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 […]
4 Famous Black Women Of the Harlem Renaissance
Around the 1920s in Harlem, New York, a new movement celebrating African American art and culture thrived. The “New Negro Movement,” as it was called at the time, gathered together artists, poets, authors, and intellectuals, and had a lasting effect on the development of African American culture. This literary and social movement became known as […]
5 Famous Women Atheists In History
Throughout history, women have challenged societal norms and religious doctrines. This list highlights some influential women throughout the centuries who defied expectations and openly identified as atheists, making significant contributions in their respective fields. 1. Hypatia (c. 350 – 415 AD) Hypatia of Alexandria was a brilliant mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who lived in late […]
Simone de Beauvoir: Her Life and Significance
French writer and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir is most famous for her 1949 book The Second Sex. She had a significant impact on the development of modern feminist theory, though she never considered herself a philosopher and didn’t call herself a feminist until later in life. In regard to her own work she called herself […]
Women of the California Gold Rush
In the mid-19th century, women had very few rights. But the circumstances of the California Gold Rush created unique opportunities for women, enabling many to make their fortune—and not just by discovering gold. When Was the California Gold Rush? The Gold Rush began in 1848 when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall in Coloma, […]
Julia Ward Howe: Abolitionist, Social Activist, Poet
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 […]
Constance Fenimore Woolson, Successful American Novelist
The author Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840-1894), who wrote five novels for adults and dozens of stories, was widely considered during her lifetime one of the most important American fiction writers of the nineteenth century. While Woolson may not be a household name today, she is a bit of a novelty for students of American literature […]
Drowned in History: Malay’s Earliest Known Feminist Writer
Most people don’t know the existence of Raja Aisyah Sulaiman, yet if people were prompted with the question of writers that preached feminism in their works, a daring Southeast Asian woman would most likely not be the first person to run in your mind. Raja Aisyah is praised today by literature scholars for having progressive […]
Fannie Farmer, the mother of level measurements
Fannie Farmer was a teacher and the author of the innovative Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, the first cookbook to use strict standardized measurements.
Lady Mary Montagu, Brilliant Autodidact Aristocrat
Lady Mary Montagu was an 18th century noblewoman whose contributions to the fields of travel writing and medicine were nearly forgotten due to her sex.
