Regretfully, we don’t hear much about women who were killing the game historically. Seeing as women’s rights are such a powerful topic, we have decided to go back in time to give these women the recognition they deserve.
1. Frances Perkins (1880-1965) – Perkins was the first woman ever appointed to serve on the US Cabinet, by Franklin D. Roosevelt. As a workers-rights advocate, she helped execute many portions of the New Deal.
2. Elizabeth Kenny (1886-1952) – This woman was truly a visionary. She created a revolutionary treatment for polio in Australia; however the medical board didn’t respect her. So, she moved her work to the U.S. and Britain, and they welcomed her with open arms. Despite this, she still didn’t get much credit where credit was definitely due.
3. Beulah Henry (1887-1973) – Beulah is yet another woman to add to the list of underappreciated women in history. Henry was so inventive that she was given the nickname “Lady Edison”. She worked tirelessly to invent things such as the hair curler, the can opener, and even a bobbin-free sowing machine.
4. Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) – In the short time Franklin was alive, she came to be the reason that we understand the way that DNA is shaped. For all you biology majors, you know that this is a huge deal. Franklin also did a lot of work with viruses. By the time that anyone realized that she hadn’t been recognized, she had already passed away from Ovarian cancer.
5. Irena Sendler (1910-2008) – Sendler was the baddest of the bad (in a good way). She smuggled Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto, and even provided them with false identification documents and arranged shelter for them in their time of need. She was arrested by the Gestapo but managed to hide all information regarding the children well enough that the Gestapo couldn’t find them. Even after torture and imprisonment, Sendler never revealed information on her work or any of the children she helped.