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.
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.
Juleidah 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.
Comics 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.
Stephanie St. Clair (1897-1969) Harlem's Queen of Numbers This audacious black gangster fought the Italian mob for control of Harlem and won, taunting them in full-page newspaper ads as she went.
Comics Zenobia (240-?) Syria's Rebel Queen 3rd century Rome had a major woman problem. Her name was Zenobia, and she took over a huge chunk of their empire in her brief and tumultuous career as rebel queen.
La Llorona The Weeping Ghost of Latin America's Past Mexico's infamous "weeping ghost" has many incarnations: a jilted widow, a slave princess, a milk addict, a coffee bag, and a pair of panties.
Amaridevi The princess who engineered her own victory To ensnare the scheming ministers who were ruining her life, this princess used guile, cunning, and a sophisticated knowledge of civil engineering.
Freydís Eiríksdóttir (c. 1000 CE) Sword-Wielding Pregnant Viking When attacked by Native Americans, this pregnant viking bared her chest, brandished a sword, and took them on by herself. And she won.