Since 1987, March has been aknowledged as Women’s History Month. The month serves to commemorate and celebrate all of the amazing women throughout history and also to bring awareness to the issues that women are still facing throughout the globe. While most school’s try to include “women’s history” as an almost seperate entity in their curriculum, women having been making strides since the beginning of time and more emphasis needs to be placed on their place in all disciplines. Below are 10 incredible women whose accomplisments you probably did not learn about in high school or college.
1) Ida Tarbell
When discussing 19th century journalism, Upton Sinclair and Jacob Riis are always mentioned as trailblazers in their field of investigative reporting which led to social reform. Ida Tarbell is less well known, although she was the true pioneer of the field. She graduated from college as the only woman in an all male class, taught, wrote and eventually “muckracked” as a journalist. Her articulate and biting pieces gained her notoreity and perhaps her most known accomplishment is her 19 part investigative series that took down John D. Rockerfeller, one of the most powerful men in the Unites States at that time.
2) Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman
While Amelia Earhart is a more widely learned about aviatrix, Bessie Coleman’s accomplisments are similarly impressive. She was the first female African American pilot and the first African American to earn an International Pilot’s License. She was inspired to become a pilot after World War I but could not earn her license in the U.S because of her race and gender. She went abroad, to France, to get her license and quickly became a famed sensation when she returned to the states.
3) Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
Also known as “Mother Cabrini,” she is the patron Saint of immigrants and the first naturalized U.S citizen to be canonized in the Roman Catholic Church. Saint Frances emigrated here from Italy in order to help the struggling immigrant population in New York City. Her resourcefulness and tenacity led to thriving of her Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. By the time she passed away, she had founded 67 missionary centers to provide outreach to the poor and training to continue her mission.
4) Toby “Winema” Riddle
Toby Riddle was a woman of the Modoc Native American tribe who served as an interpreter in negotiations during the Modoc war. She and her husband assisted the United States Army by warning them of impending attacks, in the hope of reaching eventual peace. It is speculated that she went by the name of “Winema” which translated to “Woman Chief.”
5) The Trung Sisters
Trung Trac and Trung Nhi are two incredibly powerful sisters led the Vietnamese uprising against China in 40 A.D. They lived during a time where Vietnamese women had power that would later be denied by them and took advantage of their position in society (they were the daughters of a lord) to gather an army of 80,000 soldiers to defeat the Chinese. They appointed 36 female generals and today, many temples built in honor of the sisters contain the names of these women.
6) Emma Bonino
While his recent exploits have Silvio Berlusconi’s face plastered all over the news, he is not the only influential Italian politician you should be paying attention to. Emma Bonino served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the country from 2013 to 2014. She champions civil rights and has fought for the legalization of abortion as well as an end to capital punishment and genital mutilation.
7) Hedy Lamarr
If you’re reading this article on your phone, you have actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr to thank. During her acting career, she found the time to co-invent the technology of “spread spectrum” and “frequency hopping.” This technology greatly assisted the U.S military and now is used in both Wi-Fi and Blue Tooth.
8) Sybil Ludington
This Revolutionary young lady is not so widely known for her heroic ride to warn American forces that the British were approaching for attack. Typically, her journey is overshadowed by Paul Revere’s, even though at only 16-years-old, she rode more than double the distance that he did. For any athletes looking to mimic her journey, there is a yearly 50 kilometer race held in upstate New York that is similar to hers and ends at a statue erected in her honor.
9) Eva Perón
More than just the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron, Eva served as a cultural and political trailblazer who was greatly admired citizens of her country and around the world. She surpassed the role of First Lady by championing contentious political issues such as labor reform, women’s suffrage and created a charity in her name in order to promote social welfare. She eventually made a bid to be Vice President of the country, but was forced to withdraw as she struggled with political opposition and health problems. Shortly before her death at only 33 years old, the Argentine government named her the “Spiritual Leader” of the nation for her contributions.
10) Sultan Raziyya
Often refered to as Razia Sultana, she served as the Sultan of Delhhi in the 1200’s. She would not be adressed as “Sultana” as it means “wife of Sultan” and responded only to Sultan. As the first female ruler in Muslim history, she was a crusader of justice and tried to dismantle government corruption while also establishing schools, research centers and libraries. She took on a masculine persona, wore pants and a turban while being armed with a sword, in order to maintain her power over her subjects.