Rejected Princesses | History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Theodora (c.497-548)

The Concubine Who Conquered Constantinople

Sex worker who became empress of the Byzantine Empire, and used her political power to safeguard her interests, and her husband’s reputation.

Tomoe Gozen (c.1157-1247)

The Samurai Who Made Samurai Flee

Fearsome undefeated samurai warrior who was “a match for any god or demon,” and is one of Japan’s greatest heroines to this day.

Collection: Working While Pregnant >

Mary Patten

When her husband became deathly ill, this pregnant teen took the reins to become America's first female boat commander - all while fighting off a mutiny and keeping her husband alive.

Rebecca Lukens

First her father died. Then her sons. Then her husband. Pregnant, saddled with debt, a failing company, and an overbearing mother, Rebecca Lukens rolled up her sleeves and showed the world what she was made of: iron.

Isabella of France

After years of neglect and abuse from her husband, this queen raised an army and took over England for herself.

Xtabay (Mesoamerican myth)

Siren of the Yucatan

Chaste and virtuous woman spends life assuming she’s better than her more sex-positive neighbor, and for this haughtiness becomes in death a demonic woman who lures wayward men to their death – a stunning indigenous inversion of the Madonna/whore complex.

Nanny of the Maroons (c.1680-1750)

The Mother of Us All

Led colony of escaped slaves and protected them from the English using borderline supernatural abilities.

Nana Asma’u (1793-1864)

The Princess Who Loved Learning

Massively educated princess who started all-female gang of itinerant teachers, who would roam the land and educate unsuspecting passersby.

Collection: Adventurers >

Julie d’Aubigny

Sword-slinging, opera-singing bisexual rock star of the 17th century - who burnt down a convent to romance a nun and had to be pardoned by the king of France TWICE.

Sophie Morigeau

The only use this Canadian badass had for pretty pink bows was to adorn her own rib — which she amputated from her own body after an accident.

Catalina de Erauso

After escaping from a convent, this swashbuckler had the strength to chase her dreams: which were apparently to drink, fight, and womanize.

Chiyome Mochizuki (16th century)

The Widow Who Ran a Ninja Academy

Recruited widows, orphans, and prostitutes into an all-woman ninja spy group, the largest in Asia at the time.

Josefina Guerrero (1918-1996)

Leper Spy of the Philippines

Let her leprosy go untreated for years to make herself the perfect spy in the Japan-occupied Philippines - soldiers wouldn't touch her, so she could slip right through.

Mary Lacy (1740-1801)

The First Female Shipwright

This self-described “undutiful daughter” posed as a man to become the world’s first female shipwright.

Collection: WW2 >

Mariya Oktyabrskaya

When her husband was killed in WW2, she sold all their belongings, bought a tank, named it Fighting Girlfriend, and started killing Nazis.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko

When her beloved college of history was bombed by the Germans, this woman began a dark path that would see her become history's deadliest female sniper -- and one of Eleanor Roosevelt's best friends.

Irena Sendler

This Polish nurse sacrificed her safety, her marriage, her very family to save 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust.

Nwanyeruwa (Early 20th century)

Instigator (and Peacekeeper) of the Igbo Women's War

Instigated a massive "women's war" against British taxation, the effect of which was one part protest movement, one part comedy roast, and one part block party.

Pope Joan (9th century)

The Pope Who Gave Birth

This pope was largely assumed to be male until she gave birth in the midst of a procession - and largely assumed to be factual until the 13th century.

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