FLORENCE-A great event schedued at the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library to hep celebrate Women’s History Month:
“The Greatest Business Woman in the World”: The Incredible Story of Ella Rawls Reader, with Dr. George Robb
Thursday, March 15, 5:30 pm
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library
In celebration of Women’s History Month, Dr. George Robb will visit FLPL to present “The Greatest Business Woman in the World”: The Incredible Story of Ella Rawls Reader.
For a brief moment in the early 20th century, the American public was captivated by the adventures of Ella Rawls Reader, a young woman from Marion, Alabama. The press celebrated Reader as the nation’s most famous and successful female financier and company promoter, who had supposedly made millions by developing Asian railroads and South American copper mines. But Reader’s moment in the spotlight also exposed her to criticism that women were unsuited to a life of ambition and money-making. Stories about Ella Reader provoked debates about what kinds of work were appropriate for women.
George Robb is a professor of history at William Paterson University in New Jersey. His most recent book is a history of women and Wall Street, Ladies of the Ticker. For more information, call 256-764-6564, ext. 128.
