Toni Morrison 2023 Celebrated on a forever stamp, Toni Morrison was an award-winning author of 11 novels that brought to life the diverse voices of Black people and, in particular, centered the identity of Black women. [25]
Constance Baker Motley 2024 The first African American woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and the first to serve as a federal judge. A master legal tactician, Motley played a key role in knocking down legal segregation.[26]
Harriet Tubman 2024 Part of the Underground Railroad series,[27] another forever stamp honors Harriet Tubman.
Harriet Jacobs 2024 An American abolitionist and autobiographer who crafted her own experiences into her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself (1861). [28] Part of the Underground Railroad series.[29]
Catherine White Coffin 2024 An American Quaker abolitionist and the wife of Levi Coffin, the unofficial "President of the Underground Railroad".[30] Part of the Underground Railroad series.[31]
Laura Haviland 2024 An American Quaker abolitionist, suffragette, and social reformer. Part of the Underground Railroad series.[32]
Betty Ford 2024 First lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. She was noted for raising breast cancer awareness and being a passionate supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.[33]

Sources: [34][15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Support of Queen Isabella". postalmuseum.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  2. ^ "Martha Washington". postalmuseum.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  3. ^ a b "Leaving Their Stamp on History".
  4. ^ Edwards, John. Ferdinand and Isabella. Pearson Education Limited, 2005, p. 119
  5. ^ "Martha Washington".
  6. ^ "Women Who Left Their Stamp On U.S. Philatelic History". Mode.
  7. ^ "Postage Stamps - Postal Facts".
  8. ^ United States Postal Service. "Publication 354 - African Americans on Stamps".
  9. ^ Klein, Adam G. (2005). Frida Kahlo. Edina, Minn.: ABDO Pub. Co. ISBN 9781596797314. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  10. ^ "'Love' stamp a highlight of 2001". LJWorld.com.
  11. ^ "Leaving Their Stamp on History".
  12. ^ "Leaving Their Stamp on History".
  13. ^ a b "The First Fifty Women on United States Stamps" (PDF). American Philatelic Society. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-26. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  14. ^ "Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee - Who we are - About.usps.com". about.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  15. ^ a b "Women Subjects on United States Postage Stamps" (PDF). United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-19.
  16. ^ a b "Women Subjects on United States Postage Stamps". United States Postal Service. July 2024.
  17. ^ "Support of Queen Isabella". postalmuseum.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  18. ^ "Pocahontas". National Women's History Museum. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  19. ^ "Jamestown Exposition Issue". postalmuseum.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  20. ^ Elassar, Alaa (2020-02-01). "Gwen Ifill: US Postal Service honors pioneering journalist with Black Heritage Forever stamp". CNN. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  21. ^ "Edmonia Lewis Stamps". United States Postal Service.
  22. ^ "Biography: Josephine Baker". National Women's History Museum. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  23. ^ "Women Cryptologists of WWII Stamps | USPS.com". store.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  24. ^ "Women's Soccer Stamps | USPS.com". store.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  25. ^ "Postal Service Celebrates Author Toni Morrison on New Forever Stamp - Newsroom - About.usps.com". about.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  26. ^ "Landmark Lawmaker Lauded: Constance Baker Motley Graces USPS Black Heritage Stamp". about.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  27. ^ "U.S. Postal Service Remembers Shining Beacons of the Underground Railroad on New Forever Stamps". about.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  28. ^ "Harriet Jacobs". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  29. ^ "U.S. Postal Service Remembers Shining Beacons of the Underground Railroad on New Forever Stamps". about.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  30. ^ "Levi Coffin, Underground Railroad Ambassador". African American Registry. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  31. ^ "U.S. Postal Service Remembers Shining Beacons of the Underground Railroad on New Forever Stamps". about.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  32. ^ "U.S. Postal Service Remembers Shining Beacons of the Underground Railroad on New Forever Stamps". about.usps.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  33. ^ "Elizabeth Anne Bloomer Ford". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  34. ^ "Women Who Left Their Stamps on History". factmonster.com.
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