On Jan. 20, 1870, Victoria Woodhull and her sister open the first stock brokerage firm run by women.
Victoria Woodhull had a tough childhood. Her father was a small-time criminal and the family lived in poverty. At age 13, she and her sister would conduct seances and turn the money they earned over to her father. She grew up believing in spiritualism and magnetic healing. She also was a strong supporter of sexual freedom after her first failed marriage to an alcoholic abuser. Her second marriage was to a believer in “free love”. She met Cornelius Vanderbilt and became friends. She would give him stock advise based on contacts with the ghosts of Demosthenes, Napoleon, and Josephine. Vanderbilt shared the large profits with her. She and her sister opened their own business, making them the first female stockbrokers. Later, they published the first weekly newspaper by women. She wanted to lead a social revolution to end the mistreatment of women. She demanded that women be allowed to get out of abusive marriages. She became the first woman to testify to the House Judiciary Committee. She argued that the Constitution already allowed women to vote through the 14th Amendment. They didn’t listen. In 1872, she became the first woman to run for President. Her party was the Equal Rights Party. She spent election day in jail for “obscenity” after her newspaper published an expose about a adulterous preacher. Plunges Again 444-45 / Amazing pp. 395-97
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