Explore Women by Category
Women by Era
Explore women’s history from the ancient world through the twentieth century.
In every era, women were there: creating, leading, questioning, building, and changing the world around them. Their stories are part of every chapter of history.
Women of Ancient History
Pioneers, thinkers, rulers and change-makers from the ancient world.
Medieval Women
Mystics, rulers, artists and everyday women who shaped the medieval world.
16th Century Women
Explorers, writers, scientists and rebels in a time of great change.
- Bess of Hardwick: The Second Wealthiest Woman in Tudor England (After the Queen)
- Female Knights of the Middle Ages
- Meerabai the Poet: The Mystical Princess Who Defied Empire and Expectation
- Queen Anna of Denmark, Theater Pioneer & Patron of the Arts
- Queen Manduhai the Wise: The Warrior Empress Who Reunited the Mongols
- Sayyida al Hurra, Islamic pirate queen
- The Warrior Queen Chand Bibi
17th Century Women
Writers, rulers, thinkers and rebels in an age of upheaval.
Anna Maria Garthwaite: Successful Silk Designer
She turned observations of flowers and plants into intricate textile designs, building a successful creative career and leaving rare evidence of women’s work in the industry.
Women Who Sued For Freedom From Slavery
Enslaved women fought in court for their own freedom and their children’s, using legal claims to challenge a system that treated their families as property.
Queen Anna of Denmark, Theater Pioneer & Patron of the Arts
She used royal performances to celebrate powerful women and bring them into dramatic art, creating opportunities for participation that challenged the limits of a queen’s formal authority.
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- 5 Surprising Facts About the Mughal Princess Jahanara That History Forgot
- Ana Nzinga Mbande, fearless African queen
- Kateri Tekakwitha: The Making of a Mohawk Saint
- Lady Anne Clifford, patron of the arts
- Lin Siniang: Marshalling Spear and Sword
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, self-taught scholar and poet of New Spain
18th Century Women
Revolutionaries, artists and intellectuals in a changing world.
Louise-Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Marie Antoinette’s favorite portraitist
She built a celebrated portrait career despite barriers to formal training, using artistic skill and determination to earn recognition across courts and countries.
What Are Bluestockings? The Movement, Origins, and Insult
Women created space for serious intellectual conversation in literary societies, challenging expectations of femininity even as a label for learning became a weapon of ridicule.
Elisabeth Christine Ulrike – Scandal and Exile
She challenged the double standards of a royal marriage and faced permanent exile, exposing how little protection status offered a woman who refused its expectations.
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- Grace Dalrymple Elliott, Courtesan and Spy
- Lady Mary Montagu, Brilliant Autodidact Aristocrat
- Marguerite D’Youville, the First Canadian Saint
- Rose-Adélaïde Ducreux, French painter, composer, and musician
- Suzanne Valadon, self-taught artist of Bohemian Paris
- Théroigne de Méricourt, Heroine of the French Revolution
- Women Who Sued For Freedom From Slavery
19th Century Women
Activists, innovators and trailblazers reshaping public life.
Abigail Scott Duniway, Pioneer for Women’s Suffrage in the Pacific Northwest
She turned women’s everyday grievances into a campaign for political rights, using journalism, organizing, and persistent lobbying to challenge restrictions on their independence.
3 Groundbreaking Women Who Paved the Way in British Education
Women expanded access to education and challenged expectations of who could lead a school, creating opportunities that helped reshape learning for generations of students.
Were There Cowgirls? Trailblazing Women of the Wild West
Women rode, ranched, competed, and defended their communities on the frontier, building lives of skill and independence that challenged expectations of what women could do.
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- 3 Famous Nurses in History
- 5 Famous Female Scientists in History
- 5 Successful Black Businesswomen In History
- 9 Women Environmentalists in History: Pioneers of Conservation and Climate Science
- Ada Lovelace: World’s First Programmer
- African American Women Firsts in Medicine
- Alice Austen, photographer
- Alice Freeman Palmer, Pioneer of Women’s Education
- Amelia Bloomer: Temperance, Suffrage, and Rational Dress Advocate
- Buffalo Calf Road, Heroic Cheyenne Warrior Woman
- Cathay Williams, AKA William Cathay, American Civil War soldier
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Feminist Writer, Lecturer, and Thinker
- Clara Barton, Humanitarian and Founder of the American Red Cross
- Constance Fenimore Woolson, Successful American Novelist
- Drowned in History: Malay’s Earliest Known Feminist Writer
- Edmonia Lewis, African-American & Native American sculptor of international fame
- Elisabeth Christine Ulrike – Scandal and Exile
- Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D., America’s first female doctor
- Elizabeth Yates, the British Empire’s first female mayor
- Equal Under the Law: Married Women’s Property Acts in the United Kingdom
- Esther Howland, the Mother of the American Valentine
- Fannie Farmer, the mother of level measurements
- Harriet Powers: A Sermon in Patchwork
- Henrietta Dugdale, Australian women’s rights and suffrage pioneer
- Ida B. Wells: Fierce Anti-Lynching Activist and Abolitionist
- Johanna van Gogh-Bonger: The Woman Behind Van Gogh
- Julia Ward Howe: Abolitionist, Social Activist, Poet
- Louise-Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Marie Antoinette’s favorite portraitist
- Madam C. J. Walker, self-made millionaire
- Maria Glenn, Brave & Determined Young Woman of Regency England
- Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Famous Abolitionist and Pioneering Publisher
- Mary Anning: Female Fossil Finder
- Mary Richards, Civil War Spy: She Never Surrendered
- Mary Treat, Victorian Entomologist and Visionary Biologist
- Melanie Klein, the Founding Mother of Children’s Psychology
- Nana Asma’u: princess, poet, reformer of Muslim women’s education
- Qiu Jin, Chinese feminist & revolutionary martyr
- Queen Liliʻuokalani, first and last queen regnant of Hawaii
- Sarah Guppy, Eclectic English Inventor
- Shaping Space: Women Who Redefined Geography
- Suzanne Valadon, self-taught artist of Bohemian Paris
- The Amazing Nellie Bly, Adventurer and Pioneering Journalist
- The Rational Dress Reform Movement
- What Are Bluestockings? The Movement, Origins, and Insult
- Who Invented Windshield Wipers? Mary Anderson
- Who Was the First Female Lawyer in the US?
