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Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month. This collection explores the contribution of diverse women to culture, science, politics and society.

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Emmeline Pankhurst

This is a timeline of Emmeline Pankhurst’s life, from her birth in 1858 to her death in 1928. A suffragette and leader of the Women's Social and Political Union, she fought tirelessly for women's right to vote, leaving a lasting impact on the pursuit of gender equality.

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This is a timeline of scientist Marie Curie’s remarkable life and career, from 1867 to 1934. At a time when women faced numerous barriers, Marie Curie defied the odds and revolutionized science with her pioneering research on radioactivity, becoming the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

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Hedy Lamarr: Mother of WiFi

Did you know? The amazing technology behind Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS was the brainchild of Hollywood actor turned visionary inventor Hedy Lamarr - the Mother of Wi-Fi.

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This is a timeline of the life of Jamaica-born nurse Mary Seacole. Dedicating her life to caring for the sick, she was known as “Mother Seacole” by those she tended during the Crimean War.

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Elizabeth Keckly: From Slavery to the White House

She was enslaved at birth – but became the first lady’s favorite dressmaker and the author of a sensational memoir that shocked the nation. So who was Elizabeth Keckly?

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Rachel Carson's Fight for the Environment

Marine biologist and writer Rachel Carson demanded that the US government take responsibility to protect people and the planet. Her book Silent Spring was a turning point in the modern environmental movement.

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Stepping Forward: The Fight for College Integration

For Autherine Lucy and Pollie Anne Myers, trying to get an education was an act of courage in itself.

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Barbara Jordan: The Black Texan Politician who Broke the Glass Ceiling

At a time when women and people of colour were all but excluded from the US government, one woman stormed the corridors of power and made them her own. This is the story of Barbara Jordan, the African American from the South who defied expectations by being selected to serve in Congress and who became one of the finest legislators in US history.

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Virginia Hall: Nazi Nemesis

They called her the Limping Lady. The Allied spy who topped the Nazis’ most wanted list. This is the story of Virginia Hall – one of the most decorated special agents of the Second World War.

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Madam Queenie: New York's Notorious Crime Boss

America has always been captivated by crime and the sharp-dressed, trigger happy men who dominate the underworld. But one story remains criminally neglected, that of gambling kingpin Stephanie St. Clair, aka Madame Queenie - the Robin Hood of Harlem.

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Students and the Struggle for School Integration

The story of Barbara Johns and her fellow students fight for school integration resulting in the successful case - Brown v. Board of Education.

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Nelly Bly: Breaking Barriers from Asylums to the Skies

We've all got our favourite YouTubers, right? But everyone with a channel has this Pennsylvian lady, Nellie Bly, to thank. You could say she was the world’s first blogger.

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Ethel Payne: First Lady of the Black Press

As the First Lady of the Black Press, Ethel Payne wielded her first amendment right to ask the tough questions and hold those in power to account.

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Patsy Mink: Changing the Rules

The first Asian American woman ever to be elected to Congress, Patsy Mink dedicated her life to participating in the democratic process and improving the lives of others.

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Marie van Brittan Brown: Creating CCTV in Queens

How did a hardworking nurse from New York City invent the world's first home security system? When a burglar tried to break into her apartment in the 1960s, this kickass crimefighter went where no-one had gone before.

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Claudette Colvin: The Original Rosa Parks

You know the story of David and Goliath, right? Well, America has its own version. Only our hero is 15-year-old African-American, school girl Claudette Colvin and in 1955, she took on the State of Alabama for real. The original Rosa Parks!

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Linda Brown: The Schoolgirl who Changed America

Linda Brown was just 9-years-old when she was thrust into the national spotlight, as she fought - and won - against racial segregation in the American school system.

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Victoria Woodhull: The First Woman To Run for President

Victoria Woodhull ran for President of the United States before most American women were even allowed to vote.

