Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World: 1

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This indispensable reference work provides readers with the tools to reimagine world history through the lens of women's lived experiences. Learning how women changed the world will change the ways the world looks at the past. Her spirit will endure as long as man can read and stories can be told of the woman who showed the world there are no boundaries to courage and faith.” Senator Lister Hill of Alabama, speaking about Helen Keller I imagine that USAmericans would not like their own history and law misrepresented like this, so I would be grateful if this could be revised. The music business can be ruthless. But Dolly Parton, a country music sensation since the 1960s, has long been the steward of her own ship. By retaining control of much of her music, she’s used the proceeds for everything from unlikely business success stories (the Dollywood theme park) to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has distributed more than 150 million books to instill a love of reading in young people. In music, Parton explored genres and wrote and performed lyrics that were seen as progressive in their era, speaking directly to working-class women who felt like they weren’t being given a voice. They had at least one—Parton’s. —JR 96. Cecilia Payne

Constance Baker Motley was one of the most influential and least-known activists of the 20th century. The Civil Rights Queen is the first major biography of her life, which tells the story of the struggles for gender equality and civil rights.Yes, Aly Raisman is a two-time Olympian and winner of six medals, including three gold, in gymnastics. And yes, she’s the athlete behind one of the most difficult tumbling sequences in the sport. But her power on the mat is nothing compared to the power of her voice. Raisman is also the survivor of sexual assault, which she—and hundreds of other female athletes—experienced at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. For Raisman, the abuse began when she was 16 and continued for years. When Raisman faced her abuser in court, she told Nassar, “Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time, are now a force and you are nothing … We have our voices, and we are not going anywhere.” Commodore Grace M. Hopper photographed in 1984. / James S. Davis, United States Navy, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain Women have made a name for themselves as travel writers relatively early on. I like the fact that you have a broad range of travel journals from the four mountaineers in the late 19th century (18), "Emily in Paris" in the early 20th century (80) or the travels of three Edwardian women to East Asia (82) - each very different no doubt, but what did they have in common? Because most men were already on the front line, they had no choice but to recruit women. Thirty-nine women applied, leaving their families and everything they knew to become saboteurs in France.

TR: My absolute favourite piece is actually an anti-suffrage item (something I don’t say very often!) - the satirical “1981” handkerchief (65), published in 1881, which shows the “terrible” outcome of women’s emancipation in 100 years: female judges, policewomen, scientists, athletes, and academics, to name but a few. What a joy to see all those careers now open to women! She is known for her brave fight for equal pay, which lead her to become the director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project where she argued anti-sex discrimination cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. She then writes about her time as a Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse serving in France and Malta in the war which cost her brother, her fiance, and their two best friends’ lives. When her mother tragically died when Ginsburg was young, her mother’s intelligence inspired her feminism, and her intellect and drive took her to Cornell University.

A secret agency, the Special Operations Executive (SOE), whose spies were specially trained for war. There are some real landmarks included like Charlotte Lennox's work of Shakespeare criticism, which comes from the library of the first known major female book collector in the UK, Mary Richardson Currer (95), but also Nancy Cunard's Negro Anthology from 1934 (44), Mary Butt's Armed with Madness from 1928 making her one of the most important modernist authors of the interwar years (35) and one of the most recent works included, Reni Eddo-Lodge's Why I Am No Longer Talking to White People About Race, an annotated copy from 2017 (56). How did you go about choosing them for the catalogue? A patent drawing for Margaret E. Knight's paper bag machine, 1871. / National Archives and Records Administration, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

EW: One of the best things about working on interdisciplinary catalogues like this is what you learn. I was familiar with Berners, Bradstreet, and Bochořáková-Dittrichová, but not with Bonhomme and Bryher. Plus, during your research you come across a whole host of new names – people who influenced them, people whom they influenced, people who could challenge them for the title of “first” in that field – and the wants list grows... As a schoolgirl, Sophie Scholl joined the League of German Girls along with her peers, but later grew skeptical. While at the University of Munich, she joined the Weiße Rose (White Rose), a protest group her brother Hans had started. The rebel students wrote and distributed leaflets urging the public to resist the Nazi regime. The two Scholl siblings and one other White Rose member were caught on February 18 and arrested for treason. The three were beheaded by guillotine just four days later. But Scholl’s belief in her mission never wavered: Years later, Scholl’s cellmate recalled that before her death, Scholl said, “Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go ... What does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” —KW 111. Mary SeacoleThe range of women were reasonable. This comes in the form of women of colour such as Mary Seacole and Benazir Bhutto, but also in their occupations. Politicians, fashion designers, entertainers, activists, scientists and athletes are included with equal respect. Today, we think it’s a given that your family and community shape the person you become. That once-revolutionary concept was defined and popularized by the world-famous anthropologist Margaret Mead. Before graduating from Columbia University, Mead traveled to Samoa in 1925 to investigate a question of human nature: Was adolescence a struggle due to biology, or because of cultural influences? She spent nine months observing Indigenous society and concluded in Coming of Age in Samoa, her bestselling 1928 book, that culture largely determined one’s adolescent experience. The book was a sensation thanks to its frank descriptions of sexuality, and launched Mead into a long career. Just as important as her scientific work, Mead was an outspoken advocate for women’s equality, racial equality, sexual freedom, and the environment. —KL 86. Maryam Mirzakhani Testament of Youth is an autobiography of Vera Brittain’s life from 1900-1925. She first writes about growing up in Edwardian Britain as she struggled to convince her parents of her right to go to university. Fannie Lou Hamer, American civil rights leader, at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. / Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons History is not always what is seems—regardless of what even the most robust textbooks might say. Take, for example, the work of Rosalind Franklin: The British scientist whose 1952 research was integral to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, but who had her research swiped by male colleagues who announced their"discovery" to the world—and won a Nobel Prize for it—without giving Franklin any of the credit.

Mary Seacole was a natural born healer. Though she’s often referred to as the first nurse practitioner, she had no formal training in nursing—because she lived in a time where no formal institutions for such education existed. Even if they had, it’s doubtful that Seacole, who was born in Jamaica in 1805, would have been welcome; as the daughter of a Jamaican mother and a Scottish father, Seacole dealt with prejudice throughout her life because of her mixed race. But that didn’t stop her from offering a hand when she could. Jane Jacobs at a press conference in 1961. / Phil Stanziola, Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons // Public DomainWe have women to thank for many of the biggest and best contributions to society—and these inspiring and influential female figures paved the way. Over the years, these trailblazers have worked tirelessly in their own ways to make the world a better place and shape the course of history, whether they were on the front lines of important protests, representing their country at the Olympics, or inspiring fellow women to speak their own minds. They have all brought their innovative beliefs and talents to life with dedication, passion, and plenty of hard work. But for aspiring Asian American figure skaters across the country, seeing themselves represented atop an Olympic podium had a power of its own. And as Yamaguchi told The Washington Post in 2022, “I didn’t go away.” She started touring with Stars on Ice, and co-creator Scott Hamilton (a fellow Olympic gold medalist) credited her “great, incredible capacity to draw [people]” with doubling the number of shows on the schedule. She’s written children’s books, designed activewear, and appeared in movies like Disney Channel’s Go Figure (2005). She also founded an organization, Always Dream, to promote children’s literacy.