
Biographies generously sponsored by Susan D. Whiting.
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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
Biography
Melinda Gates
As co-chair of the world’s largest private charitable foundation, Melinda Gates is one of the most powerful women in philanthropy.
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Biography
Biography
Angelina Grimké Weld
Although raised on a slave-owning plantation, Angelina Grimké Weld became an ardent abolitionist.
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Sarah Josepha Hale
Sarah Josepha Hale is best known for creating the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Her influence can also be seen in historic sites and a national holiday still widely celebrated today.
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Biography
Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer was one of the most important, passionate, and powerful voices of the civil and voting rights movements .
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Lorraine Hansberry
In 1959, Lorraine Hansberry made history as the first African American woman to have a show produced on Broadway—A Raisin in the Sun.
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Biography
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was the first African American woman to publish a short story and was also an influential abolitionist, suffragist, and reformer.
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Biography
Kamala Harris
Kamala D. Harris became the first woman, the first African American woman, the first Indian-American, the first person of Asian-American descent, and the first graduate of an HBCU to become the Vice-President Elect of the United States of America.
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Biography
Mary Ludwig Hays
A symbolic figure in the American Revolutionary War, the woman known as “Molly Pitcher” reportedly brought water to the troops at the Battle of Monmouth and worked the cannon after her husband was wounded.
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Biography
Anna Arnold Hedgeman
Throughout her long life, Hedgeman advocated for civil rights, education, social justice, poverty relief, and women.
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Biography
Dorothy Height
Dorothy Height was the president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
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Biography
Audrey Faye Hendricks
On May 2, 1963, 9 year old Audrey Faye Hendricks became the youngest known person arrested during the Civil Rights Movement.
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Biography
Antonia Hernández
According to Antonia Hernández, she “went to law school for one reason: to use the law as a vehicle for social change.” Decades later, she can claim numerous legal victories for the Latinx community in voting rights, employment, and education.
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Biography
Carmen Herrera
Abstract painter, sculptor, and minimalist Carmen Herrera influenced a generation of artists.
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Biography
Judith Heumann
Judith Heumann has improved accessibility and opportunities for the estimated 56 million people in the United States and one billion people around the world with disabilities.
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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.
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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.
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Biography
Dr. 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.
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