Biographies generously sponsored by Susan D. Whiting.
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Every woman has a story.
"The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon."
-Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings
Women have always played an active role in history. Explore some of the historical women and contemporary newsmakers that continue to impact the world. New biographies are added regularly, so check back to discover inspiring new stories!
Featured Biographies
Biography
Stacey Abrams
Abrams is now one of the most prominent African American female politicians in the United States.
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Biography
Biography
Jane Addams
A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was the first American woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
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Biography
Mary Agnes Chase
Mary Agnes Chase advanced American botany through groundbreaking grass taxonomy, influential publications, and significant field research across the Americas.
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Biography
Toshiko Akiyoshi
Toshiko Akiyoshi changed the face of jazz music over her 60-year career. As one of few women and Asian musicians in the jazz world, Akiyoshi infused Japanese culture, sounds, and instruments into her music.
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Biography
Louisa May Alcott
Famed author Louisa May Alcott created colorful relatable characters in 19th century novels.
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Biography
Sonita Alizadeh
At the age of 16, Sonita Alizadeh found out she was to be sold into marriage. Propelled to do something by this experience and the experiences of other women around her, the young Afghani woman turned to rap music.
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Biography
June Almeida
June Almeida serves as a role model for determination and innovation. As the person to identify the first human coronavirus, scientists, and people all over the world, are indebted to her work.
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Biography
Asieh Amini
Journalist and poet Asieh Amini is a leading voice in the campaign to end stoning and juvenile executions in Iran.
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Biography
Maya Angelou
Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar, Maya Angelou is a world-famous author. She is best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.
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Biography
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was a champion of the temperance, abolition, and suffrage movements.
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Biography
Gloria Anzaldúa
Gloria Anzaldúa was a groundbreaking Chicana feminist, queer theorist, and cultural writer whose work reshaped understandings of identity, borders, and intersectionality.
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Biography
Virginia Apgar
Dr. Virginia Apgar persevered beyond early 20th-century barriers to women in medicine to become a leading anesthesiologist and the first female full professor at Columbia University.
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Biography
Corazon Aquino
Corazon “Cory” Aquino went from a shy law school student, to the first female president of the Philippines.
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Biography
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second woman, and first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
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Biography
Josephine Baker
World renowned performer, World War II spy, and activist are few of the titles used to describe Josephine Baker.
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Biography
Alice Ball
An American chemist whose groundbreaking work in medicine and chemistry developed the only effective treatment for leprosy until antibiotics were developed in the 1940s.
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Biography
Biography
Penelope Barker
Penelope Barker organized the Edenton Tea Party, the first recorded women’s political demonstration in America.
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