Enheduanna (2285-2250 BCE) was an Akkadian princess as well as High Priestess of the Moon god Nanna. She was one of the earliest women in history whose name is known. She is regarded by literary and historical scholars as possibly the earliest known author and poet in the world. Her works were written in cuneiform […]
Lady Anne Clifford, patron of the arts
Lady Anne Clifford, (1590–1676) was the only surviving child of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland and his wife Lady Margaret Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford. In 1605, she became the 14th Baroness de Clifford in her own right, and hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland. When her father died in 1605, […]
Alice Austen, photographer
Alice Austen (March 17, 1866 – June 9, 1952) was a self-taught photographer born on Staten Island. She used her mother’s surname, Austen, because her father had left her mother before Alice was born. Alice started her interest in photography when her uncle gave her a camera when she was 10 years old. After she […]
Ella Baker, civil & human rights activist
Ella Josephine Baker (1903–1986) was an African American civil rights and human rights activist whose career spanned over five decades. Ella worked with some of the most famous civil rights leaders of her time, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King Jr. She also had an influence on the future […]
Lakshmi Shankar, Hindustani classical vocalist
Lakshmi Shankar (born 1926) is a Hindustani classical vocalist of the Patiala Gharana, and is one of the foremost and well-known vocalists of India. She is known for her performances of khyal, thumri, and bhajans. She’s also recorded Tamil folk songs, Hindu devotional songs of all sorts, film work (including the soundtrack to Gandhi) and […]
Randy’L He-dow Teton: the face of Sacagawea
Randy’L He-dow Teton is a Shoshone woman who posed for the image of Sacagawea on the Sacagawea dollar coin, first issued in 2000. She’s the only woman besides Martha Washington to appear on US currency, the only Native-American woman to pose for an American coin, and the only living person whose image appears on American […]
Anna Essinger: Avant-Garde Educator
Anna Essinger (September 15, 1879 – May 30, 1960) was a German-Jewish teacher. She founded a boarding school in Germany with her sister in 1926 and acted as headmistress. Anna was a pioneer of progressive education. Her school used a program similar to a Montessori program, placing high value on communal living, mutual respect and […]
Meerabai the Poet
That dark dweller in BrajIs my only refuge.O my companion, worldly comfort is an illusion,As soon you get it, it goes.I have chosen the indestructible for my refuge,Him whom the snake of death will not devour.My beloved dwells in my heart all day,I have actually seen that abode of joy.Meera’s lord is Hari, the indestructible.My […]
Queen Manduhai the Wise
Mandukhai Khatun (1449-1510), also known as Mandukhai Sechen Khatun, was a Mongolian Empress. The word “Khatun” is the female form of the word “Khan”, as in Genghis Kahn. Born into a family of aristocrats, she married Manduul Khan when she was 18 years old, and bore a daughter, whose name unfortunately isn’t known. Soon after […]