| 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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 |
 Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Museum
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 |
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1913—1922: Decade 3
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| 1913 | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Museum
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
Women suffragists demonstrate. Henry Ford develops the modern assembly line. |
| 1916 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Museum
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. |
 Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 | 
Image Courtesy: CDC-Terrence Tumpey, Cynthia Goldsmith
Influenza epidemic begins |
| 1919 | Matrons create the Foreign Students Committee |  Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Women's League
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.) | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
Marron Fort becomes the first black student to earn an MIT PhD |
Image Courtesy: Wikipedia
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
World War II ends. United Nations is established. Microwave oven is invented. |
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| 1949 |  Image Courtesy: Women's League 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. |
 Image Courtesy: MIT Museum, Camera Study by Arthur Griffin, Winchester MA
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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
Elspeth Rostow, assistant professor of Economic
and Social Science, becomes first woman to hold a
professorial rank at MIT. Lincoln Laboratory is
established. |
Image Courtesy: Karsh, public domain
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 | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Museum 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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
LEGO toy bricks are first introduced. NASA is formed. |
| 1959 | Financial Resource/Investment and Sailing are added to the interest group offerings | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Museum
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 |  Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Museum
Matrons establish the English Conversation Classes and
also the Technology Nursery School (TNS), located in
an apartment at Westgate. |
 Image Courtesy: MIT Museum
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (ScD '63) walk on the moon |
| 1970 | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Museum
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. |
 Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
"Blizzard of Century" closes MIT for a week |
First test-tube baby is born |
| 1980 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Museum 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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
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 | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Museum Harvard/Yale football game is interrupted by MIT balloon hack |
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT Archives
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 | 
Image Courtesy: MIT Archives Professor Ellen Harris is named the first Associate Provost for the Arts |
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Women's League
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 |
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1993—2002: Decade 11
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| 1993 | 
Image Courtesy: Women's League
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. |
 Image Courtesy: MIT News Office
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Donna Coveney, Tech Talk "Police car" hack appears atop dome.
MIT tuition is $19,000 per year. |
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Women's League
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Women's League
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed media file
Hale-Bopp comet is visible. Hong Kong is returned to China. Scientists clone sheep. |
| 1998 | 
Image Courtesy: Women's League
Daffodil Days at MIT, a national annual fund-raising
activity for the American Cancer Society, is initiated.
MIT Japanese Wives Group begins. |
 Image Courtesy: L. Barry Hetherington
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. |  Image Courtesy: The Tech
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 |  Image Courtesy: Amazon website
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 | 
Image Courtesy: Wikipedia
Euro coins and banknotes enter circulation. Department of Homeland Security is created.
Apple introduces iMac G4. |
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2003—2012: Decade 12
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| 2003 | 
Image Courtesy: MIT News Office
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. |  Image Courtesy: MIT News Office
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 |  Image Courtesy: Donna Coveney, Tech Talk
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 |  Image Courtesy: Women's League 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 |  Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons,freely licensed media file
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. |  Image Courtesy: Dominick Reuter
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 |  Image Courtesy: Melody Craven
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 |  Image Courtesy: MIT 150 Committee
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 |  Image Courtesy: ESL Team
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 |
Image Courtesy: WENN.com
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II is celebrated |
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| 2013: 100th anniversary celebration! | |||
