📮 Recognizing 6 Women in Communications History
A Newspaper Publisher & Postmaster, a Typewriting Office Owner, a Code Breaker and more Trailblazers
For Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, I set out to recognize and celebrate women in communications history. The potential list of women to recognize is long — with expansive careers and accomplishments. It was challenging to choose who to feature as I researched many incredible women leaders.
Ultimately, I selected six stories of women born between 1738 and 1927 whose career paths and impact may not be as widely known as they deserve, but they trailblazed the way for the communicators of today. While they are much more than their titles, I would like to introduce you to a Newspaper Publisher & Postmaster, a Typewriting Office Owner, a Code Breaker, a Printer, a Lawyer turned Legislator and a Switchboard Soldier.
📮 Mary Katharine Goddard: Newspaper Publisher, first US Postmaster and Printer of The Declaration of Independence
📝 Ethelinda Hadwen: Typewriting Office Owner, Women’s Suffragist Leader and Public Office Holder
📰 Ruth Ellis: Detroit Printer and Black LGBTQ leader
🧮 Elizebeth Friedman: America’s first female Cryptanalyst (Code Breaker)
⚖️ Patsy Takemoto Mink: Lawyer, Congressional Leader and Legislative Trailblazer
🪖 Grace Banker: Switchboard Soldier and Chief Operator
📮#1 Mary Katharine Goddard
Newspaper Publisher, first US Postmaster and Printer of The Declaration of Independence
1776 was a historic year for the United States as it fought for its independence. A few years before, Mary Katharine Goddard, who came from a family of newspaper publishers, became the first woman to manage the Maryland Journal newspaper.
At the Continental Congress when Benjamin Franklin was named Postmaster General, she became Baltimore’s Postmaster — likely the United States' first female employee at its founding.
Tapping into her printing skills, Congress asked Mary to print copies of The Declaration of Independence. According to Smithsonian Magazine:
She recognized her role in a historical moment. Though she usually signed her newspaper “M.K. Goddard,” she printed her full name on the document.
Learn more about her story at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., in its exhibition, "Binding the Nation"
📝 #2 Ethelinda Hadwen
Typewriting Office Owner, Women’s Suffragist Leader and Public Office Holder
With the Industrial Revolution, opportunities for work began to change for women along with the invention of the typewriter. In 1886, Ethelinda Hadwen returned to the UK after studying in Paris and opened a typewriting office in Edinburgh with Elizabeth Fleming. It was the first of its type of office in Scotland and employed all women.
According to the National Museums Scotland, the typewriter changed the way for women and the world of work:
Typing provided women with the potential for greater financial independence and the opportunity for entrepreneurial women and those with funds to set up their own businesses where they trained and employed others…
The knowledge required by typists was enormous and they had to know all about different areas of business and other subjects. There was a lot more to being a typist than simply copying something. They needed a very broad skill base and were often fluent in several languages.
Through these women-led typing firms, the typewriter helped propel the suffragist campaign to give women the right to vote. Ethelinda Hadwen led the local movement and ultimately was elected to public office, first to Edinburgh City-Parish Council and then to its School Board.
📰 #3 Ruth Ellis
Detroit Printer and Black LGBTQ leader
Born in 1899 to a former slave and the first Black mail carrier of Illinois, Ruth persevered through a difficult childhood to work at the Black-owned I.E. Foster & Co print shop. She moved to Detroit, working at another print shop for a decade before opening her own store, Ellis & Franklin Printing Co. According to the Letter Press Play blog:
Ruth was the first woman to have a print shop in the state of Michigan, and she kept busy printing stationery, posters, and raffle tickets for churches.
She was joined by her partner, Babe, and they advocated for LGBQT rights. Together, they turned their home into a safe haven for members of the black community who didn’t feel safe gathering in public. While they didn’t have much, they gave generously to the community, ultimately creating a center for LGBTQ youth, named in her honor.
Listen to Michigan Public Radio’s story about Activist Ruth Ellis.
🧮 #4 Elizebeth Friedman
America’s first female Cryptanalyst (Code Breaker)
Born in 1892, Elizebeth grew up in Indiana in a Quaker family. She pursued her passion for literature which led her to Chicago. She struggled to find work and just as she was ready to leave, she visited the city’s famous Newberry Library to view a rare book. A librarian noticed her interest and introduced her to an eccentric millionaire, George Fabyan, who was looking for researchers.
Fabyan hired Elizebeth immediately and put her to work on his sprawling estate to investigate if Sir Francis Bacon had actually authored Shakespeare’s stories. While working as a researcher, she met her future husband, William, and they worked together, ultimately concluding that this hunch was incorrect. According to Smithsonian Magazine, in her next career chapter, Elizebeth began making history rather than studying it:
When World War I broke out, Fabyan offered the government the assistance of the scholars working under his guidance at Riverbank. The Friedmans, who wed in 1917, became leaders in the first U.S. codebreaking unit, intercepting radio messages and decoding encrypted intelligence...
