Lydia Pinkham: The Face That Launched a Thousand Ads

Lydia Pinkham was one of the 19th century’s most remarkable businesswomen, her influence spreading beyond the late 1800s and her native New England. A champion of equal rights for women and blacks at a time when such causes lacked widespread support, Pinkham was ahead of her time on other issues. Chief among them was the well-being of women struggling with serious health issues related to their menstrual cycles and other so-called “women weaknesses.” But as the teetotaling Pinkham and her n...