
Biographies generously sponsored by Susan D. Whiting.
Suggest a new bioBiographies
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
Edmonia Lewis
Edmonia “Wildfire” Lewis is considered the first professional BIPOC sculptor in the United States and the first to achieve international acclaim.
READ MORE
Biography
Edna Lewis
Chef and cookbook author Edna Lewis taught the American public to appreciate southern meals in a new way.
READ MORE
Biography
Leona Woods Libby
Physicist Leona Woods Marshall Libby was one of the women who helped to create the atomic weapon.
READ MORE
Biography
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.
READ MORE
Biography
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.
READ MORE
Biography
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.
READ MORE
Biography
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.
READ MORE
Biography
Autherine Lucy
Autherine Lucy was the first African American student to attend the University of Alabama
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
Biography
Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Mankiller is honored and recognized as the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
READ MORE
Biography
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.
READ MORE
Biography
Ruth Hanna McCormick
Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms was a Republican United States Representative from Illinois who served from 1929 to 1931.
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
Biography
Gabriela Mistral
Chilean author and educator Gabriela Mistral became the first Latin American author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature.
READ MORE
Biography
Maria Mitchell
Maria Mitchell was the first female astronomer in the United States and the first American scientist to discover a comet.
READ MORE
Biography
Janet Mock
Janet Mock became the first transgender woman of color to write and direct an episode of television.
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
Biography
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno became the first Latina woman to earn an “E.G.O.T.:” an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
READ MORE
Biography