- Why Did Victorian Men Hate Women on Bicycles?
- Women of the California Gold Rush
- Women Who Sued For Freedom From Slavery
20th Century Women
Leaders, creators and pioneers who transformed the modern world.
Anna Essinger: Avant-Garde Educator Who Defied the Third Reich
She refused to let an authoritarian regime shape her students’ education, relocating her school and creating a home for children uprooted by persecution.
Marion Bauer: Influential Composer & Music Critic Who Reshaped American Classical Music
She advanced experimental classical music through composition, teaching, and criticism, helping build the institutions and professional opportunities that supported new work.
What Is the Equal Rights Amendment? The Century-Long Battle to Write Women into the Constitution
The campaign for constitutional equality divided allies over labor protections, legal strategy, and women’s rights, sustaining a struggle that outlasted generations of activists.
More stories
- 3 Daring Female Astronauts That Beat The Odds
- 3 Famous Nurses in History
- 3 Great Female Speakers In History
- 32+ Best Quotes by Women On Motherhood
- 4 Famous Black Women Mathematicians in History
- 4 Famous Black Women Of the Harlem Renaissance
- 5 Famous Female Scientists in History
- 5 Famous Women Atheists In History
- 5 Successful Black Businesswomen In History
- 9 Women Environmentalists in History: Pioneers of Conservation and Climate Science
- Abigail Scott Duniway, Pioneer for Women’s Suffrage in the Pacific Northwest
- African American Women Firsts in Medicine
- Alaska P. Davidson, the FBI’s first female Special Agent
- Alice Austen, photographer
- Anita Berber: The Naked Dancer of Weimar Berlin
- Ann Hopkins, Pioneering Law Firm Partner
- Anna May Wong, Internationally Acclaimed Actress
- Bessie Coleman, Fearless Aviator Breaking Barriers
- Bibha Chowdhuri, Forgotten Physicist and Researcher
- Carmen Amaya, Queen of the Gypsies
- Corazon Aquino, revolutionary president of the Philippines
- Daphne du Maurier, English writer
- Dixy Lee Ray: A Scientist in the Governor’s Chair
- Dot Wilkinson – One of the Greatest Female Athletes You’ve Never Heard Of
- Ella Baker: The Woman Who Helped Build the Civil Rights Movement
- Eugenia Charles, Dominica’s first female prime minister
- Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights Activist
- Fannie Sperry Steele, award-winning rodeo performer
- Fay Kellogg, ambitious architect
- Gertrude B. Elion: Groundbreaking Chemist Who Helped Create the AIDS Drug
- Gertrude Bell, Al Khatun: Queen of the Desert
- Helicopter Heroine: Valerie Andre, Surgeon, Rescue Pilot And Her Courage Under Fire
- Huda Shaarawi, Egyptian feminist & activist
- Indra Devi, Mother of Western Yoga
- Juanita Jackson Mitchell: Breaking Barriers in Law and Civil Rights
- Julia Chase-Brand, Breaking Down Barriers for Women Athletes
- Katharine McCormick, biologist & millionaire philanthropist
- Lakshmi Shankar, Hindustani classical vocalist
- Madam C. J. Walker, self-made millionaire
- Margaret Hamilton, the Woman Behind the Moon Landing
- Margaret Nash, courageous WWII POW navy nurse
- Mary Bunting, Champion of Women’s Education
- Mary Treat, Victorian Entomologist and Visionary Biologist
- Melanie Klein, the Founding Mother of Children’s Psychology
- Miss Florence Smith, factory manageress at Tate & Lyle
- Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, Hawaiian healer
- Nancy Harkness Love, WWII Pilot & Commander
- Neerja Bhanot, the Flight Attendant Whose Courage Saved Hundreds of Lives
- Nettie Stevens: A Discoverer of Sex Chromosomes
- Qiu Jin, Chinese feminist & revolutionary martyr
- Rose Schneiderman, labour union pioneer
- Shaping Space: Women Who Redefined Geography
- Simone de Beauvoir: Her Life and Significance
- Sirimavo Bandaranaike: The First Female Prime Minister in the World
- Stephanie Kwolek, inventor of Kevlar
- The Canadian Persons Case: Are Women People?
- The Japanese Women’s Suffrage Movement (Real Facts)
- The Life and Artistry of Patti Smith
- The Matilda Effect: Invisible Women in Science
- The Rational Dress Reform Movement
- The Role of Women In the 1963 March on Washington
- The Spy Who Wore Red: Josephine Baker
- The Surprising History Of The Birth Control Pill That Almost Wasn’t Invented
- Vigdis Finnbogadóttir: The World’s First Female President
- Who Invented Windshield Wipers? Mary Anderson