Princesses

History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Mary Anning (1799-1847)

The Princess of Paleontology

When her father died, leaving her lower-class family in debt, this indomitable woman worked tirelessly and became one of history's greatest fossil collectors.

Gouyen (c.1857-1903)

Wise Woman of the Apache

When an enemy killed her husband, this Apache woman broke the rules of her tribe to get revenge - and in so doing, became one of her tribe's greatest heroes.

Jeanne de Clisson (1300-1359)

The Lioness of Brittany

When her husband was unjustly executed, this French noblewoman-turned-pirate became the terror of France.

Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz (1651-1695)

The Phoenix of Mexico

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.

Tirgatao (5th century BCE)

The Princess Whom Walls Could Not Hold

Abandoned and imprisoned, this real-life Amazon took back the life she had stolen away.

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.

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.