Year | MIT Women's League | MIT Milestones | World Events |
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1861—1892: Decade 1
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1861 | MIT incorporates | Civil War begins | |
1862 | Emma Savage Rogers, wife of MIT founder and first president, generously opens her heart, home, and resources to the Institute until her death in 1911 |
William Barton Rogers is elected president of MIT |
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1865 | MIT opens in Boston with 5 faculty and 15 students | Abraham Lincoln is assassinated | |
1871 | Ellen Henrietta Swallow is the first female student admitted to MIT |
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1893—1912: Decade 2
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1898 | Ladies of the Institute meet informally | MIT tuition is $200 per year | Spanish American War ends |
1904 | Katharine Dexter McCormick receives her degree in Biology and goes on to become a pioneer of the women's suffrage and birth control movements, and a dedicated generous MIT benefactor | ||
1913—1922: Decade 3
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1913 | First Lady Alice Maclaurin encourages ladies to formalize their association to benefit the Institute and themselves. Constitution and by-laws are adopted; the Emma Rogers Association of Technology Matrons is born (name is later shortened to Technology Matrons). | MIT faculty number 106 | Women suffragists demonstrate. Henry Ford develops the modern assembly line. |
1916 | The Emma Rogers Room becomes the Matrons' home on the new Cambridge campus. Board member Emma Moore initiates a fund for the Matrons' use insuring that no dues would be charged members. |
Cambridge campus dedication — three-day celebration of the move from Boston |
United States acquires the Virgin Islands |
1917 | Matrons volunteer with MIT War Services Auxiliary and collect, package, and ship "comfort bags" to MIT servicemen. | World War I training — 4,000 men are stationed at MIT. Student Training Corps and a Navy Aviation School are developed. | US enters World War I |
1918 | During flu epidemic, four convalescent homes are established, and MIT women volunteers perform 1,399 days of nursing care. | At request of federal and state authorities, opening of the school year is postponed for three weeks because of unprecedented flu epidemic | Influenza epidemic begins |
1919 | Matrons create the Foreign Students Committee | Edith Clark is the first woman to earn an SM degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT |
World War I ends |
1920 | US women gain right to vote | ||
1922 | Technology Dames, an organization for student wives, begins as a Matrons' subgroup | Elizabeth Stuart Gatewood Pietsch is the first woman to earn a PhD from MIT (in Chemistry) |
Insulin is discovered — researchers are awarded Nobel Prize for their work in 1923 |
1923—1932: Decade 4 (expand to view) |
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1929 | MIT faculty number 515 and students 3,066 | Stock market crashes — Depression begins | |
1930 | Tradition of making the holiday wreaths for the 77 Massachusetts Avenue entrance begins | Pluto is discovered and named the ninth planet (status is downgraded in 2006 to "dwarf planet") | |
1933—1942: Decade 5 (expand to view) |
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1933 | First Lady Margaret Compton encourages Matrons to establish special interest groups as a way for members to get acquainted. Bridge, Book Club, Chorale, Crafts, and Current Events groups are formed. (Chorale has met on a regular basis since then.) | Marron Fort becomes the first black student to earn an MIT PhD | Loch Ness monster is first spotted. F. D. Roosevelt becomes President. |
1935 | Matrons print and mail the first "Bulletin" to members (replaced by the "Newsletter" in 1988) | Cape Cod Canal model is built by the Department of Civil Engineering to study tidal currents | Social Security Act is passed |
1943—1952: Decade 6 (expand to view) |
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1945 | World War II ends. United Nations is established. Microwave oven is invented. | ||
1949 | Red Cross program ends after 43,000 hours volunteered and 67,000 items produced. Margaret Compton Fund is established to honor the First Lady who allocated the interest income to various Institute activities.Matrons celebrate 50th anniversary of the "Ladies of the Institute" coming together for tea. |
MIT holds a Mid-Century Convocation to appraise the post-war world, progress of scientific enterprise, and MIT's future. Events include Winston Churchill's speech about social implications of scientific progress. |
First non-stop flight around the world |
1952 | Matrons volunteer to assist nurses at the MIT Infirmary | Elspeth Rostow, assistant professor of Economic and Social Science, becomes first woman to hold a professorial rank at MIT. Lincoln Laboratory is established. |
Princess Elizabeth becomes the Queen of England at age 25. Car seat belts are introduced. |
1953—1962: Decade 7 (expand to view) |
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1956 | Lincoln Lab, Draper Lab, and RLE women are welcomed to the Matrons. Matrons publish their Family Guide to MIT and send it to incoming students. Service Committee catalogues and marks trees, shrubs, and perennial plants at Endicott House. | Velcro is introduced. TV remote control is invented. | |
