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 new stories!

Featured Biographies

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

Kimberly Teehee

Mary Musgrove become a negotiator between English and Native American communities and played an important role in the development of Colonial Georgia.

Mary Musgrove

Poet, activist, and musician Joy Harjo became the first Native American United States Poet Laureate in history.

Joy Harjo

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

Maria Tallchief

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

Wilma Mankiller

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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.

Biography

Ruth Hanna McCormick

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

Biography

Patsy Mink

Patsy Mink was the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress.

Biography

Gabriela Mistral

Chilean author and educator Gabriela Mistral became the first Latin American author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature.

Biography

Maria Mitchell

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

Biography

Janet Mock

Janet Mock became the first transgender woman of color to write and direct an episode of television.

Biography

Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture

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

Biography

Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno became the first Latina woman to earn an “E.G.O.T.:” an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

Biography

Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison is one of the most celebrated authors in the world.

Biography

Lucretia Mott

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

Biography

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.

Biography

Mary Musgrove

Mary Musgrove become a negotiator between English and Native American communities and played an important role in the development of Colonial Georgia.

Biography

Florence Nightingale

Nurse Florence Nightingale is best known for making hospitals a cleaner and safer place to be.

Biography

Mary Adelaide Nutting

Mary Adelaide Nutting had a profound impact on American nursing. She was one of the key figures in modernizing the profession and her work is still influential in the field today.

Biography

Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley is a famous markswoman known for her sharpshooting.

Biography

Miné Okubo

Miné Okubo is well known for her representations of daily life and humanity in drawings depicting Japanese American internment during WWII.

Biography

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and set in motion one of the largest social movements in history, the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Biography

Alice Paul

A vocal leader of the 20th century women’s suffrage movement, Alice Paul advocated for and helped secure passage of the 19th Amendment.

Biography

Ethel L. Payne

Ethel Payne is known as the First Lady of the Black Press, because of her fearlessness as a journalist and a Civil Rights activist.

Biography

Pocahontas

Among the most famous women in early American history, Pocahontas is credited with helping the struggling English settlers survive.