Biographies generously sponsored by Susan D. Whiting.

Biographies

American women played an active role in American history. Explore some of the lesser known and famous women who impacted our nation. New biographies are regularly added, so check back to discover new stories.

Featured Biographies

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a prominent journalist, suffragist, activist, and researcher.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Known as the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low created the largest and most successful organisation for girls in the world.

Juliette Gordon Low

Nancy Hart made it her mission to rid the Georgia territory of British Loyalists.

Nancy Hart

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Claudia 'Lady Bird' Johnson

Claudia Johnson, known as “Lady Brid Johnson” was an environmentalist, businesswoman, political activist, and First Lady.

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Mary Harris Jones

Female labor activist “Mother Jones” was a self-proclaimed “hell-raiser”.

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Helen Keller

Undeterred by deafness and blindness, Helen Keller rose to become a major 20th century humanitarian, educator and writer.

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Florence Kelley

Florence Kelley dedicated her life to social reform. She worked to end many social problems, including labor and racial discrimination.

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Coretta Scott King

Although best known for being the wife of famed civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Coretta Scott King created her own legacy.

Biography

Beverly LaHaye

Beverly LaHaye has been an influential voice in American conservative politics for decades and founded the Concerned Women for America.

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Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today’s WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems

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Edna Lewis

Chef and cookbook author Edna Lewis taught the American public to appreciate southern meals in a new way.

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Leona Woods Libby

Physicist Leona Woods Marshall Libby was one of the women who helped to create the atomic weapon.

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Juliette Gordon Low

Known as the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low created the largest and most successful organisation for girls in the world.

Biography

Autherine Lucy

Autherine Lucy was the first African American student to attend the University of Alabama

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Sybil Ludington

Sybil Ludington was just 16 years old when she made a night-time ride rallying Patriot soldiers.

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Dolley Madison

Dolley Madison, the fourth First Lady of the United States, is widely remembered as the most lively of the early First Ladies.

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Mary Eliza Mahoney

Mary Eliza Mahoney pursued a nursing career which supported these aims. She is noted for becoming the first African American licensed nurse.

Biography

Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller is often remembered as the first Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation but her life was filled with activism from the beginning.

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Ruth Hanna McCormick

Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms was a Republican United States Representative from Illinois who served from 1929 to 1931.

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Maria Mitchell

Maria Mitchell was the first female astronomer in the United States and the first American scientist to discover a comet.

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Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture

Canadian Charlotte Monture moved to the US for nursing training and served in the US Army during World War I.

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Lucretia Mott

Lucretia Mott argued as ardently for women’s rights as for black rights, including suffrage, education, and economic aid.

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Judith Sargent Murray

A prominent essayist of the American republic, Judith Sargent Murray was an early advocate of women’s equality, access to education, and the right to control their earnings.