1958 |
Matrons found the Furniture Exchange in a Westgate apartment, and also host the first dinner for international student wives. |
MIT tuition is $1,300 per year | LEGO toy bricks are first introduced. NASA is formed. |
1959 | Financial Resource/Investment and Sailing are added to the interest group offerings | The body of Oliver Smoot, '62, is used to measure the Harvard Bridge — 364.4 smoots and one ear. Smoot later becomes Chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and President of the International Organization for Standardization. | Alaska and Hawaii attain statehood. International treaty makes Antarctica a scientific preserve. |
1960 | Technology Matrons establish the Student Loan Fund with proceeds from the Furniture Exchange. Future proceeds will be donated to this fund. | Lasers are invented | |
1961 | Host Family Program begins; Matrons help with the preparations for MIT's centennial celebration | MIT Centennial celebration — three day symposium with visits from world leaders | John F. Kennedy becomes President. Berlin Wall is built. Peace Corps is founded. Soviets launch first man into space. |
1962 | Matrons form the Newcomers Coordinating Committee and establish mixers to promote inter-school/inter-lab socializing | John Glenn orbits the earth. Cuban Missile Crisis occurs. Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring. |
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1963—1972: Decade 8 (expand to view) |
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1963 | Matrons establish the English Conversation Classes and also the Technology Nursery School (TNS), located in an apartment at Westgate. |
With funding from Katherine Dexter McCormick ('04), MIT dedicates Stanley McCormick Hall, the first women's dormitory on campus |
President John F. Kennedy assassinated. Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his "I have a dream" speech. |
1964 | Art, Birdwatching, Careerists, Evening, and Luncheon groups are added to the interest group offerings | IBM introduces word processor. Civil Rights Act passes. | |
1965 | Matrons found the Honorary Matrons to provide widowed Matrons or Matrons of retirees a way to keep in touch and meet in smaller gatherings. Technology Nursery School (TNS) is incorporated as a non-profit organization. | Student Center, designed by Professor Eduardo Catalano and named in honor of President Julius Stratton, opens | Great Northeast Blackout occurs. US astronauts walk in space. Medicare and Medicaid are established. |
1966 | Babysitting is added to the English classes program. Matrons turn over the off-campus housing program, begun for foreign student families, to MIT which extends it to the entire MIT community. | MIT tuition is $1,900 per year | National Organization of Women (NOW) is formed. US Department of Transportation is created. |
1968 | Brown Bag Seminars are organized and attract a younger audience with themes focused on national priorities, community social concerns, urban affairs, and women's issues | MIT Libraries acquire millionth volume | Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated. Robert Kennedy is killed. |
1969 | Annual Meeting at McCormick Hall exhibits selected furnishings and art of Katharine McCormick's estate. (Sale proceeds the following year benefit the MIT Student Loan Fund.) | MIT's Ioannis Yannas works on the development of artificial skin in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital | Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (ScD '63) walk on the moon |
1970 | Matrons' plant sales for students begin. Largest Blood Mobile Drive to date is held. Publication of the Family Guide to MIT is superseded by HowToGAMIT. | Mary Frances Wagley, '47, is named the first female MIT Corporation member. UROP is established. |
The first Earth Day is observed. Computer floppy disks are introduced. |
1971 | More than 2,000 international students experience family hospitality in first decade of Host Family Program | MIT tuition is $2,650 per year | Voting age is reduced to eighteen years. VCRs are introduced. |
1972 | The Technology Dames change their name to the Technology Wives Organization | Lotte Bailyn becomes the first female faculty member in the Sloan School of Management |
President Nixon visits China. Pocket calculators are introduced. | 1973—1982: Decade 9 (expand to view) |
1973 | Betty Reintjes accepts Stewart Award for the English Conversation Classes for outstanding contributions to extracurricular life at MIT. Technology Children's Center (formerly TNS) opens full-day, full-year program. | Center for Cancer Research is established | The space station Skylab is launched. Vietnam War ends. |
1975 | Name changes from Technology Matrons to the MIT Women's League | Office of Minority Education is established | Trans-Alaska Pipeline System construction begins. Bill Gates founds Microsoft. US and Soviet spacecraft dock in orbit. |
1978 | Regular donors remain faithful during the '78 Blizzard Blood Drive | "Blizzard of Century" closes MIT for a week |
First test-tube baby is born |
1980 | Laya Wiesner Fund is established to honor an outstanding undergraduate woman student with an award, presented at the annual Awards Convocation, that carries a financial prize. Matrons' sponsorship of the Fall Foliage tours is turned over to MITAC. |
