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 a lawyer, a congresswoman, and a scholar, Barbara Jordan used her public speaking skills to fight for civil and human rights.

Barbara Jordan

Olympia Snowe was the first woman in American history to serve in both houses of State Legislature and both houses of Congress.

Olympia J. Snowe

Corazon “Cory” Aquino went from a shy law school student, to the first female president of the Philippines.

Corazon Aquino

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the senior US Representative from Florida, the first Latina elected to the US Congress, and the first Republican in congress to publicly support the passage of the marriage equality act.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman to serve in Congress.

Shirley Chisholm

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Biography

Maria Tallchief

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

Biography

Julia Hunt Catlin Park Depew Taufflieb

During World War I, Julia Taufflieb turned her home into a hospital for wounded soldiers in France.

Biography

Kimberly Teehee

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

Biography

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple was a child actor with curly hair and later worked as an ambassador for the US government.

Biography

Mary Church Terrell

Mary Church Terrell was a well-known African American activist who championed racial equality and women’s suffrage.

Biography

Sojourner Truth

A former slave, Sojourner Truth was an advocate for abolition, temperance, and civil and women’s rights in the 19th century.

Biography

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman escaped enslavement and helped others reach freedom.

Biography

Minnie Vautrin

"Goddess of Mercy!" During the Rape of Nanking (1937-38), the Chinese women refugees under Minnie Vautrin’s protection gratefully addressed her this way.

Biography

Maggie L. Walker

Maggie Lena Walker was one of the foremost female business leaders in the US and the first woman to own a bank.

Biography

Mary Edwards Walker

Mary Edwards Walker is the only US woman to receive the Presidential Medal of Honor.

Biography

Madam C.J. Walker

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.

Biography

Mercy Otis Warren

Mercy Otis Warren was a published poet, political playwright and satirist during the age of the American Revolution.

Biography

Martha Washington

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the first First Lady of the United States.

Biography

Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a prominent journalist, suffragist, activist, and researcher.

Biography

Phillis Wheatley

Despite spending much of her life enslaved, Phillis Wheatley was the first African American woman to publish a book of poems.

Biography

Anna May Wong

Appearing in over sixty movies throughout her career, Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood.

Biography

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias

One of America’s foremost female athletes, Mildred "Babe” Didrikson Zaharias broke world records in multiple sports and cofounded of the LPGA.