1926 – Gertrude Ederle at the age of 19, becomes the first woman to swim the 21 miles from Dover, England, to Cape Griz-Nez across the English Channel, which separates Great Britain from the northwestern tip of France. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gertrude-ederle-becomes-first-woman-to-swim-english-channel
1947 – In a ceremony held at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, General Dwight D. Eisenhower appoints Florence Blanchfield to be a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, making her the first woman in U.S. history to hold permanent military rank. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-female-army-officer
1963 – Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 Mission – Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova
1918 – Opha Mae Johnson was the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opha_Mae_Johnson
