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: Mothers >

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.

Ranavalona I

This brutal sovereign's reign saw her outlaw clapping, pioneer death by feet-kissing, and design giant weaponized scissors - but are we only getting one side of the story...?

Carolina Maria de Jesus

Brash, funny, and difficult, this mother of three wrote her way out of extreme poverty with her uncompromising look at Brazilian society - and was alternately lauded and berated for it.

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: Activists >

Osh-Tisch

The last Crow nation baté (Two Spirit mystic) in history, she earned her name -- which means "Finds Them and Kills Them" -- by tirelessly fighting to preserve her way of life.

Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones)

This leader of the labor movement suffered imprisonment, defamation, and untold misery to battle against forces that most of us just take for granted.

Marsha P. Johnson

This cheery godmother of trans civil rights masked a dark past of abuse.

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: Teachers >

Labotsibeni Gwamile LaMdluli

When her husband inadvertently sold the country to colonial forces, this queen spent the rest of her life getting it back.

Annie Jump Cannon

This astronomer threw off all the social conventions of her day to pursue her one true calling: the stars.

Anahit

This Armenian folktale princess saved her hapless beau - by making him get a job.

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