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Mercy Otis Warren: Blowing the Whistle on British Rule

Mercy Otis Warren was a poet, playwright and ‘whistleblower’ who used her words to throw some serious shade on British Colonial rule.

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Mary Carson Breckinbridge

Mary Carson, born into the wealthy Breckinridge family in 1881, changed the face of US midwifery. This is her story.

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Frances Oldham Kelsey: Standing Up to Big Pharma

Meet Frances Oldham Kelsey - a true American hero! Frances was a pharmacologist working for the FDA who stood up to the big drug companies and ultimately saved thousands of American lives in the process.

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Mad Ann Bailey: Heroine of the Kanawha Valley

Historic accounts describe her “wild” appearance. So why did English settler Mad Ann Bailey don men’s clothes to take up the fight against Native American tribes?

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Jovita Idar: Voice of the People

Imagine throwing shade at a politician online and police showed up to arrest you! It would be un-American, right? In this video, we'll explain the story of Jovita Idar, a Mexican-American journalist who refused to be silenced!

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Anna May Wong: Hollywood's First Asian American Movie Star

At a time when racist laws and shameful stereotyping limited the careers of ethnic minority actors, Anna May Wong broke down doors to become the first Chinese American movie star in history!

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Breaking Barriers: Constance Baker Motley

Breaking through the limits placed on women and people of color was all in a day’s work for Constance Baker Motley. She was a civil rights activist, lawyer, judge and state senator.

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Coverture severely restricted women’s political, financial, and personal rights and was imported to the American colonies as a part of English common law. It affected the lives of all American women and although it has been diminished over time vestiges of it remain even today.

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Chien-Shiung Wu: The First Lady of Physics

We hear a lot about famous scientists like Marie Curie and Albert Einstein, but have you ever heard of Chien-Shiung Wu and her work on the Manhattan Project?

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Thomas(ine) Hall: Gender Non-conforming in Colonial Virginia

Thomas(ine) Hall was a 17th century intersex person who ran afoul of a small community in colonial Virginia.

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Barbara Jordan: Statement on the Articles of Impeachment

In 1974, US House Representative for Texas, Barbara Jordan delivered an impassioned speech on the power and meaning of the U.S. Constitution. Delivered on primetime television to critical acclaim during the coverage of the infamous Watergate scandal.

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Shirley Chisholm: Equal Rights for Women

In 1969 Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Woman elected to Congress spoke to the US House of Representatives to argue in support of a controversial women’s rights bill; the Equal Rights Amendment.

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Toypurina: Rebelling Against the Mission System

Toypurina, a Tongva woman who led a rebellion against a Spanish mission in Alta California.

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Women's Activism and Social Change

For centuries, women have used activism in the United States to voice their concerns about society and secure their rights as citizens. Activism is an important part of any democracy as it’s the way ordinary people shape nations.

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Zitkala-Ša: Advocate for the Rights of Native People

Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, aka Zitkala-Sa, fought against the US government as it forced Native Americans to assimilate into Anglo-American culture.

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Harriet Robinson Scott: A Personal Fight for Emancipation with National Ramifications

The story of the enslaved woman who challenged slavery in the highest court in the United States.

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Catalina Trico: New Netherland's Founding Mother

Catalina Trico was a young trailblazer and the first European mother in what would become New York State.

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Elizabeth Freeman: Abolition Pioneer

Elizabeth Freeman played a critical role in the fight to end slavery in the United States.

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Malitzen: Enslaved Interpreter for Hernan Cortés

The enslaved Native woman who acted as the primary interpreter for Hernan Cortés during his conquest of the Aztec Empire.

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Lorenda Holmes: Loyalist Spy and American Sufferer

Loyalist spy in New York who did everything she could to undermine the American war efforts during the Revolution.

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Emma Tenayuca: Latina Labor Activist

Latina labor leader, Emma Tenayuca, led a major food-industry strike in her early 20s and was eventually ostracized for her political beliefs.

