Biographies generously sponsored by Susan D. Whiting.

Biographies

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

Poet and author Audre Lorde used her writing to shine light on her experience of the world as a Black lesbian woman and later, as a mother and person suffering from cancer.

Audre Lorde

One of the greatest tennis players of all time and a renowned advocate for women in sports and LGBTQ rights, Billie Jean King won 39 Grand Slam titles in her tennis career and led the fight for equal pay in tennis.

Billie Jean King

As a poet, writer, activist, organizer, legal theorist, and priest, Murray was directly involved in, and helped articulate, the intellectual foundations of two of the most important social justice movements of the twentieth century.

Pauli Murray

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Prudence Crandall

Prudence Crandall bravely defied prevailing patterns of racial discrimination when she opened one of the first schools for African American girls in Connecticut in 1833.

Biography

Dr. Rebecca Crumpler's "A Book on Medical Discourses"

Rebecca Lee Crumpler

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first African American woman to receive a Medical Degree (MD) in the United States.

Biography

Celia Cruz

Celia Cruz, known as the Queen of Salsa, was an internationally acclaimed singer and dynamic stage performer from the 1940s to the start of the 21st century.

Biography

Ann Pamela Cunningham

Ann Pamela Cunningham was an early leader in historic preservation and is often credited with saving President George Washington’s estate Mount Vernon.

Biography

Lois Curtis was one of the plaintiffs in the landmark Supreme Court case Olmstead v. L.C. (1999) that established the right of individuals with disabilities to live in the least restrictive settings possible.

Biography

Evelyn Y. Davis

Evelyn Y. Davis was a bold and controversial shareholder activist who, over nearly six decades, used confrontational tactics, media savvy, and questioning to challenge corporate leaders on governance, executive compensation, and board diversity.

Biography

Sandra Day O’Connor

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice of the United States, was one of the most influential Americans of the 1980s and 1990s.

Biography

Agnes de Mille

Agnes de Mille was one of the preeminent American choreographers of the twentieth century.

Biography

Jane Arminda Delano

Jane Delano was the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps and inspired many women to become nurses around the world.

Biography

Marlene Dietrich

Marie Dietrich was one of the most popular film and music stars of the 1930s and 1940s.

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Lucy Diggs Slowe

Lucy Diggs Slowe was an educator and administrator who paved the way for many African American women in education.

Biography

Dorothea Dix

Dorothea Dix was an early 19th century activist who drastically changed the medical field during her lifetime.

Biography

Georgia Douglas Johnson

Georgia Douglas Johnson was one of the most well-known Black female writers and playwrights of her time.

Biography

Ladda Tammy Duckworth

As one of the first female veterans elected to the Senate, Senator Ladda Tammy Duckworth has been a tireless advocate for veterans and new mothers.

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Esther Duflo

Economist Esther Duflo was on the team awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their work on global poverty issues. Duflo became the second woman to ever win the prize.

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Ava DuVernay

Although she did not pick up a camera until she was thirty-two, Ava DuVernay has made history as a writer, director, and producer.

Biography

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was a record-breaking female aviator whose international fame paved the way for other female pilots.

Biography

Sylvia Earle

Marine biology expert Dr. Sylvia Earle holds the record for deepest walk on the sea floor, and was the first woman to lead the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Biography

Charity Adams Earley

Educator, soldier, and psychologist, Charity Adams Earley led the first African American women’s unit of the army on a tour of duty overseas during WWII.

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Mary Baker Eddy

Mary Baker Eddy founded a popular religious movement during the 19th century, Christian Science.