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Jeanne de Clisson
When her husband was unjustly executed, this French noblewoman-turned-pirate became the terror of France.
Charlotte Badger
The first European woman to end up in New Zealand, Charlotte Badger was part pirate, part adopted Maori, and part mom. Which part is which is somewhat lost to history.
Ching Shih
Headed a squadron of 80,000 pirates, ruled the Chinese seas for two decades, and actually retired happily - but not before extorting a nice pension from the Chinese government.Collection: Defenders >
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.
Eréndira
When horse-riding Spaniards invaded, she defied her tribe to befriend one of the abandoned horses, using her new bond to fight off the Spanish.
Tomyris
When the most powerful man in the world made plans on her country, she: turned down his marriage proposal, destroyed his armies, and defiled his head so famously that she became legend for centuries thereafter.Collection: Samurai >
Tsuruhime Ohori
When invaders threatened her island home, she declared herself a living god, raised an army, and fought them tooth, nail, and occasional grenade.
Masako Hojo
When her shogun husband cheated on her, she raised an army and destroyed the other woman's house. Later she deposed her incompetent son to become the first nun to rule Japan.
Takeko Nakano
When the end of an era was at hand, this samurai woman refused to go gently.Random Princesses
Yaa Asantewaa
As an old woman, led an incredibly successful rebellion against British colonialism, known as The War of the Golden Stool,…
Nitocris
When her brother was killed, this pharaoh took her time cooking up revenge.
Ada Lovelace
History's first computer programmer, who invented algorithms for the first computer - which didn't even exist during her lifetime, so…
Tin Hinan
The greatest leader of the nomadic Tuareg tribe of northern Africa, who put their men in veils and let their…
Yoshiko Kawashima
Bisexual cross-dressing spy princess of the Qing dynasty - a hero to some and unspeakable villain to others.
Sonya Golden Hand
Russia's greatest female thief was so slippery that even once she was re-captured after escaping from a Siberian prison, nobody was totally sure it was her.
The Mirabal Sisters
When a cruel dictator ruined this Dominican Republic family, these sisters gave their lives to end his.
Beloved
The ghost of a tragically-murdered young child come back to haunt her mother in post-slavery America.
Hortense Mancini
One of the most infamous libertines of the Renaissance, she cavorted all over Europe to flee her abusive marriage, lived…
Princess Pyeonggang
This princess held her father to his word in the most unexpected way: by demanding to marry the stupidest man in Korea.
Jeanne de Clisson
When her husband was unjustly executed, this French noblewoman-turned-pirate became the terror of France.
Chiyome Mochizuki
Recruited widows, orphans, and prostitutes into an all-woman ninja spy group, the largest in Asia at the time.
Pope Joan
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.
Takeko Nakano
When the end of an era was at hand, this samurai woman refused to go gently.
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.