MIT tuition is $6,200 per year | Mt. St. Helens erupts. Pac-Man video game is released. Rubik's Cube becomes popular. |
1981 | Committee on the Future is established to help understand the organization and how it can best serve the MIT community | Sandra Day O'Connor is appointed to the Supreme Court. Space shuttle Columbia is launched. Personal computer (PC) is introduced by IBM. | |
1982 | Women's Chorale performs at the Holiday Party at the President's House |
Harvard/Yale football game is interrupted by MIT balloon hack |
Vietnam War Memorial opens in Washington, DC | 1983—1992: Decade 10 (expand to view) |
1986 | By-laws changed to open membership to include all MIT women and alumni | MIT celebrates its 125th anniversary |
Challenger space shuttle explodes. Chernobyl nuclear accident. |
1987 | League purchases its first computer. Infirmary Project, initiated by First Lady Catherine Stratton, raises funds for improvements to patient space at MIT Medical and leads to the collaboration with the Aging Successfully seminars. League establishes a fund to provide furnishing in Elizabeth Parks Killian Hall. | Elizabeth Parks Killian Hall created in memory of the former First Lady | Dow plummets 500 points. US first trillion dollar budget |
1988 | Dr. Robert Ravven establishes an endowment in honor of his wife Lucile, Chorale conductor 1968-1980, for music purchases for the Chorale. The Newsletter and Activities Guide replace the Bulletin. Portraits of MIT First Ladies Catherine Stratton, Elizabeth Johnson, and Laya Wiesner are unveiled and hung in the Emma Rogers Room. | Project Daedalus sets distance and endurance records for human-powered aircraft in a flight over the Aegean Sea | Space shuttle Discovery is launched |
1989 | Office automation project is completed as records and the League membership list are computerized |
Professor Ellen Harris is named the first Associate Provost for the Arts |
Berlin Wall falls. Exxon Valdez oil spill occurs. |
1990 | First Lady Priscilla Gray's portrait is unveiled and hung in the Emma Rogers Room | MIT tuition is $15,600 per year | Gulf War begins. Berlin Wall is dismantled. Hubble Space Telescope is launched. |
1991 | Hosts to International Students Program (HISP) is taken over by MIT, under the International Students Office | Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Scholars Program is established to recognize and host minority scholars | Break up of USSR takes place |
1992 | Gift portrait of Emma Savage (Rogers) as a child is hung in Rogers Room. Focus on the Arts program begins and spotlights MIT women artisans. | MIT announces MacVicar Faculty Fellowships | Cold War ends |
1993—2002: Decade 11
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1993 | For the League's 80th anniversary, Susan Podshadley creates the award winning "Killian Quilt," that hangs in the Emma Rogers Room, reflecting the quiet aspect of life at MIT, the female presence, and the beauty of Killian Court. | Professor Sheila Widnall, '64, is sworn in as the Secretary of the US Air Force |
Use of Internet grows exponentially |
1994 | Technology Matrons' MIT Student Loan Fund is redesignated the MIT Women's League Scholarship Fund | "Police car" hack appears atop dome. MIT tuition is $19,000 per year. | Channel Tunnel opens connecting Britain and France |
1995 | Cabaret dinner program closes the 80th anniversary celebration. The MIT Women's League: A Rich Heritage is published. MIT Affiliate ID cards are available to members. Catherine N. Stratton Critical Issues Lectures are inaugurated. Student clothing program begins with donations of winter and interview clothing from the MIT community. | Women comprise 43% of entering class | Oklahoma City bombing occurs |
1996 | What's Cooking Under the Dome, a cookbook for the MIT community, is published | An international consortium, including Whitehead Institute scientists, complete a unified gene map of more than 16,000 human genes | NATO troops deployed to Bosnia |
1997 | Breakfast Series is established, giving women leaders at MIT an opportunity to talk frankly about their career paths and other relevant work-family experience | BankBoston releases its report "MIT: The Impact of Innovations" demonstrating MIT's economic impact on education and research | Hale-Bopp comet is visible. Hong Kong is returned to China. Scientists clone sheep. |
1998 | Daffodil Days at MIT, a national annual fund-raising activity for the American Cancer Society, is initiated. MIT Japanese Wives Group begins. | Bill Clinton is the first sitting US president to speak at an MIT commencement. Building 20 is demolished to make way for the Stata Center. |
Northern Ireland peace accord signed. Nelson Mandela steps down as President of South Africa. |
1999 | Laya Wiesner Community Award is established. World AIDS Day annual fund-raising event established. "Women on the Edge of New Frontiers" brown bag lunchtime series in collaboration with Women's Forum begins. | A Study on the Status of Women Faculty in Science at MIT is completed, resulting in initiatives to improve the status of senior women faculty | Euro is introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency. Panama Canal returns to Panama. |
2000 | With the millennium, the League installs its website. The reception Celebrating Graduate Women at MIT, a collaboration with the Graduate Students Office and spouses&partners@mit, is held. | MIT Millennium Ball celebrates the start of the 21st century | "ILOVEYOU" virus hits thousands of computers |
