Names

In a historic interview, ABC’s Diane Sawyer will sit down with all 16 female members of the U.S. Senate, including Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine. The interview will air in two parts, the first between 7 and 7:30 a.m. today on ABC affiliates WVII-TV in Bangor and WMTW-TV in Portland. Part 2 will air at the same time Thursday morning. There are now a record 16 women serving in the Senate. Before 1986, only 15 women had ever served in the Senate. The first woman senator was Rebecca Latimer Felton, who was appointed to fill a two-day vacancy in 1922. In 1948, Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the Senate. She became the first woman ever elected to both houses of Congress. Snowe was elected to the Senate in 1994 and Collins in 1996