Biographies

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!

Biography

Oveta Culp Hobby

Oveta Culp Hobby served as the director of the Women’s Army Corps and first secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
READ MORE
Biography

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Eleanor Holmes Norton was the first woman appointed to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and continues to fight for DC statehood in her third decade as a congresswoman.
READ MORE
Biography

Reiko Homma True

A leading advocate for culturally sensitive mental health care, Dr. Reiko Homma True is dedicated to improving mental health treatment for the Asian-American community and other minority populations.
READ MORE
Biography

Grace Hopper

Rear Admiral Grace Hopper helped to outline the fundamental operating principles of computing machines.
READ MORE
Biography

Etta Horn

Etta Horn was a prominent welfare rights advocate. As an activist, she worked alongside other anti-poverty organizers to improve the living conditions of low-income DC residents.
READ MORE
Biography

Shirley Horn

Jazz singer and pianist Shirley Horn was one of the leading jazz musicians of her generation.
READ MORE
Biography

Dolores Huerta

Co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association, Dolores Huerta is one of the most influential labor activists of the 20th century.
READ MORE
Biography

Ruby Hurley

Civil rights pioneer and campaigner, Ruby Hurley is most known for her work with the NAACP in the 1950s and 1960s.
READ MORE
Biography

Anne Hutchinson

Considered one of the earliest American feminists, Anne Hutchinson was a spiritual leader in colonial Massachusetts who challenged male authority.
READ MORE
Biography

Jovita Idar

Mexican-American journalist, activist, and suffragist, Jovita Idar often faced dangerous situations, however she bravely fought the injustices in her time.
READ MORE
Biography

Margaret Ives Abbott

Imagine being the first woman to win an Olympic event for the United States, but never knowing that you had done so. This is what happened to Margaret Ives Abbott.
READ MORE
Biography

Mae Jemison

Astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space.
READ MORE
Biography

Andrea Jenkins

Andrea Jenkins made history in 2017 when she became the first African American, openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States.
READ MORE
Biography

Barbara R. Johns

As a teenager, Barbara Johns helped organize a strike that eventually led to the desegregation of schools in the United States.
READ MORE
Biography

Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City.
READ MORE