To mark the end of Women’s History Month, here are 10 women who changed the world and inspired thousands.
Florence Nightingale, 1820 – 1910
Florence Nightingale trained nurses and organized medical care for soldiers during the Crimean War (1853 to 1856) between the Ottoman and Russian Empires. Considered to be the founder of modern nursing.
Clara Barton, 1821 – 1912
Clara Barton served as a nurse during the American Civil War, providing self taught nursing care, as she did not possess any formal medical training. Went on to found the American Red Cross in 1881.
Marie Curie, 1867 – 1934
Marie Curie was a French-Polish physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research in the field of radioactivity, along with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel. First woman to win a Nobel prize, and only person to win a Nobel prize to two scientific fields (physics and chemistry). Also first woman to serve as a professor at the University of Paris in France.
Rosa Parks, 1913 – 2005
Rosa Parks was an activist during the American Civil Rights Movement. In 1955, she was arrested for refusing to vacate her bus seat for a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. This incident helped inspire the Montgomery Bus Boycott that led to the desegregation of public buses in the State of Alabama in 1956.
Amelia Earhart, 1897 – disappeared 1937, declared dead 1939
Amelia Earhart was a pilot who was the first female aviator to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean. Instrumental in the formation of the Ninety-Nines, a female pilots organization. Disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean near Howland Island in 1937, along with her navigator Fred Noonan.
Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884 – 1962
Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States as wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945. Advocated for expanded roles of women in the work place and supported the civil rights of Black and Asian Americans. Served as the first chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and oversaw the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
Aretha Franklin, 1942 – 2018
Aretha Franklin was a singer and songwriter best known for being the “Queen of Soul”. She started out singing in her church choir as a child, and signed with Columbia Records in 1960 and Atlantic Records in 1966. Sang hit songs that include “Respect”, “Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”, “Think”, and “I Say a Little Prayer”.
Harriet Tubman, 1822 – 1913
Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist and escaped slave who led approximately 70 slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Served as a Union spy during the civil war and supported women’s suffrage after the war. Serves as a symbol for freedom and courage.
Katherine Johnson, 1918 – 2020
Katherine Johnson was a mathematician whose calculations in orbital mechanics working at NASA were critical in the success in the first American crewed spaceflights. Pioneered the use of computers to perform the tasks. One of the first few black women to work as a NASA scientist. Awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015.
Susan B. Anthony, 1820 – 1906
Susan B. Anthony was a social reformer and women’s rights activist who was pivotal in the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association with Elizabeth Cady Staton in 1869, which merged with the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890 to form the National American Women Suffrage Association, in which Anthony served as a dominant figure. Presented to Congress an amendment that allowed women to vote. The 19th amendment, nicknamed the “Susan B. Anthony Amendment” was passed in 1920, allowing women the right to vote.