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Wangarĩ Maathai: Global-Mindedness

Born into a culture where a woman’s place was in the home, Wangarĩ Maathai went onto celebrate a Nobel Peace Prize for her Holistic Approach to Sustainable Development. Let's find out how!

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Marsha P. Johnson: Transgender Activist

The story of transgender activist, Marsha P. Johnson, who dedicated her life to LGBTQ+ rights.

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Amelia Earhart: Flexibility

Most famously known for being the First Woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, how did Amelia Earhart go from defying traditional gender roles - to defying gravity?

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Ida B. Wells: Journalist and Anti-Lynching Activist

Investigative journalist Ida B. Wells made it her mission to exposing the horrors of racism in the American South, but it wasn't easy.

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Sojourner Truth: Fierce Warrior for Social Justice

How an enslaved woman became one of the most important social justice activists in American history.

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Antonia Pantoja: Grassroots Organizer and Activist

The story of Latina activist Antonia Pantoja, who fought for bilingual education programs.

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Frida Kahlo: Self-Awareness

In a time where women struggled to find their voice, Frida was becoming one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century. But how did Kahlo's vibrant art change the world?

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Oprah Winfrey: Effective Communication

A captivating storyteller - how did this girl from Mississippi become the most powerful woman that America has known?

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Mary Church Terrell: Championing Suffrage and Civil Rights

Mary Church Terrell was a lifelong activist who advocated for suffrage and equal rights.

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Fashionable Rebellion: Tignons: From Oppressive Attire to Creative Accoutrement

How free Black women in Spanish Louisiana turned an oppressive headscarf law into a celebration of individuality and culture.

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The Windshield Wiper: A Female Innovation

The first mass-produced car in America was basically a lawnmower with leather trim, but it was a start, right? This is the story of Mary Anderson and the Windshield Wiper - an invention that happened by a stroke of fate!

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Women of the Civil War

Women weren’t just spectators of the American Civil War – they played a vital role in the home, the workplace, the battlefield and beyond.

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Malala Yousafzai: Critical Thinking

Captivated by female innovators, Malala stayed up into the night, imagining the world as fair and united. But how did she change it for the better?

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Margaret Mead: Intercultural Knowledge

Mead brought the central insight of cultural anthropology. A master in her discipline – fearless and freethinking – let’s find out how her determination to help others understand, celebrate, and learn from other cultures, made humanity stronger.

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The Enslaved Household of Thomas Jefferson

This is the story of Ursula, Edith and Frances – three teenagers who Thomas Jefferson brought to the White House to train as his enslaved personal chefs.

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Women in Ancient Athens

The lives and rights of women in Greece, from a modern perspective, seem severely limited; yet, they played important roles in society.

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Women of the American Revolution: The Real Unsung Heroes

During the American Revolutionary War some American women disguised themselves as men in order to join the fight, and played a critical role both on the home front and on the battlefield.

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The Woman Suffrage Procession

The Women’s Suffrage Procession of 1913 changed how Americans protest – by getting bigger, better and more creative than ever before.

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Goal 5: Gender Equality

Short animation explaining UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality for teenage students

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The Miss America Protest of 1968

In 1968 – the Miss America beauty pageant became the focus of an audacious protest that helped move feminism forward.

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The Battle of the Sexes

Although half of Americans are female, women make up just 25% of Congress. In fact, women have been treated unfairly in America since day one – but what are the causes of that inequality and what are the effects?

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Inspirational Women of the 20th Century

Let’s meet some of the many women who have left a lasting impression on the past century.

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Goal 5: Gender Equality

Fifteen year old Natasha explains how young people are taking action on Global Goal 5: Gender Equality

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Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Short animation explaining UN Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities for teenage students

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Emma Goldman: Radical Activist

Anarchist Emma Goldman, once named the most dangerous woman in America by the FBI, left behind a complicated legacy. But who was this young radical and what did she believe in?

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Dolley Madison: The First First Lady

As the host of unrivaled skill, First Lady Dolley Madison brought the US political elite together by throwing the best parties Washington, D.C., had ever seen.

