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: Revolutionaries >

Constance Markievicz

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

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.

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!

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: Survivors >

Penta

When her brother of this fairytale princess decided to marry her, she warded him off by cutting off her own hands. Then she gave birth to a dog. It got weirder after that.

Ida B. Wells

One of the first anti-lynching advocates, she risked her life for decades to report on the truth when nobody would believe her.

Molly Craig

The daughter of an aboriginal woman and a white man, her race led her to be kidnapped by the Australian government - only for her to escape and walk across the continent to get home... twice.

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: Soldiers >

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.

Mandukhai Khatun

Destined to be a mere political pawn, this Mongol queen rode into battle while pregnant, united the warring tribes, and was considered to be the second coming of Genghis Khan.

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.

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