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

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

Melinda Gates

Deloris Jordan has established multiple charities, especially focused on underprivileged youth.

Deloris Jordan

Madam C.J. Walker was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. She rose from poverty in the South to become one of the wealthiest African American women of her time.

Madam C.J. Walker

US Rep Frances Bolton pursued a life of philanthropy, politics, and social reform, and was a lifelong advocate of education, healthcare, and civil rights.

Frances P. Bolton

Pearl S. Buck produced works of fiction and non-fiction throughout her lifetime, many of which focused on her experiences in China.

Pearl S. Buck

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Biography

Autherine Lucy

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

Biography

Sybil Ludington

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

Biography

Dolley Madison

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

Biography

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.

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.