Biographies

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Economist Esther Duflo, along with research partners, were 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.

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

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

Dr. Sylvia Earle holds the record for deepest walk on the sea floor and is a world-renowned expert on marine biology. The first woman to lead the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Earle advocates for ocean conservation and education.

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.

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

Ophelia Settle Egypt was a medical social worker and women’s rights advocate. She is remembered for many things, including her work to make women’s and reproductive healthcare accessible to the Black communities in Southeast Washington, DC.

Ella Fitzgerald, known as “The First Lady of Song,” was a revolutionary American jazz singer who performed all over the world.

Anne Frank’s writing in her diary became one of the most recognized accounts of life for a Jewish family in Europe during World War II.

Elizabeth Freeman became the first African American woman to successfully file a lawsuit for freedom in the state of Massachusetts.

Journalist, activist, and co-founder of the National Organization for Women, Betty Friedan was one of the early leaders of the women’s rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

Teacher, lecturer, and author, Grace Frysinger supported rural communities throughout her career.

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.

As co-chair of the world’s largest private charitable foundation, Melinda Gates is one of the most powerful women in philanthropy.