After World War I, the U.S. Coast Guard hired Friedman to monitor Prohibition-era smuggling rings. She ran the unit’s first codebreaking unit for the next decade, per Smithsonian. Together, she and her clerk cracked an estimated 12,000 encryptions; their work resulted in 650 criminal prosecutions, and she testified as an expert witness in 33 cases, reports Time.
In the 1940s, while working for the Coast Guard, Friedman led a team to eavesdrop on German spies in South America. Close to making a major discovery, her code-breaking capability abruptly stopped, revealing a leak, that was ultimately traced to the head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, who took credit for her work and nearly derailed her career.
Resilient, Elizebeth persevered and ultimately along with her team cracked Nazi codes, discovering a hidden network directed by SS leader Johannes Sigfried Becker. She used “analog methods—mostly pen and paper—to break three separate Enigma machine codes.” Her work was crucial in breaking Argentina, Bolivia and Chile from the Axis powers at a pivotal time in the War. Yet, she was written out of history until years after her death and the unsealing of classified documents.
Learn more in The Woman All Spies Fear by Amy Butler Greenfield or watch The Codebreaker documentary on PBS.
⚖️ #5 Patsy Takemoto Mink
Lawyer, Congressional Leader and Legislative Trailblazer
Born in 1927 in Hawaii, Patsy Takemoto Mink grew up as one of 11 children in poor, but happy conditions. Her father was able to secure a quality education for her through his employer. Patsy dreamed of being a doctor, but experienced discrimination. Ultimately, she pursued law school and when she returned home to practice in Hawaii, she faced her first legal battle. According to Wikipedia:
To practice law, Mink needed to pass her bar examination, but when she applied her residency was questioned. The territorial law, in force at the time regarding married women, had removed her Hawaiian residency, making her a resident of her husband's state.
Proving that she had never resided in her husband's home state of Pennsylvania, she challenged the territorial law as sexist. Hawaii's attorney general ruled in her favor and allowed her to take the examination as a Hawaii resident. Passing the test, Mink became "the first Japanese-American woman licensed to practice law in Hawaii."
Patsy went on to become the first Asian American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives. During her tenure, she had a monumental impact according to this feature in Time Magazine:
A tireless advocate for women’s rights, Mink made it her mission in Congress to craft and champion legislation that opened doors for more women to earn an education and join the workforce. In 1972, Mink co-authored and helped pass Title IX, a landmark piece of legislation that expanded educational opportunities for women and changed the game for women in sports, too.
Just two years later, Mink facilitated the passage of the Women’s Educational Equity Act (WEEA), which provided federal funding for practical resources such as training and materials to enable women and girls to succeed in the educational system.
She paved the way for women in the workforce through her advocacy for education. To continue her legacy, the family established the Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation.
🪖#6 Grace Banker
Switchboard Soldier and Chief Signal Corps Operator
Born in 1892, Grace Banker participated in drama club, was dedicated to her studies and enjoyed gardening and even raising chickens. She was one of the first women of her generation to pursue higher education at Barnard College. Grace majored in French and History and started working for AT&T as a Switchboard Operator in New York City.
During World War I, 223 women Switchboard Operators bravely served the US Army in France, changing the course of history as they connected telephone calls for General Pershing and other army leaders. Grace was the Chief Operator. The swift communication of information by these bi-lingual (French and English speaking) “Switchboard Soldiers” made the difference between winning and losing battles. But, they were never recognized for their service as Veterans until nearly 60 years later.
In my interview with her Granddaughter Carolyn Timbie, Grace’s story came to life:
I found the first entry in the diary quite moving where my Grandmother shared her personal feelings about being the Chief Operator and sailing off into unknown territory. On March 6th and 7th, 1918 she wrote:
“I’ve crossed the Rubicon now, there can be no turning back. 32 girls in my charge, several older than I. We are the only women on board the ship, the former Celtic of the White Star Line… Sailed this morning in a dismal gray drizzle. Slipped out quietly, decks cleared of all life. No one allowed outside until well out at sea.
With faces glued to port holes and doors, watched the Statue of Liberty fade from sight. For the first time suddenly realized what a responsibility I have on my young shoulders.”
My grandmother was 25 years old when she wrote this. She was young, vulnerable and questioning herself. I think so many people can relate to that feeling as she had signed up for something that was greater than she was.
Learn more about the Hello Girls in this series I published in November 2022: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
Which of these stories resonated with you? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. I also invite you to share a woman in communications history you admire as we celebrate their impact this month and always.Thank you for reading The Switchboard. ☎️ Every edition is personally curated by me — Julia Levy. Learn more about why I write. Review the Index of past posts.
If you enjoyed this article, consider sharing it, giving a heart below ❤️, commenting or following on LinkedIn and Twitter.
I really enjoyed these tales of bold, pioneering women in communications. Thanks for sharing. I believe there are many more in the world of journalism in particular, some killed while doing their jobs.
What a brilliant line up! So insightful.