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Charity and Sylvia: A Federal Era Love Story

Sylvia Drake and Charity Bryant overcame many challenges to become pioneers of LGBTQ+ visibility in the United States.

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Changunak Antisarlook: The Reindeer Queen

She was known as the Reindeer Queen – and one of the richest women in Alaska. So how did Changunak Antisarlook use her remarkable wealth to benefit the Inupiat community?

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Anna May Wong: The First Chinese-American Hollywood Star

Anna May Wong, Hollywood’s first Chinese-American leading lady, broke through racial barriers to change the face of cinema forever.

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Dorothy Bolden: Unionizing Domestic Workers

Civil rights activist Dorothy Bolden made it her mission to empower America’s working class. Her activism empowered domestic workers across the nation – and created noticeable change in the workplace for thousands of Black women.

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Edith Maude Eaton: Fostering Cultural Understanding Through Writing

In a time when Chinese immigrants in America faced discrimination in all walks of life – simply because of their race – author Edith Maude Eaton channeled the power of the pen to help make positive change.

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Mary McLeod Bethune: Fighting for Equality in the Classroom and Beyond

Mary McLeod Bethune, an influential educator activist, recognized that going to school could be a form of activism. Her groundbreaking work helped change America for the better.

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Pauli Murray: Breaking Barriers of Race and Gender

As a queer Black lawyer, poet and civil rights activist, Pauli Murray understood how our different identities can overlap to create multiple levels of discrimination. Her groundbreaking work in championing equality for all helped change America for the better.

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Patsy Mink: Groundbreaking Congresswoman

What do you think of when you picture Title IX? Inequality has plagued America’s youth for generations. Patsy Mink, a then young Japanese-American, vowed to change the system forever.

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Katherine Johnson: Trailblazing NASA Mathematician

At a time when American space exploration was dominated by men, mathematician Katherine Johnson broke through gender and racial barriers to help change our understanding of the cosmos forever.

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María Ruiz de Burton: Chicano Activist Writer

Latina author María Ruiz de Burton raised the plight of Mexicans in America with two satirical and revealing books at a time when female authors were few and far between.

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Victoria Woodhull: Fighting for Women's Rights

At a time when women were expected to know their place, activist and businessperson Victoria Woodhull blazed a trail as a fierce advocate for women's suffrage and empowerment.

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Sally Hemings: Surviving Slavery and Sexual Exploitation

Sally Hemings was an enslaved woman who had several children with Founding Father Thomas Jefferson. Her story of agency and eventual emancipation remains an inspiration.

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Lozen: Fearless Apache Warrior

At a time when Apache men and women followed specific gender roles, Lozen defied convention – to become one of the finest warriors in the tribe's history.

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Polly Bemis: Chinese Immigrant Pioneer

Sold into slavery by her parents, Polly Bemis faced discrimination as a Chinese immigant in America – but became something of a pioneer of the West.

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Sacagawea: Intrepid Indigenous Explorer

Native American interpreter Sacagawea was the only woman on Lewis and Clark’s expedition into the West. She played a vital role, but was subsequently forgotten.

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This is a timeline of events in the life of Joan of Arc, from 1412 to 1431. A deeply religious women, she believed God wanted her to lead the French army against the English during the Hundred Years' War. She was burned at the stake for heresy and witchcraft.

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This is a timeline of the life of Queen Cleopatra, the last ruling Pharaoh of ancient Egypt. She is remembered for her strategic alliances with powerful generals of the Roman Empire.

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This is a timeline of the life of Rosa Parks, a woman who made history with a single act of courage, when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in 1955, a time when the U.S. was racially segregated. Her bravery inspired tens of thousands of African Americans to protest by refusing to take the city’s buses in Montgomery, Alabama.

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This is a timeline about the life of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan tribe, who played a crucial role in the relationship between the Native Americans and the English settlers in 17th century Virginia.

