YEAR
1974

1974

Entrepreneur and fierce defender of First Amendment rights Joyce Meskis purchases the independent bookstore Tattered Cover Books, Inc. She continues to battle the large bookstore chains for market share.


1974

First Lady Betty Ford speaks in public about her mastectomy and urges women to get a checkup for breast cancer.


1974

Washington Post columnist Mary McGrory wins the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, for her work on the Watergate story.


1974

Helen Thomas is the first woman to be the White House bureau chief for a news wire service; she works at the White House for over forty years.


1974

Becky Schroeder receives her first patent for an illuminated writing board (later called the Glo-sheet) while she is a preteen; she is one of the youngest Americans ever to have received a patent.


1974

Well-known tennis star Chris Evert wins both the French Open and Wimbledon; she wins at least one Grand Slam singles title in every year from 1974 to 1986.