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 pioneers 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
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today’s WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems
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Biography
Florence Lawrence
Motion picture star Florence Lawrence invented the turn signal and brake signal for vehicles.
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Emma Lazarus
Emma Lazarus is most famous for her poem, “The New Colossus,” that is engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
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Biography
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee
In a 1912 New York Times article, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee was regarded as “the symbol of the new era, when all women will be free and unhampered.”
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Biography
Lisa Leslie
An early star of the WNBA and a four-time Olympic gold medalist, Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
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Rachel Levine
Rachel Levine became the highest-ranking openly transgender government official in U.S. history when she was confirmed by the Senate as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health in March 2021.
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Edmonia Lewis
Edmonia “Wildfire” Lewis is considered the first professional BIPOC sculptor in the United States and the first to achieve international acclaim.
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Edna Lewis
Chef and cookbook author Edna Lewis taught the American public to appreciate southern meals in a new way.
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Leona Woods Libby
Physicist Leona Woods Marshall Libby was one of the women who helped to create the atomic weapon.
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Maria Guadalupe Evangelina de Lopez
An educator, translator, and clubwoman, Lopez helped win the vote for Californian women with her oratory and the writings she translated into Spanish.
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Audre Lorde
Poet and author Audre Lorde used her writing to shine light on her experience of the world as a Black lesbian woman and later, as a mother and person suffering from cancer.
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Suzan-Lori Parks
Though a high school teacher discouraged her from writing because of her poor spelling, Suzan-Lori Parks went on to become one of the most successful playwrights in the United States.
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Juliette Gordon Low
Known as the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low created the largest and most successful organisation for girls in the world.
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Autherine Lucy
Autherine Lucy was the first African American student to attend the University of Alabama
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Dolley Madison
Dolley Madison, the fourth First Lady of the United States, is widely remembered as the most lively of the early First Ladies.
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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.
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Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Mankiller is honored and recognized as the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
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Sarah McBride
The first openly transgender person elected to a state senate in the U.S., Sarah McBride won a seat in the Delaware Senate on November 3, 2020.
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Biography
Ruth Hanna McCormick
Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms was a Republican United States Representative from Illinois who served from 1929 to 1931.
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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.
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