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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
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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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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Anne Crawford “Nancy” Allen Holst
The first woman to join the International Association of Fire Chiefs, “Chief Nancy” led Rode Island’s Cedar Hill Volunteer Fire Department beginning in 1931.
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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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Grace Hopper
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper helped to outline the fundamental operating principles of computing machines.
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Shirley Horn
Jazz singer and pianist Shirley Horn was one of the leading jazz musicians of her generation.
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Biography
Dolores Huerta
Co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association, Dolores Huerta is one of the most influential labor activists of the 20th century.
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Ruby Hurley
Civil rights pioneer and campaigner, Ruby Hurley is most known for her work with the NAACP in the 1950s and 1960s.
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Biography
Anne Hutchinson
Considered one of the earliest American feminists, Anne Hutchinson was a spiritual leader in colonial Massachusetts who challenged male authority.
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Jovita Idar
Mexican-American journalist, activist, and suffragist, Jovita Idar often faced dangerous situations, however she bravely fought the injustices in her time.
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Margaret Ives Abbott
Imagine being the first woman to win an Olympic event for the United States, but never knowing that you had done so. This is what happened to Margaret Ives Abbott.
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Mae Jemison
Astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space.
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Andrea Jenkins
Andrea Jenkins made history in 2017 when she became the first African American, openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States.
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Barbara R. Johns
As a teenager, Barbara Johns helped organize a strike that eventually led to the desegregation of schools in the United States.
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Claudia 'Lady Bird' Johnson
Claudia Johnson, known as “Lady Bird Johnson” was an environmentalist, businesswoman, political activist, and First Lady.
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Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City.
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Mary Harris Jones
Female labor activist “Mother Jones” was a self-proclaimed “hell-raiser”.
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