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

History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Lyudmila Pavlichenko (1916-1974)

The Deadliest Female Sniper in History

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.

Taytu Betul (c.1851-1918)

The Bad Cop Empress of Ethiopia

This stubborn empress led her native Ethiopia to do the unthinkable - defeat one of the major European powers in war.

Collection: Samurai >

Takeko Nakano

When the end of an era was at hand, this samurai woman refused to go gently.

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.

Kate Shelley (1863-1912)

The Girl Who Saved a Train

To save an oncoming passenger train, this 15-year-old girl climbed across a collapsing bridge, with nothing but flashes of lightning to keep her from falling to her death in the flooding river below -- a river that had already killed her father.

The Mirabal Sisters (1924/27/35-1960)

The Sisters Who Toppled a Dictatorship

When a cruel dictator ruined this Dominican Republic family, these sisters gave their lives to end his.

Jackie Mitchell (1913-1987)

The Teen Who Struck Out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig

In 1931, a seventeen-year-old girl struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in front of a crowd of thousands -- and then was benched into obscurity.

Collection: Politicians >

Isabella of France

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

Constance Markievicz

Socialite turned sniper turned socialist politician - Ireland's first woman elected to office had quite a life.

Amaridevi

To ensnare the scheming ministers who were ruining her life, this princess used guile, cunning, and a sophisticated knowledge of civil engineering.

Sophie Morigeau (1836-1916)

Hard-Living, Hard-Bargaining Frontier Woman

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.

The Princess in the Leather Burqa

When her father decided to marry her, this leather-clad princess embarked on one of the most bonkers Cinderella tales ever told.

Micaela Almonester (1795-1874)

The Survivor Baroness of New Orleans

After decades of gaslighting and emotional abuse at the hands of her in-laws, this iron-willed woman survived being shot four times point blank, won a separation from her husband, and became one of the most respected business icons in New Orleans.

Collection: Defenders >

Soraya Tarzi

1920s Afghanistan was a progressive and rapidly-modernizing country in large part to the most powerful, empathic, and maligned queen it had ever seen.

Tamar of Georgia

Saint, sovereign, and fiercely independent woman, she quashed two rebellions from her ex-husband, expanded her nation's borders, and ushered in a golden age.

Virginia Hall

This "most dangerous of all spies" staged daring mountaintop escapes, prison breaks, and railway bombings -- all on her trusty wooden leg, codenamed "Cuthbert."

Isabel Godin des Odonais (1728-1792)

The Woman Who Lived

To reunite with her husband, she went on a months-long trek through the jungle -- and was the only survivor.

Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958)

The Overlooked Discoverer of DNA

The three men who accepted the Nobel Prize for "the most important scientific discovery of the 20th century" neglected to mention one thing: they owed much of their success to one brash, brilliant, and overlooked female scientist.

Browse the site entries on a map

The best of the site, curated

Women in Combat

Women warriors are not new

Aligned projects get the RP treatment