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Takeko Nakano
When the end of an era was at hand, this samurai woman refused to go gently.
Pingyang
This unlikely heroine created her own Woman's Army of 70,000 soldiers through good manners and political savvy - and then used it to overthrow one of China's greatest douchebags.
Noor Inayat Khan
Pacifist Indian princess who gave up everything of herself to hold the line in occupied Paris during World War 2.Random Princesses
Elisabeth Bathory
Possibly the most prolific female serial killer in history, a primary inspiration for Dracula, one of the most reviled women in history, and, I argue, innocent.
Qiu Jin
This revolutionary martyred herself to help rid China of the Qing dynasty.
Keumalahayati
The first naval admiral of modern times, she protected her country from foreign invaders with aplomb.
Lolita
The poster child for childhood abuse, nobody should ever make a kids' movie about her.
Juana Azurduy de Padilla
This revolutionary (and mother of five) should have been the namesake of Bolivia - and that's the opinion of Simon Bolivar, the actual namesake of Bolivia!
Tirgatao
Abandoned and imprisoned, this real-life Amazon took back the life she had stolen away.
Te Ao-Kapurangi
Abducted from her tribe, this Maori woman managed to save her kinsmen and stop a war - by straddling a roof and cramming the house underneath.
Vitka Kempner
Spy, smuggler, saboteur, partisan: this Jewish woman refused to go like a lamb to the slaughter, and fought the Nazis tooth and nail... even after the war, when she, alongside others, poisoned thousands of Nazi POWs in a revenge plot.
Constance Markievicz
Socialite turned sniper turned socialist politician - Ireland's first woman elected to office had quite a life.
Anne Hutchinson
This uneducated rebel preacher upstaged New England magistrates so much that they founded Harvard University in part to prevent women like her from gaining power.
Harriet Tubman
Escaped slave turned slave rescuer turned plantation-torching Union spymaster, she was part Moses, part Joan of Arc, part Spider-Man.
Neerja Bhanot
When terrorists hijacked her plane, she gave her life to save it, becoming the youngest recipient of India's highest honor.
Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz
This brilliant poet rose from illegitimacy and poverty to become one of the luminaries of her age - until she flew too close to the sun.
Vasilisa Vasilyevna
When the Tsar became hellbent on nailing down her gender, this clever gender-nonconforming heroine kept him guessing to the end.
Sutematsu Oyama
The first Japanese woman to go to college didn't have a choice. But the experience changed her - and she changed Japan in return.