- Born Shirley Anita St. Hill on November 30, 1924
- Graduated from Girls High School in 1942
- Earned Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College in 1946
- Earned Masters of Arts in Education from Columbia University in 1952
- Director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center from 1953 to 1959
- Educational consultant to New York City’s Bureau of Child Welfare from 1959-64
- Representative for New York State Legislature 1964-68.
- First African-American woman elected to Congress in 1968 representing 12th Congressional District, New York, 1969-83
- Authored Unbought and Unbossed in 1970
- Co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971
- Co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971
- First African-American to run for President of the United States in 1972
- Authored The Good Fight in 1973
- Awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Smith College in 1975
- Purington Professor at Mount Holyoke College from 1983-87
- Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993
- Chisholm died at the age of 80 years old on January 1, 2005