History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Personality: Intellectual

August 12, 2015 in Modern Worthies

Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley

The Computer Revolution Mogul Who Employed Only Female Programmers

In the 60s, this pioneering businesswoman fought - and won - endless battles to carve out a living for her 300+ female programmer employees.

August 5, 2015 in Modern Worthies

Alice Ball

The unsung black chemist who fought leprosy

For decades, the world's best leprosy treatment was the work of an unknown black chemist - whose work was stolen by her successor.

Ida Laura Pfeiffer (1797-1857)

The Travelogue Queen

Starting her travels at 45 years old, this globetrotter became a worldwide sensation for going boldly where no woman had gone before.

Zelia Nuttall (1857-1933)

The Queen of Mexican Archaeology

This single mom developed the field of Mexican archaeology, while fiercely protecting it from the sleazy and opportunistic.

Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941)

The Queen of Modern Astronomy

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

April 3, 2015 in Modern Worthies

Tu Youyou

Conqueror of Malaria

Humanity's greatest weapon against malaria came from an unlikely source: a secret military program, where a woman worked in obscurity for decades.

Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904)

The Undefinable Adventurer

This undefinable adventurer's life burnt bright but short: a wildcard of the Algerian revolution, she survived an assassination attempt by sabre, and died in a freak desert flood.

October 27, 2014 in Modern Worthies

Gerda Lerner

Mother of Women's History

“When I started working on Women’s History about thirty years ago, the field did not exist. It was not recognized, people didn’t think that women had a history worth knowing. … For women, looking back to the past has usually been painful because what we would learn would be an absence. We would learn that... Read more »

Naziq al-Abid (1898-1959)

The Sword of Damascus

She traded a life of privilege for one spent fighting for justice on both literal and political battlefields so tirelessly that even exiling her five times couldn't keep her down.

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 »