April 29

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Women peacemakers born today

  • 1863 Ada Wells (née Pike) born Shepherd’s Green, Oxfordshire, England (d. 1933). Pioneer New Zealand suffragist; peace advocate, spoke publicly against militarism, imperialism; opposed draft, aided conscientious objectors World War I.

  • 1872 Adele Schreiber born Vienna, Austria (d. 1957). German-Austrian feminist; economist; Socialist. Pacifist member of German parliament, 1920-24, 1928-33; exiled by Hitler.

  • 1880 Catherine E. Marshall born Harrow, England (d. 1961). British nonviolent feminist; suffragist. Secretary of No-Conscription Fellowship, 1916.

  • 1911 Erika von Brockdorff born Kolberg, Germany (d. 1943). German resistance leader. Offered her Berlin home as radio headquarters for resistance group. Executed by guillotine, May 1943.

  • 1940 Eva-Lee Baird born New York, NY. Grandmother for Peace; art teacher; photographer; arrested 2005 for protest at New York recruiting station; acquitted; Toys-R-us protest 2006; protested Obama wars 2009.

  • 1950 Rita Nakashima Brock born Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan. American theologian. First Asian-American woman doctor of theology. Presided over Truth Commission on Conscience in War, 2010; founding co-director of Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School dealing with trauma of war, 2012.

  • 1952 Cathy Hoffman. Peace educator and mediator. Director of city of Cambridge Peace Commission, 1987-2007.

  • 1977 Razan Zaitouneh. Syrian lawyer and human rights activist. Received Anna Politkovskaya Award, 2011; shared Sakharov Prize, 2011; received International Women of Courage Award, 2013.

Women's peacemaking on this day

  • 1915 Hague International Conference of Women leads to founding of WILPF with Jane Addams as president. "We women, in International Congress Assembled, protest against the madness and horror of war."

  • 1922 Children's Crusade for Amnesty for imprisoned war resisters arrived in Washington, D.C. led by Kate Richards O'Hare, picketed White House.

  • 1946 First Meeting of nuclear human rights commission of UN at Hunter College, under Eleanor Roosevelt.

  • 1957 Jessie Street launched petition for referendum on Australian aboriginal rights.

  • 1963 Picasso sketched Peace drawing for Women's Union of France.

  • 1968 Actress Vanessa Redgrave was arrested in Vietnam War protest, London.

  • 1969 Eileen Kreutz poured blood on draft files, Evanston, IL.

  • 1984 4,000 Japanese women protested against cruise missiles.

  • 2013 Iraq war resister Kimberly Rivera sentenced to 10-month prison term for desertion. Gave birth in prison; separated from newborn child to complete her sentence.

  • 2015 Grand Closing of WILPF Peacemakers conference. “We recognised that women do have power to stop war, and that indeed, the movement has started and we believe absolutely, that peace is possible.”