Women peacemakers born today

1897 Shidzue Kato born Tokyo, Japan (d. 2001). Leading Japanese feminist and birth control advocate. Imprisoned 1937; socialist member of Japanese Diet, 1946-74; worked for Japanese apology for WWII.
1930 Pat Arrowsmith born Leamington Spa, England. British author and poet. Peace activist with Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; jailed 11 times, 1958-85. Organized first Aldermaston March, 1958; ran as peace candidate for Parliament, 1970, 1979.
1939 Desiree Bernard born Georgetown, Guyana. International lawyer. First female judge of Supreme Court of Guyana, 1980; first female Chief Justice of Guyana, 1996; appointed to Caribbean Court of Justice, 2005.
1945 Thoraya Obaid born Baghdad, Iraq. Saudi Arabian Director of UN Population Fund, 2001-10. Began first women’s development program in Western Asia, 1975.

Women's peacemaking on this day

1914 Hull House co-founder Ellen Gates Starr arrested in Chicago for protecting striking waitress.
1945 Anne Frank died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, at age 15.
1955 First Bus Boycott took place in Montgomery, Alabama; Claudette Colvin arrested for protest.
1989 Betsy Corner and Randy Kehler received IRS notice of seizure of their Colrain, MA house for tax refusal.
1998 Louise Fréchette of Canada appointed first UN Deputy Secretary General.
2012 Global Women’s Peace Initiative celebrated 10th anniversary Nairobi.
2012 In San José del Golfo, Guatemala, Estela Reyes parked her car along the road, blocking machinery from entering a new mining site and creating the La Puya roadblock, which would remain for two years.