Happy Women’s History Month! To celebrate, we’ve compiled more lists of ladies who you might have learned about, or really should. First up: authors, dancers and singers.
Phillis Wheatley
Phillis (sometimes spelled “Phyllis”) Wheatley is the first African-American female poet to be published in North America. Born around 1753 in what is now Senegal or Gambia in West Africa, she was sold into slavery before the age of ten and purchased by the Wheatley family in Boston. Her name comes from the ship she was traded from. The Wheatleys taught Phillis to read and write, going out of their way to encourage her poetry and eventually publication. Her only book – Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral – was widely praised in England and its colonies, becoming a specific favorite of George Washington. She was eventually set free, and married in 1778. Unfortunately, she happened to live in a pre-antibiotic world and died of an unknown illness in 1784 at the age of 31. All of her poetry is available to read for free online.
Learn more: Poetry Foundation, Stuff You Missed in History Class, Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons
Aphra Behn
This British poet, playwright, novelist, translator, and spy was truly a Renaissance woman. Born in 1640, not much is known about her until she began writing. She was one of the first English women to make a living through writing, something extra notable in a time when women seldom worked outside the home. King Charles II, taking notice of Behn from her writing, sent the young woman to Antwerp, Belgium as a spy for the crown. Over the course of her life, she wrote 18 plays, 4 novels, 5 published short stories, and published 2 collections of poems. Since her death, she has been a source of inspiration for writers like Virginia Wolf and Vita Sackville-West. Much of Aphra Behn’s life has been lost to history, and most of what we “know” is speculation or massive interpretations of letters and her writings. One thing we do know for sure: she is buried in Westminster Abbey’s East Cloister, steps away from the Poets’ Corner.
Learn more: Poetry Foundation, Stuff You Missed in History Class
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson was an African-American diplomat, opera singer, and musical icon. Born in Philadelphia, Marian began singing at the age of 6. Her aunt arranged for her to sing at local events, making as much as four or five dollars (in 1890s money) for a single performance. Eventually, she joined the People’s Chorus, where she often earned solos. Despite the deaths of her parents, Marian received a high school education, but was refused at the Philadelphia Music Academy (now the University of the Arts) because of her race. Not easily deterred, she auditioned for singing positions and competed. Her big break came in 1925 and by the 1930s, Anderson was giving recitals in both the United States and Europe. She routinely stayed with Albert Einstein, who first offered her a room in Princeton, New Jersey after she was turned away from a local hotel. Marian performed at the Lincoln Memorial, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera. She sang for Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Dwight D. Eishenhower, JFK, and sailors on the SS Booker T. Washington. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, was a Fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was a Goodwill Ambassadress to the United Nations. And this is just touching the surface of her legendary life and career, making her truly America’s favorite opera singer.
Learn More: Hear her sing at the Lincoln Memorial, PBS, NPR
Molly Spotted Elk
Also known as Mary Nelson Archambaud, Molly Dellis, or Mary Alice Nelson. Molly Spotted Elk was a Penobscott Native American dancer, actress, and writer. “Molly Spotted Elk” was actually her stage name, given to her when she was adopted by the Cheyenne. She grew up on the Penobscot Reservation in Maine and worked the vaudeville stage throughout her early education. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, danced in New York City night clubs at the height of the Jazz Age, and even starred in the 1930 film called The Silent Enemy. Eventually she moved to Paris, France, where there was a growing audience for traditional Native American dance. There she met and married Jean Archambaud, a journalist. The pair would have a daughter before the outbreak of World War II, which forced Molly to escaped France with her daughter. She spent the rest of her life on the Penobscot Reservation, her husband having been killed in the war. She passed away in 1977, at the age of 73.
Learn More: Missed in History Class, A Penobscot in Paris
Anacaona, Haiti’s Poet Queen
Everyone knows how Christopher Columbus overran the Caribbean to declare the New World for Spain. But how many people talk about who was there before? Meet Anacaona – Taino royalty, poet, songstress, dancer, and oral historian. When her husband was imprisoned by colonialists for leading raids, she took on his role as one of the 5 chiefs. In this role, she flattered the Europeans and encouraged intermarriage between them and Taino women. But for all that, the Spaniards decided she was a threat and her kindness was a secret plot to overthrow them. The new governor rounded up the chiefs and locked them in a building that was set on fire, burning them alive. Anacaona was not killed, but offered clemency if she married one of the Spaniards or became a concubine – depending on who’s account you hear. She refused the offer and was sentenced to hang. She is now a symbol of dignified resistance against European tyranny, inspiring works of art through the centuries.
Learn more: Modern Notion, Rejected Princesses
Julie D’Aubingy
Meet France’s bisexual, sword-swinging, opera singer. Called “beautiful, valiant, generous, and supremely unchaste,” Julie D’Aubigny took 17th century France by storm. She was born in 1670 to an opulently wealthy family; her father was a Grand Squire, responsible for training the king’s pages and running the Royal Stables. Julie was trained by her father just like a King’s Squire, mastering horseback riding, fencing, fistfighting, drinking, gambling, and horse maintenance. She was one of the most highly-respected opera singers of the time, performing on stage nightly. According to legend, she fought at least ten men in duels and even took Holy Orders just so she could sneak into a convent to have sex with one of the sisters. She jumped into bed with anyone she wanted, became besties with a man she dueled with, and attended a royal ball dressed as a man in order to court other young women. If she doesn’t make it onto your list of badasses, I don’t know who would.
Learn More: Rejected Princesses, Badass of the Week
Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6