History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Rating: PG-13

The strongest, strangest Inuit woman ever

An Inuit woman so strong nobody could even beat her lice in arm-wrestling, her story just gets stranger the closer you look.

Hester Stanhope (1776-1839)

The Desert Queen

100 years before Lawrence of Arabia, this British woman traveled the Middle East by herself, surviving shipwrecks, plagues, and Bedouin attacks in the process.

October 11, 2014 in Modern Worthies

Malala Yousafzai

Youngest Nobel Prize winner in history

Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi share Nobel Peace Prize “Her award will not mark the end of her campaign to advocate for girls’ education, she said. ‘I think this is really the beginning,’ she said, adding that children around the world ‘should stand up for their rights’ and ‘not wait for someone else.’” Congratulations to... Read more »

October 7, 2014 in Modern Worthies

Anita Sarkeesian

Feminist game theorist

This is a talk I was lucky enough to see live about a month ago. It’s delivered by Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist game theorist whose academic analysis of cultural shifts in the video gaming industry has led to harassment and death threats beyond imagining. This talk was her first public appearance after she fled her... Read more »

Gudit (920s?-980s?)

Princess of Beta Israel

This Jewish-Ethiopian warrior queen took the throne, ended a millennium-old biblical dynasty, and caused a break in Ethiopia's history that has not healed to this day - or did she...?

Hypatia (350~370? - 415)

The Martyr Mathematician

The first female mathematician in recorded history, and one of the luminaries of the ancient world - but her grisly death at the hands of a mob was only the start of her troubles.

La Jaguarina (1859~1864 - ?)

Queen of the Sword

This undefeated half-Spaniard fencer was a household name in the 1800s - only to vanish into retirement (and obscurity) when she ran out of people to fight.

August 29, 2014 in Modern Worthies

Marie Colvin

Marie Colvin’s Private War Foreign correspondent Marie Colvin was on the front lines of conflict zones, no matter the physical and emotional toll. Marie Brenner learns what led Colvin to her death. This eyepatched journalist gave her all covering Syria back in 2012. It is good to remember her incredible bravery.

Ching Shih (1775-1844)

Princess of the Chinese Seas

Headed a squadron of 80,000 pirates, ruled the Chinese seas for two decades, and actually retired happily - but not before extorting a nice pension from the Chinese government.

August 18, 2014 in Modern Worthies

Zula Kurahimbi

Schindler's Witch

Schindler’s Witch | VICE Sweden During the Rwandan genocide, Zula Karuhimbi saved more than 100 people through “sorcery.” Amazing read. (thanks to the one of my many brethren who submitted this!)