Biographies generously sponsored by Susan D. Whiting.

Biographies

Women have always played an active role in history. Explore some of the historical pioneers and contemporary newsmakers that continue to impact the world. New biographies are added regularly, so check back to discover inspiring new stories!

Featured Biographies

Famously referred to as “the woman who was ahead of the women who were ahead of their time,” author, activist, and lecturer Matilda Joslyn Gage worked tirelessly to advocate for abolition, women’s rights, and Native American rights.

Matilda Joslyn Gage

A 2020 MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant winner, Nanfu Wang uses film to explore the relationship between individuals and governments.

Nanfu Wang

Journalist and poet Asieh Amini is a leading voice in the campaign to end stoning and juvenile executions in Iran.

Asieh Amini

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the “Guardian of the Glades,” led the charge to protect the Everglades and reveal their rich natural heritage to the rest of the world.

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Abolitionist author, Harriet Beecher Stowe rose to fame in 1851 with the publication of her best-selling book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which highlighted the evils of slavery, angered the slaveholding South.

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Louisa Ann Swain

On September 6, 1870, 70-year-old Louisa Ann Swain stepped up to the ballot box in Laramie, Wyoming and cast her vote in the general election. In doing so, she became the first woman to legally cast a ballot since 1807.

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Maria Tallchief

Maria Tallchief was one of America's most popular ballerinas.

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Julia Hunt Catlin Park Depew Taufflieb

During World War I, Julia Taufflieb turned her home into a hospital for wounded soldiers in France.

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Recy Taylor

Although it was very dangerous for African Americans to speak out against white people during the Jim Crow era, Recy Taylor refused to remain silent about sexual violence.

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Tina Tchen

As women around the world speak out against sexual harassment and unfair treatment, Tina Tchen continues to support the movement through her legal activism.

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Kimberly Teehee

Kimberly Teehee became the first Cherokee Nation delegate in the House of Representatives

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Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple was a child actor with curly hair and later worked as an ambassador for the US government.

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Mary Church Terrell

Mary Church Terrell was a well-known African American activist who championed racial equality and women’s suffrage.

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Alma Woodsey Thomas

As an artist and world traveler who never married or had children, Alma Woodsey Thomas circumvented society’s expectations for Black women born in the 19th century.

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Susette La Flesche Tibbles (“Bright Eyes”)

Susette La Flesche Tibbles, an Omaha woman, spent her entire life tirelessly campaigning for Native American rights as a speaker, activist, interpreter, and writer.

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Rashida Tlaib

As a life-long Detroiter, and one of the first Muslim-Americans, as well as the first Palestinian-American woman, ever elected to the United States Congress, Tlaib advocates for issues that affect the working-class.

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Sojourner Truth

A former slave, Sojourner Truth was an advocate for abolition, temperance, and civil and women’s rights in the 19th century.

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Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman escaped enslavement and helped others reach freedom.

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Cicely Tyson

Cecily Tyson dedicated her career to portraying resilient African American women on the stage and the screen.

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Minnie Vautrin

"Goddess of Mercy!" During the Rape of Nanking (1937-38), the Chinese women refugees under Minnie Vautrin’s protection gratefully addressed her this way.

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Betsy Wade

As the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the New York Times in 1974, Wade transformed the industry and newsrooms across the nation.

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Lillian Wald

Lillian D. Wald helped to bring health care to the residents of New York’s Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century.

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Maggie Lena Walker

Maggie Lena Walker was one of the foremost female business leaders in the US and the first woman to own a bank.