As a huge lover of history, it breaks my heart when I learn about a woman who, despite being an essential part of history, is forgotten over time. These women deserve to be forever remembered, talked about, and given their praises for their contributions to society, just like men are. There are many women I feel like everyone should know, but for now, here are some incredible and important women that have unfortunately been forgotten throughout history.
Boudicca
I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve heard of Boudicca before, but I would bet a lot of money that you’ve never been taught her story. This incredible woman defied traditional gender norms all the way back in 60 A.D— insane right? In a time where women were truly seen as subhuman and unimportant, Boudicca proved them wrong through her strength and intelligence, both on and off the battlefield.
Before England was unified as one singular kingdom, it was actually divided up into multiple different tribes and kingdoms. Boudicca was the Queen of the Iceni tribe, now modern day Norfolk, alongside her husband Prasutagus, the King. However, after Prasutagus’ death around 60 A.D., Boudicca and her two daughters were subjected to torment at the hands of the Romans, who invaded the land of the Iceni tribe and sexually assaulted the daughters as well as flogged and stripped Boudicca herself. This disgusting treatment at the hands of the Romans led Boudicca to raise an army against the Romans. The size of her army isn’t known exactly, some historians citing 230,000 men by the final battle, but many agree that it was at least 50,000.
Boudicca’s army successfully defeated the Roman Ninth Legion and destroyed the capital of Roman Britain, then at Colchester. They went on to destroy London and Verulamium. Roman soldiers were shocked to see an army of this size and strength being led by a woman. They were even more shocked to see the amount of men, both warriors in her army and noncombatants of the army, willing to support her and follow her into battle. Unfortunately, Boudicca met an untimely end, dying after her army was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. Historians believe that Boudicca didn’t die at the battle but instead poisoned herself to avoid capture at the Roman hand.
I find it incredibly important to share Boudicca’s story not just as a warrior but also as a woman, because for far too long men have decided that women do not belong on the battlefield. Boudicca defying power structures under the reign of the very patriarchal society of the Roman Empire, was not only brave, but life changing. She proves to this very day that society’s perception of women as weak has always been incorrect.
Margaret Hamilton
If you’re an aspiring astronaut or software engineer, then I would be very disappointed if you don’t know who Margaret Hamilton is. This monumental woman changed the game with her handwritten code that was essential to the success of Apollo 11, the space mission that landed man on the moon. Not only did she lead the Software Engineering Division of the MIT instrumentation laboratory, who were contracted by NASA to build the Apollo program’s guidance system, but she is also the computer scientist credited with popularizing the concept of software engineering
Hamilton was born in Paoli, Indiana, in 1936. She got her bachelor’s in mathematics from Earlham College with a minor in philosophy. Afterwards, she worked in the first computer industry, writing software for a MIT meteorology professor, and then for a defense contractor using the world’s largest computer. In 1964, she began writing code for NASA’s Apollo Guidance Computer. Her and her team’s code was so well done that it never once experienced a software failure during all of the manned Apollo missions. You might’ve seen a picture of Hamilton that recently regained popularity of her standing next to all of the code they wrote, which matched her height of 5 ‘4.
Hamilton being forgotten, who was an essential component that allowed man to get to the moon, is heartbreaking. She was driving her way into a highly male dominated field— still a heavily male dominated field— in a time where women were still expected to be housewives and homemakers, not computer scientists or software engineers. In 2016, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, who said: “She symbolises that generation of unsung women who helped send humankind into space.” Honestly, it’s insane to me that a woman who was a key part in one of mankind’s greatest achievements isn’t a household name. In my opinion, she should be just as famous as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, after all they wouldn’t be known without her.
The Mirabal Sisters
Now, for this next one, we aren’t just going to talk about one incredible woman, but three. Those being the Mirabal sisters: Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa. These women were three national heroines of the Dominican Republic, where they stood against the tyrannical dictatorship of the Trujillo regime. These sisters became members of the resistance against the Trujillo regime, becoming known as Los Mariposas, aka The Butterflies. In 1949, Minerva was arrested for rejecting Trujillo’s sexual advances which is what truly started the sisters’ involvement with the resistance.
Minerva and her husband, Manolo Tavárez Justo, became resistance leaders and soon were joined by Patria and Maria Teresa, as well as their husbands. Together, they helped form the “Fourteenth of June Movement,” in honor of an attempted armed expedition by Dominican exiles and the Cuban government against Trujillo which had failed a year earlier. The attempted invasion, however, shook Trujillo so much that he executed a mass arrest of resistors, including the Mirabal sisters and their husbands. The sisters were only released due to an attempt made by Trujillo to show his kindness and leniency towards women resistors. However, their husbands were still in prison, so on Nov 25, 1960, the three sisters traveled to Puerto Plata to visit them. On the way back, the sister’s driver was killed, and they were brutally beaten to death and put back in the car which was pushed off a cliff to make their deaths seem like an accident by Trujillo’s men. The impact of their death truly changed life in the Dominican Republic, since no one believed that their death was an accident due to their past issues with Trujillo. Their deaths helped solidify resistance to Trujillo by Dominicans both at home and abroad. Soon he lost the support of the military and was assassinated less than seven months after the death of the sisters. Since Trujillo had painted himself as a champion of women and of mothers, the fact that he would have three women killed changed how many people saw him.
The sisters were survived by another sister, Dede, who worked hard to distance herself from the resistance. After their deaths, Dede raised their children alongside her own, and her son, Jaime David Fernández Mirabal served as vice president of the Dominican Republic from 1996-2000. The sisters have been immortalized by the decision to make the day of their deaths International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations, as well as the historical novel In The Time of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, which retells their story as resistors. Dede dedicated her life to ensuring her sisters’ legacy, managing a museum out of their childhood home, the Casa Museo Hermanas Mirabal. Dede died in 2014 at the age of 88.
These women changed the world as we know it, and it is insane to me that their names have been forgotten through time. These women, alongside countless others, have unfortunately been left out of the history books and that just isn’t right. It is way past time for humankind to not just celebrate the men but also the women who dedicate their lives to their people, science, revolution, literature, art, etc. If I could have one wish, it would be to one day be able to see women be lifted up high in history, where they belong.