Daphne du Maurier, English writer
Her fiction turned familiar landscapes into settings for unforgettable suspense, inspiring classic films and unsettling readers with stories that went well beyond conventional romance.
Women worth knowing
All Stories
Extraordinary women, overlooked stories, and a more complete history. Explore the lives, ideas, and achievements that changed the world.
20th century women
Women who lived during the 20th century.
Admiral “Amazing Grace” Hopper, pioneering computer programmer
She helped make computer programming more accessible through readable instructions, transforming how people communicated with machines and opening new possibilities for building software.
Fe del Mundo, first female student at Harvard Medical School
She sold her home to build a children’s hospital, then devoted her career to improving care and reaching families poorly served by existing services.
Henrietta Dugdale, Australian women’s rights and suffrage pioneer
Her writing and organizing helped build a women’s suffrage movement, turning anger at inequality into sustained pressure for the right to participate in politics.
Fay Kellogg, ambitious architect
She built an ambitious architectural career and pushed for women’s place in the profession, combining design talent with a determination to see buildings completed.
Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, Hawaiian healer
She adapted a spiritual tradition centered on reconciliation and shared it internationally, building a following around forgiveness, personal reflection, and the repair of relationships.
Huda Shaarawi, Egyptian feminist & activist
She brought women into public life through education, organizing, and demands for political rights, helping turn restrictions on their independence into a cause for reform.
Qiu Jin, Chinese feminist & revolutionary martyr
She used poetry, journalism, and revolutionary organizing to demand education and freedom for women, risking her life to challenge the political and social order.
Indra Devi, Mother of Western Yoga
She pushed into a yoga tradition dominated by men, then carried its practice across continents, helping new audiences find a place in an ancient discipline.
Fanny Blankers-Koen, wife, mother, and four-time Olympic gold medalist
Her Olympic victories challenged the belief that motherhood ended an athlete’s career, proving that women could raise families and compete at the highest level.
Wilma Rudolph, Olympic gold medalist & civil rights pioneer
Olympic victories gave her a platform she used to challenge segregation, turning athletic fame into a powerful example for women athletes and civil rights campaigners.
Gay Allis Rose Clifford, poet & scholar
Her study of allegory influenced literary scholarship, while her poetry turned a deep love of language into work that reached readers beyond academia.
Miss Florence Smith, factory manageress at Tate & Lyle
She managed women in a sugar factory with authority they remembered long afterward. Their recollections capture the lasting influence of a formidable workplace leader.
Katharine McCormick, biologist & millionaire philanthropist
She put her fortune behind women’s ability to choose when to have children, funding research that helped make the birth control pill a reality.
Madam C. J. Walker, self-made millionaire
She built a haircare business that created jobs for Black women, then used her wealth to support education, community institutions, and resistance to racism.
Suzanne Valadon, self-taught artist of Bohemian Paris
She learned to paint while modeling for other artists, then built a celebrated career of her own with bold work that challenged artistic conventions.
Corazon Aquino, revolutionary president of the Philippines
She entered politics without planning a presidential career, then helped rally peaceful resistance against a dictatorship and restore democratic government to her country.
Eugenia Charles, Dominica’s first female prime minister
Breaking barriers in law and national leadership, she challenged corruption and defended her island nation’s identity, becoming a formidable force in public life.
Fannie Sperry Steele, award-winning rodeo performer
Her skill on bucking horses won championships and challenged expectations of women in rodeo, earning recognition in a sport built around strength and daring.
Alice Austen, photographer
Her photographs preserved everyday life that might otherwise have disappeared. Their rediscovery brought recognition and helped lift the photographer herself out of poverty.