A handful of Tar Heels are in the National Women's Hall of Fame.

As the state prepares to swear in its first female governor and a female majority on the Council of State, Dome is taking a look at some other milestones for women in the state.

Started in 1969 in Seneca Falls, N.Y., the nonprofit hall of fame honors distinguished American women in a number of fields, including at least eight with North Carolina ties.

It includes such North Carolina notables as civil rights activist Ella Baker, a major force in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; poet Maya Angelou, a professor at Wake Forest University; and Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a two-time Cabinet member and the first female senator in the state.

Duke University is well represented on the list. Along with Dole, lesbian activist Charlotte Bunch and oceanographer Sylvia Earle, two Duke alums; former president Nan Keohane; and one-time professor Gertrude Elion were also inducted.

The first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States, Elizabeth Blackwell, also briefly studied in North Carolina in the 19th century.