| Suggested Readings @ Luce Library |
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You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
--- Eleanor Roosevelt
Click here for an extensive bibliography of additional holdings in the Library |
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| Women Pioneers in the Maritime Industry |
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Marjorie Mary Murtagh
(Class of 1974)
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First Woman to Graduate from SUNY Maritime College
Marjorie Mary Murtagh (Class of 1974) transferred to Maritime College from Rockland Community College in the fall of 1972. A non-regimental student, Murtagh graduated as a Naval Architect from the Marine Engineering Department in May 1974. She was the first woman to graduate from the college and earn a U.S. Coast Guard license. At the time, Murtagh wrote in the college yearbook: "It is not important to me that I am the first woman here, but that I am not also the last. Opportunity should not be restricted!"
Murtagh was Assistant Dean of Students at Maritime College where she was instrumental in establishing the first program for female cadets. In 1994, she became the Director of the National Transportation Safety Board's Office of Marine Safety and was responsible for investigation of U.S. flag vessel accidents in U.S. waters and all over the world. Marjorie Murtagh, now Marjorie Murtagh Cooke, is currently an Associate at Robson Forensic, Inc.
Read more on her professional career... |
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Capt. Allison Ross (Class of 1984) |
Captain Allison Ross, SUNY Maritime Graduate
First Woman Accepted in the Maryland Pilots Association
Captain Ross has been piloting the Chesapeake Bay for more than 10 years now. After graduating she started working on oil tankers as a third mate and then went on to obtain her master's license. Captain Ross became the first woman accepted in the Maryland Pilots Association.
Read more about Capt. Ross on the Mariner's Museum web site... |
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Captain Ann Sanborn |
Capt. Ann Sanborn, First Woman to Serve in the Capacity of Unlimited Master(featured in the video documentary "Shipping Out: The Story of America's Seafaring Women")
A mariner who has sailed aboard a variety of ships to diverse areas of the world. As a deck officer, she held positions of responsibility from third mate to master (the first woman to serve in the capacity of unlimited master). Ships include product and black oil tankers, a training ship for the Texas Maritime College, an oceanographic ship, a small shipyard tug, and a seismic research ship. In addition, she is an experienced navigator who has sailed to Africa, Persian Gulf, Mediterranean, South China Sea, Caribbean, above the Arctic Circle, crossed the Equator and survived the dangerous semi circle of tropical cyclone Justine.
Capt. Sanborn is an
Associate Professor and former Assistant Dean for Support Programs at the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
She served as a member of the Navigation Safety Advisory Council ("NAVSAC") for over 6 years and was assigned to MARAD Headquarters for 6 months to assist in the Marine Transportation Initiative. |
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Adena Kelly
(Class of 1994)
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Mate Adena Kelly, SUNY Maritime Graduate
(featured in the video documentary "Shipping Out: The Story of America's Seafaring Women")
Mate Kelly is a graduate of SUNY Maritime College, class of 1994. |
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Harriet Pickens & Frances Wills
(Source: Long Passage to Korea by Bernard C. Nalty) |
Lieutenant Harriet Ida Pickens (left) and Ensign Frances Eliza Wills
First African American WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) commissioned in the U.S. Navy.
Read more on the WAVES.... |
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Ida Lewis
(source: www.nps.gov) |
Ida Lewis, courageous Lighthouse Keeper of Lime Rock, Newport, Rhode Island
Ida Lewis was appointed lighthouse keeper in 1878, a job which she took over from her invalid father. She is credited with saving 18 lives, with her first rescue at the age of 15. Ida Lewis courageous performance as lighthouse keeper was also shared by fellow women lighthouse keepers Abbie Burgess and Fannie Salter, a predominantly male profession, but often performed by women. The island of Lime Rock and the lighthouse is named after Ida Lewis. At present the lighthouse is maintained as the clubhouse of the Ida Lewis Yacht Club.
Read more about Ida Lewis:
The Keeper of Lime Rock by Lenore Skomal (call # VK1140 .L48 S55 2002)
Mariner's Museum web site
Rhode Island Lighthouse History web site
Wikipedia
National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program web site |
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Violet Jessop
(source: Titanic Survivor) |
Violet Jessop, Ship Stewardess and Nurse
Survived three major ocean liner disasters - the Olympic collision, sinkings of the Titanic and the Britannic
A true survivor at sea, Violet Jessop was literally put in harm's way when she was at the center of various maritime disasters. First, she was on board the RMS Olympic when it collided with the HMS Hawke in 1911. But more significantly, she survived the epic sinkings of the RMS Titanic in 1912 (while serving as a stewardess) and the HMHS Britannic in 1916 (while serving as a nurse). In an excerpt from one of Jessop's letters on her experience on the Titanic, she wrote
"...After we had done all we could below stairs, we went up on deck and were just standing back watching a young officer trying to persuade emigrants to go into the boats. As he could not make himself understood (they were mostly Poles, Russians, etc.), he asked us to give a good example and get in. That is the reason why I am alive today."
Read more on Violet Jessop experiences:
Titanic Survivor, edited and annotated by John Maxtone-Graham (call #: Gove G530 .J45 J47 1997)
Mariner's Museum web site
Encyclopedia Titanica
Wikipedia
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Additional Web Resources
Women Mariners in World War II
Information on various American women mariners who served during World War II |
Women & the Sea
Women & the Sea provide pictures, drawings, and time line of women who work in the Marine, Naval and shipping business |
Canadian Women Merchant Mariners
Canadian Women merchant mariners joined the US Navy in search of a better career in the navy |
| Women's History - Naval Historical Center |
Tough Struggle at Sea
Women working alongside men on board ships face discrimination and sexual harassment, ILO study finds |
More Women Cruising into Career at Sea
An article on women in the cruising industry. Source: Business Line - Internet Edition, 02/26/2001 |
Women Seafarer's Resources (International Transport Worker's Federation - ITF)
A collection of resources and information for women working at sea |
Seafaring Women
Excerpt from the book "Seafaring Women" |
Women Mariners Take on the Sea and Myths
Detailed review of the documentary "Shipping Out: The Story of America's Seafaring Women" |
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| Researched, compiled and designed by Elizabeth Leschinsky, Alicia Joseph, & Shafeek Fazal |
Navigate Your Course @Your Library |
| Updated on March 26, 2008 |
