Completing the Century

From photographer Berenice Abbott to labor activist Elaine Black Yoneda, from Wyoming governor Nellie Tayloe Ross (born in 1876) to Tejana...

From photographer Berenice Abbott to labor activist Elaine Black Yoneda, from Wyoming governor Nellie Tayloe Ross (born in 1876) to Tejana singer Selena Perez Quintanilla (born in 1971), Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century (Harvard University Press, Belknap Press, $45) presents meaty profiles of 483 impressive figures who died between January 1, 1976, and December 31, 1999. Editor Susan Ware and assistant editor Stacy Braukman note that their book, prepared under the auspices of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and due this February, "represents the culmination of the premise behind [the series' volumes of 1971 and 1980]: to uncover and document women's contributions to politics and culture during historical periods when their significance was generally unrecognized by the society at large."

 

Most popular

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

After a final round of layoffs, University leaders say 165 staff jobs were eliminated across the division.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

Smiling woman stands beside a large skull in a display cabinet.

From competing in youth gymnastics to studying tetrapods, the Harvard curator has always chased her curiosity.

A smiling elderly man in glasses sits comfortably in a striped armchair.

In June, the Harvard community lost two titans who helped bring the University into the modern era.