Women's History

Ida B. Wells was a prominent journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was born into slavery and became a fierce advocate for both racial justice and women's suffrage.

Billie Holiday, often referred to as Lady Day, was a legendary jazz singer. Her emotive and unique vocal style made her one of the most influential figures in jazz history.

Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights. She was instrumental in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Helen Keller was a deaf and blind author and activist. She overcame significant physical challenges to become a world-renowned speaker and advocate for people with disabilities and social justice.

Sojourner Truth was an abolitionist and women's rights activist. Her famous speech, Ain't I a Woman?, delivered at the 1851 Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, challenged prevailing views on gender and race.

Edith Cavell was a British nurse during WWI. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides of the conflict and for helping Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium.

Valentina Tereshkova, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first woman to fly in space in 1963. She orbited the Earth 48 times during her mission aboard Vostok 6.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education. She survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban in 2012 and later became the youngest Nobel Prize laureate.

Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist who organized the UK suffragette movement. Her militant tactics and leadership were highly influential in the global fight for women's voting rights.

Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave who became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. She led dozens of enslaved people to freedom and later served as a scout and spy for the Union Army during the Civil War.

Barbara Walters was a pioneering broadcast journalist. She became the first woman to co-host a network news program, the Today show, and later became the first female co-anchor of an evening news program.

Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States who represented the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II. She became a symbol of female economic power and patriotism.

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner served as the President of Argentina from 2007 to 2015. She was the first woman to be elected to the presidency in Argentina.

Indra Nooyi served as the CEO of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018. She was consistently ranked among the world's most powerful women by Forbes during her tenure.

Rosalind Franklin was a British chemist whose work in X-ray crystallography was essential to understanding the molecular structure of DNA. Her data provided critical evidence for the double helix model.

Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She is the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields: physics and chemistry.

Rosa Parks is widely recognized as the figurehead of the Montgomery bus boycott after refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger in 1955. This act of civil disobedience became a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, passed in 1974, made it illegal to discriminate against credit applicants on the basis of sex or marital status. Before this, women often required a male relative to cosign for credit cards.

Susan B. Anthony was arrested and tried for voting in the 1872 presidential election, arguing that the 14th Amendment already granted women the right to vote. She was convicted and fined, though she famously refused to pay.

Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, a feat that brought her international fame. While she was a pioneer in aviation, she was not the first to fly a plane or build one.

Elizabeth Blackwell graduated from Geneva Medical College in 1849, becoming the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. Her achievement opened doors for women in the medical profession.

Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for President of the United States in 1872, representing the Equal Rights Party. This occurred nearly 50 years before women gained the right to vote nationally.

The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits the government from denying the right to vote based on sex, was ratified on August 18, 1920.