Firsts
She became the first African-American woman promoted to principal dancer at the famous American Ballet Theater.
Who is Misty Copeland?
She is an expert on particle physics who became the first female theoretical physicist to receive tenure at Harvard.
Who is Lisa Randall?
She was a painter and sculptor. She is known as the "Mother of American Modernism."
Who is Georgia O'Keeffe?
She was the first woman to chair the powerful Federal Reserve. Forbes ranked her as one of the most powerful women in the world.
Who is Janet Yellen?
She founded the American Red Cross. She was an early advocate for civil rights for African-Americans and voting rights for women.
Who is Clara Barton?
Known as the "First Lady of Song", she was a prolific performer and vocalist.
Who is Ella Fitzgerald?
She was the first female chief of the Cherokee nation.
Who is Wilma Mankiller?
She was the first woman to graduate from Yale University with a doctorate in mathematics.
Who is Grace Murray Hopper?
This woman was a poet and author. She received international fame for her book I know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Who is Maya Angelou?
She was the first Asian-American to be elected to Congress ad the first woman to be elected to Congress from Hawaii.
Who is Patsy Mink?
A co-founder of the NAACP, she lent her considerable speaking and writing skills to the women's rights and suffrage movements.
Who is Ida B. Wells?
Born into slavery, she escaped to freedom with her infant daughter and then went to court to free her son, becoming the first black woman to successfully do so. Her most famous speech was "Ain't I a Woman?"
Who is Sojourner Truth?
She is the youngest person to ever play on the US women's national soccer team, joining at age 15.
Who is Mia Hamm?
One of the nation's leading public health experts, she was the first African-American and the second woman to be surgeon general of the United States.
Who is Joycelyn Elders?
One of the most successful comedians in American history. She was part of the Saturday Night Live cast.
Who is Tina Fey?
She presented arguments to the US Supreme Court in the abortion rights case Roe v. Wade. To this day she remains the youngest person to successfully argue a case to the nation's highest court. She was 27.
Who is Sarah Weddington?
She is the most recognizable leaders of the American feminist movement. She co-founded Ms. magazine.
Who is Gloria Steinem?
She was the first African-American first lady of the United States.
Who is Michelle Obama?
She opened the first birth control clinic in the US and created the American Birth Control League, which later became Planned Parenthood.
Who is Margaret Sanger?
She is best known for her book Silent Spring, which helped to form the modern environmental movement.
Who is Rachel Carson?
One of the most influential philosophers of the last 100 years. She wrote Women and Human Development and Frontiers of Justice.
Who is Martha Nussbaum?
A brilliant and driven leader, she served as the US delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. She was also the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights.
Who is Eleanor Roosevelt?
She served on the board of Planned Parenthood and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Metal. She didn't give up her seat on the bus.
Who is Rosa Parks?
She was an indispensible part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Who is Sacagawea?
She is the first American woman to go into space and is still the youngest American to travel in space.
Who is Sally Ride?
She is the oldest woman to go to space.
Who is Wally Funk?
She was a star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West by age 15. Her talent with a firearm was so incredible that she could hit dimes tossed in the air.
Who is Annie Oakley?
She made history by becoming the first woman to be a major party's nominee for president of the United States. She is a "breaker of glass ceilings."
Who is Hillary Clinton?
She co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was deaf and blind due to a childhood illness.
Who is Helen Keller?
One of the most prominent reformers of the Progressive Era, she was the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She co-founded Hull House.
Who is Jane Addams?