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Emily Dickinson

This is a timeline of the life of one of the United States’ most innovative and unique poets, Emily Dickinson. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, she was a private and introverted woman. Her extraordinary poetry was only published following her death.

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This is a timeline of the life of Greta Thunberg and her rise as a global climate activist. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's lone school strike for the climate in 2018 evolved into a worldwide movement, inspiring millions to take action against global warming and demanding immediate change from world leaders.

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This is a timeline of the life of Harriet Tubman, one of the United States’ bravest and most outspoken abolitionists. During the course of her career, she rescued almost 700 Black men, women and children and went on to champion women’s suffrage.

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Rebecca Lee Crumpler

This is a timeline of the life of the first African American woman to qualify as a doctor, Rebecca Lee Crumpler. Crumpler dedicated her life to treating women and children who lived in poverty, and her book, Medical Discourses, helped others to care for themselves.

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Ona Judge: Self-Emancipated from the Presidential Mansion

Born into slavery on George Washington's plantation, Ona Judge's daring escape highlights the ideological contradictions of personal liberty in early America.

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Kateri Tekakwitha: First North American Indigenous Saint

Kateri Tekakwitha's journey from a Mohawk village to Catholic sainthood reflects the intertwined tales of faith and colonization in 17th century America.

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Harriet R. Gold Boudinot: Interracial Marriage in Early America

The interracial marriage of Harriet R. Gold and Elias Boudinot transcended racial taboos of the 1800s, leaving a lasting impact on both the Cherokee and Cornwall communities.

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Letitia Carson: Defiant Pioneer

In the mid-19th century, only around 3% of those who traveled West on the Oregon Trail were Black. Among them was Letitia Carson, the only Black woman in Oregon to successfully receive land through the Homestead Act.

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Matilda Hughes: Fighting for Family

Enduring slavery and loss, Matilda Hughes's relentless quest to reunite and rebuild her family showcases the indomitable spirit of love amidst America's darkest chapters.

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Tituba: The First Accused Witch

The Salem Witch Trials are one of the most infamous tragedies in American history, yet most people do not know the story of the enslaved woman at the heart of the hysteria, the first accused witch, Tituba.

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Susan Clark Holley: Breaking Barriers in Education

Facing racial barriers in 19th-century Iowa, Susan Clark Holley’s legal battle pioneered school desegregation, laying early groundwork for the monumental Brown v. Board of Education case.

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Elizabeth Blackwell: Trailblazer for Women in Medicine

The first woman to graduate from a U.S. medical college, Elizabeth Blackwell broke through gender barriers to make history. Her remarkable story of courage and perseverance serves as a testament to the strength of the human spirit.

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Afong Moy is believed to be the first Chinese woman to step foot on U.S. soil and her presence sparked an American fascination with Chinese culture, but her experience in the United States was far from welcoming.

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At a time when many women in the United States were campaigning for greater rights, Beverly LaHaye raised her voice for traditional values. An expert activist and founder of Concerned Women for America, today she is admired and reviled in equal measure.

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Miss Major Griffin-Gracy: Activist for Transgender Rights

Present at the Stonewall Uprising of 1959, pioneering transgender activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy lived through the HIV/AIDS epidemic to fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States and beyond.

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Bella Abzug: Pioneering Feminist Icon

At a time when the U.S. House of Representatives was dominated by men, pioneering feminist Bella Abzug became a law-making force to be reckoned with.

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Martha Gellhorn: The War Correspondent who Covered D-Day

One of the United States’ finest war correspondents, Martha Gellhorn battled sexism and misogyny to report on the D-Day landings during the Second World War.

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Martha Moore Ballard: Diary of a Midwife

Written over 25 years, Martha Moore Ballard’s diary gives us a unique perspective into the midwifery profession, and the lives of women in the newly independent United States of America.

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Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who wrote a diary about her life in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Her powerful story reflects resilience, hope, and the tragic impact of the Holocaust.

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