Although many of the accomplishments and contributions of women have been lost from the history books, women have played a vital role in the course of human civilization. From raising families to leading armies, women have made untold contributions to history. We find extraordinary people who just happen to be women, and these ones serves as inspiration for current and future generations - for both women and men.
Starting on the Suffrage Movement, on Election Day in 1920, millions of American women exercised their right to vote for the first time. For almost 100 years, women (and men) had been fighting to win that right: They had made speeches, signed petitions, marched in parades and argued over and over again that women, like men, deserved all of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Perhaps the most well-known women’s rights activist in history, Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer crusader for the woman suffrage movement in the United States and president (1892-1900) of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which was founded by Anthony along with the activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Her work helped pave the way for the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.
On the 20th century, French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir's 1949 book "The Second Sex" became a landmark feminist work. It analyzed the treatment and perception of women throughout history. De Beauvoir, along with her partner Jean Paul Sartre, were one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. Rosalind Franklin was a British chemist and x-ray crystallographer. Her research was the key in revealing the structure of DNA. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman doctor.
A research made based on the criteria of “notable” women, include among 50 of the most notable women in history: Sappho, one of the first published female writers, called by Plato one of 10 great world poets; Cleopatra (69-30 BC), the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt; Tsarina, one of the greatest political leaders of the eighteenth century; Mother Teresa (1910-1997), who, devoting her life to the service of the poor and dispossessed, became a global icon for selfless service to others. Through her Missionaries of Charity organization, she personally cared for thousands of sick and dying people in Calcutta, and was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1979; Marie Curie (1867-1934), who was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize and the first person to win it for two separate categories – for research into radioactivity in 1903 and for Chemistry in 1911. She also helped develop the first X-ray machines; Coco Chanel (1883-1971), one of the most innovative and revolutionary fashion designers who was instrumental in defining feminine style and dress during the 20th century; Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) first woman Prime Minister of India, in power from 1966-77 and 1980-84, who was assassinated in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards; Anne Frank (1929-1945), whose diary is one of the most widely read books in the world. It reveals the thoughts of a young, yet surprisingly mature 13-year-old girl, confined to a secret hiding place; Valentina Tereshkova (born in 1937), the first woman in space; Benazir Bhutto, (1953 - 2007), the first woman Prime Minister of a Muslim country, who helped to move Pakistan from a dictatorship to democracy in 1977, and sought to implement social reforms, in particular helping women and the poor, was murdered in 2007.
These woman and others like them did not just prevail, they excelled when personal, economic, political, and racial obstacles threatened.