2001 | Connections, a monthly afternoon social gathering, is created as a way to foster community and build bridges among women at MIT. World Cultures from a Woman's Perspective series begins. | September 12, MIT community gathers on Killian court for a day of remembrance and reflection, following the September 11 terrorist attacks |
September 11 terrorists strike at three US locations. US troops invade Afghanistan. Wikipedia is launched. Apple launches iPod. |
2002 | Collaboration with MIT Medical and DAPER brings Dr. Miriam Nelson, author of the "Strong Women" health book series to campus. Portrait of First Lady Rebecca Vest is unveiled and hung in the Emma Rogers Room. Four Generations of Women Across Cultures and Women and Writing panel discussions are held. |
DSpace@MIT, an open source digital repository, is developed to save, share, and search MIT's digital materials | Euro coins and banknotes enter circulation. Department of Homeland Security is created. Apple introduces iMac G4. |
2003—2012: Decade 12
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2003 | World AIDS Day fund raising event features its Chocolate Buffet and the addition of a 4-story Federal- style dollhouse to its raffle items | Campaign for MIT meets its $1.5 billion goal and goes on to raise $2 billion | US troops invade Iraq. Space shuttle Columbia disintegrates on reentry. |
2004 | League mission statement is revised. League celebrates its 90th birthday and invites former chairs to reminisce over lunch. | Neuroscientist Susan Hockfield is elected MIT's 16th president. She is also the first life scientist and first woman to lead MIT. MIT tuition is $29,400 per year. |
Tsunami devastates Indian Ocean lands and population. Facebook is launched. |
2005 | League assists in Katrina relief with financial aid to New Orleans musicians on campus for a benefit concert. Bylaws Review Committee meets. The Furniture Exchange contributes $60,000 to the League's Scholarship Fund. First Lady Rebecca Vest is honored with the establishment of a Public Service Center fellowship in her name. |
Energy Research Council is established to spearhead efforts to address the world's mounting energy problems. MIT responds to Hurricane Katrina. | Hurricane Katrina strikes Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas and floods New Orleans. Deep Throat is revealed. YouTube is launched. USB flash drives replace floppy disks. |
2006 | First Lady Elizabeth Johnson is honored with the establishment of a Public Service Center fellowship in her name. Daffodil Days raises a record $34,000 for the American Cancer Society. Outreach to Transition House, a Cambridge shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence, begins. | MIT-Spain program is created | Saddam Hussein executed. Twitter is launched. |
2007 | Priscilla Gray reprises her role as Honorary Chair during Susan Hockfield's term as President of MIT. CitySide Dining interest group is created. |
15,000 people attend the Cambridge Science Festival, the first and largest multi-day celebration of science and technology in the US, making the wide range of Cambridge scientific research accessible | Apple debuts iPhone |
2008 | The MIT Women's Chorale celebrates its 75th anniversary. More than 200 women and men volunteer for League service projects. Furniture Exchange celebrates its 50th anniversary. The Honor Circle is created to link former First Ladies and board members with the current Board at twice-yearly meetings. | The MIT Libraries opens the Malhaugen Gallery to showcase rare documents, photos, book, maps and artwork from the Libraries' collections | Barack Obama elected 44th President — first African-American |
2009 | ESL classes offered to MIT's Facilities employees. New website is freshened up. Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, founder and chair of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, is the annual meeting guest speaker. | President Hockfield introduces President Obama at a White House briefing and joins him in calling for a "truly historic" new level of funding for clean energy initiatives. President Obama later visits MIT. |
Outbreaks of H1N1 influenza strain deemed a global pandemic. |
2010 | The ESL program for Facilities service employees expands to second shift staff; some become US citizens. Portrait of First Lady Catherine Stratton joins those of other first ladies in the Emma Rogers Room. Stratton Lecture "On Corruption" attracts record audience. |
Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico explodes and causes a massive offshore oil spill. Haiti is struck by an earthquake. Apple debuts the iPad. | |
2011 | MIT Japanese Wives Group and the Japanese Tea Ceremony group help direct support for relief following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan | MIT celebrates its 150th anniversary. MIT tuition reaches $40,732 per year. |
Osama bin Laden killed. Japan experiences powerful earthquake and tsunami. Global population reaches 7 billion. Space shuttle fleet is retired. |
2012 | The ESL program for service staff expands to the third shift service staff and holds training and informational workshops during IAP for its teachers and tutors |
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II is celebrated | |
2013: 100th anniversary celebration! |