Women of Georgetown: Making History
By • March 10, 2026 One Comment 572
“You’ve come a long way, baby,” intoned a cigarette advertisement almost 60 years ago, tapping into the burgeoning women’s liberation movement.
While we’re well aware that women’s history involves much more than a quick inhale, it still amazes some men to encounter a strong woman.
Just last week, the sight of a female U.S. Air Force pilot, whose F-15E was knocked out of the sky, standing nonchalantly in a Kuwaiti field and declaring she was OK, proved an internet hit.
Thus has it been with many women throughout history.
In this month’s story for The Village, we turn to Georgetown women of noteworthy accomplishment — and give our readers a history assignment. Our allotted space only allows highlights. So, as we look to honor Women’s History Month, let us know who we missed.
Katharine Graham was the publisher and owner who brought the Washington Post to its zenith.
Katharine Graham
Jacqueline Kennedy and her husband John put Georgetown on the map in contemporary times. (Ditto for Ethel Kennedy.)
Martha Parke Custis Peter, granddaughter of Martha Washington, and her husband Thomas Peter built Tudor Place.
Martha Parke Custis
Hannah Cole Pope, born enslaved at Tudor Place, and her husband Alfred were prominent citizens at the turn of the 20th century.
Anne Marie Becraft founded a school near Georgetown College for Black girls and later became one of America’s first Black nuns.
E.D.E.N. Southworth, the most popular American novelist of the late 19th century, lived on Prospect Street. (She deserves to have a park named after her; a nearby vacant lot is available.)
Emma V. Brown was the first African American teacher employed by the D.C. public school system.
Nancy Pelosi, a resident of Washington Harbour, is the first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
Official portrait of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, photographed January 11, 2019, in the Office of the Speaker in the United States Capitol.
Madeleine Albright, the first female secretary of state, was also a popular Georgetown University professor.
Madeleine Albright
Julia Child, also an OSS operative, was the chef who brought French cooking and fun to Georgetown women and the nation.
Julia Child
Pamela Harriman, political activist, diplomat and socialite — “Life of the Party” — was an exemplar of power and seduction.
Pamela Harriman
Vera Rubin, Georgetown University astronomer, is the person for whom the new astronomy and astrophysics facility on Cerro Pachón in Chile is named. She found evidence for the existence of dark matter.
Vera Rubin
Deborah Tannen is the professor who made “He Said, She Said” understandable.
Dorothy Brown was the first female provost of Georgetown University.
Jeane Kirkpatrick was the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Elizabeth Frawley Bagley is a diplomat, attorney, political activist, philanthropist — and neighbor.
Elizabeth Frawley Bagley
Evangeline Bruce — “The Last Empress” — was a writer and society hostess.
Margaret Edes established a charitable trust for the care of widows. Her presence echoes at the historic Edes Home at 2929 N St. NW.
Anna Maria Thornton, wife of U.S. Capitol architect William Thornton, lived among Georgetown’s elite social circles.
Margaret O’Neill Eaton, daughter of a Georgetown tavern keeper, married Secretary of War John Eaton and sparked “the Petticoat Affair.”
Mary Edwards Walker, MD, is the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor — and lived briefly on Wisconsin Avenue. She and Walt Whitman are the names behind Whitman-Walker Clinic.
Mary Edwards Walker, MD
Emily Warren Roebling was a graduate of Georgetown Visitation Prep and helped complete the Brooklyn Bridge.
Emily Warren Roebling
Margaret Ann and Belle Laurie were a mother-daughter spiritualist duo known as “the witches of Georgetown.” Their séances were reportedly attended by President Abraham Lincoln and first lady Mary Todd Lincoln.
Margaret Ann and Belle Laurie
Roumania and Margaret Peters, tennis doubles champions, lived on O Street near the Rose Park tennis court named for them.
Roumania and Margaret Peters
The list can go on, of course. Let’s not forget to recognize Georgetowner founder Ami Stewart and publisher-owner Sonya Bernhardt, who made and — in Sonya’s case — continue to make this newspaper possible.
An accomplished woman you missed in your line up is Caroline Van Hook Bean (1879- 1980), who was called “the Last of the Impressionists”. She was a notable artist sought after for her street scenes of Georgetown and also her work in portraits. She had a major show in NYC towards the end of her life. She lived in over 20 homes in Georgetown and in addition to her career as an artist, renovated over 10 homes in Georgetown/Alexandria.