In November 1861, while she was staying at Willard’s Hotel in embattled Washington, DC, Julia Ward Howe wrote the lyrics to the most famous patriotic anthem of the Civil War. “It would be impossible for me to say,” she wrote in her Reminiscences (1899), “how many times I have been called upon to rehearse the […]
Anna May Wong, Internationally Acclaimed Actress
Anna May Wong was the first Chinese-American movie star and the first Asian-American actress to gain international fame. She used her fame and influence to talk about and protest the racist practices in Hollywood, protesting against racist depictions of Chinese characters, and opening up more significant and starring roles for herself and many actors of […]
Alice Freeman Palmer, Pioneer of Women’s Education
Alice Freeman Palmer was among the most influential people who expanded the academic horizons for women in the USA.
Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Famous Abolitionist and Pioneering Publisher
Mary Ann Shadd Cary was a teacher, publisher, lawyer, and civil rights activist who published a weekly newspaper called The Provincial Freeman.
Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights Activist
Fannie Lou Hamer was a powerful public speaker who fought tirelessly for the rights of African Americans to vote safely, despite the danger to her life.
Ida B. Wells: Fierce Anti-Lynching Activist and Abolitionist
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, better known as Ida B. Wells, was an African American writer and activist famous for her work campaigning against lynching in the South.
The Amazing Nellie Bly, Adventurer and Pioneering Journalist
Nellie Bly was only 23 years old when, against all odds, she earned a job at Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper, The New York World. Nellie had spent 10 days undercover in Blackwell’s Island Lunatic Asylum, proving that women could be successful, intrepid journalists, not just confined to the fashion and society pages. In an active career […]
Amelia Bloomer: Temperance, Suffrage, and Rational Dress Advocate
Amelia Bloomer was a women’s rights activist famous for popularizing “bloomers.” A women’s rights activist, writer, and editor, she founded a newspaper called The Lily which she used to advocate for women’s suffrage and temperance as well as more sensible dress for women. The Early Life of Amelia Jenks Bloomer Amelia Bloomer was born Amelia […]
Théroigne de Méricourt, Heroine of the French Revolution
Born Anne-Josèphe Terwagne on 13 August 1762, but better known as Théroigne de Méricourt, Théroigne is a sad, yet fascinating figure who was a political activist of the French Revolution. The French press turned her into a flamboyant caricature, labeling her a “patriots’ whore” or a “female war chief” and praising her for impersonating the […]
Clara Barton, Humanitarian and Founder of the American Red Cross
Clarissa “Clara” Barton is most widely acknowledged as the founder of the American branch of the Red Cross. Her life’s work cemented her as one of the most important figures in the history of social work and nursing alike, and millions of people from across the globe have benefited from her contributions to American healthcare. […]