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January 18

01-18 TABLE of CONTENTS: Queen Tamara From the WOA files DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, and EVENTS QUOTE by Remy de Gourmont. Queen Tamara, "our King"       Event 01-18-1212, Queen Tamara of Georgia in Transcaucasia dies after a 24-year reign during which her soldiers proclaim her "our King." The Golden Age of Georgia's power and prestige was reached in the reign of Queen Tamara - also known as Tamar. Her realm stretched from Azerbaijan to the borders of Cherkessia, west from the eastern shores of the Black Sea.       Georgia emerged as a national entity early in the 1st millennium BC.In 1178 the wise King Giorgi III of Georgia had his daughter Tamara, 19, crowned as his co-ruler to provide an orderly succession.       At 25 she began her 24-year-sole-reign. Although a Christian, she married twice, the first time to a handsome prince who devoted himself to sending troops off by themselves against the Muslims/Persians while he spent his time drinking and debauching with concubines and slaves. Disgusted, Tamara sent him into exile and married again, birthing a son and daughter, both of whom became Kings of Georgia.       However, the exiled first husband raised a Russian army and tried to conquer Georgia. Her forces defeated him in two battles and she let him go into exile again, this time to the south where he again raised an army in league with Turks. He and the Turks marched on Georgia and were repulsed. In 1204/5, she marched with her men to the rousing victory over the Turks at the Battle of Basiani where she is hailed with the cry, "Our King Tamara."       The Emir of Ardabil invaded her domain a few years later and slaughtered 12,000 Georgians. Queen Tamara retaliated quickly and killed the Emir along with 12,000 of his people, taking many more as slaves as she raided northern Persia at will. But the glory was short-lived as in 1236 her daughter Queen Rusudani, 41, who was proclaimed "King" at the death of her brother, fleed Georgia as the unstoppable Mongol hordes ravished the area. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | From our files:       In 1694, Mary Astell, and early English feminist writes "A Proposal to the Ladies," which is not widely distributed because of reigning social restraints against women - the very thing she protested.       In 1862, laws were passed in the State of New York granting equal guardianship of children to mothers. Up to that point, fathers had EXCLUSIVE rights to the children as they did in England and could will the children to anyone they wanted at their deaths or could give them away during their lifetime.       In 1970, 46 editorial staff women won a settlement of their suit charging sex discrimination at Newsweek magazine. Finally Newsweek and Time did cover stories on the Women's Movement. So much for the theory being passed around today by post-feminists and other that don't pay too much attention to the truth that the media caused the women's movement of the 1970's with its publicity. Just the contrary was true.       In 1971, in Reed v Reed the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned a law that preferred men over women for appointments as administrators of decedents' estates. It was far-reaching because it marked the first time the high court ever overturned a law in response to a woman's complaint of unfair sex-based discrimination. The complaint was handled by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who briefed and argued SIX precedent-setting cases before the Supreme Court on sex-biased discriminations. RBG was appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993.       There is no record of when Sara G. Bagley was born and next to nothing is known of her life, but her accomplishments stand out. A mill worker herself, she helped found and was first president of the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association, she edited the Voice of Industry Magazine (1845), and organized female mill workers in a fight for better working conditions and better wages. But her pleas to the Massachusetts legislature for better working conditions and a ten-hour work day instead of 12 failed.       Her work reflects the gradual change of the benign uncle attitude of the mills to harsh conditions that would result in some of the worst strikes in U.S. history as the women were given less and less money. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | 01-18 DATES, ANNIVERSARIES, and EVENTS B. 01-18-1899, Pearl Wanamaker, superintendent of schools, State of Washington (1941), state representative and senator during the 1930's. B. 01-18-1949, Kathleen Jaudzemis, magistrate judge, U. S. District Court, Nebraska 8th Circuit Court 1992-. Died 01-18-1993, Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert, British novelist. WHO? She's better known under her pseudonyms of Victoria Holt and Jean Plaidy and Philippa Carr. EH kept her personal life a closely guarded secret, including her date of birth, 1906-1910?       EH was an amazingly deft writer who accurately used historical detail and fine characterizations to make her one of the world's most popular writers with translations in more than 20 languages. The smoothness of her writing and the seamlessness of her plots - plus her use of women heros who don't run scared - have caused the critics to pass off her work as escapist trash. Women readers, however, made her very rich and very honored.       In all she wrote more than 200 novels, 90 under the name of Jean Plaidy, 32 under Victoria Holt, and 17 under Philippa Carr. She also wrote under the names Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, and Ellalice Tate. Her writing production was at least four novels a year. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE | QUOTES DU JOUR De GOURMONT, REMY:       "What is truly indispensable for the conduct of life has been taught us by women - the small rules of courtesy, the actions that win us the warmth or deference of others; the words that assure us a welcome; the attitude that must be varied to mesh with character or situations; all social strategy. It is listening to women that teaches us to speak to men."             -- Remy de Gourmont. | PRIOR DATE |        | HOME |       | WOA INDEX |       | NEXT DATE |   | RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE |