Quick Facts Born: December 1, 1813 • West Grove, Pennsylvania Died: April 18, 1872 (aged 58) • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Known For: First woman dean of a medical school in the U.S. Champion for women’s medical education Founder of the Woman’s Hospital of Philadelphia...
Quick Facts Born: February 27, 1890 • Barbados, West Indies Died: November 29, 1989 (aged 99) • Washington, D.C. Known For: Pioneering advocate for racial equality in nursing Executive Secretary of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) Led the...
Quick Facts Born: 1098 • Bermersheim, Holy Roman Empire Died: September 17, 1179 (aged 81) • Rupertsberg, Holy Roman Empire Known For: Medieval visionary, theologian, and natural healer One of the first recognized female composers in Western music history A pioneer in...
Quick Facts: Born: September 12, 1906 • Eutaw, Alabama, USA Died: November 12, 2004 (aged 98) • Eutaw, Alabama, USA Known For: Delivering over 3,500 babies with no maternal deaths Being one of the first official midwives in Greene County, Alabama Advocating for...
Quick Facts Born: September 1656 • Bentheim, Germany Died: October 30, 1746 (aged 90) • Dokkum, Friesland, Netherlands Known For: Detailed documentation of over 4000 deliveries in her memoirs. Pioneering midwifery practices in the 17th and 18th centuries. High...
Quick Facts Born: May 12, 1910 • Cairo, Egypt Died: July 29, 1994 (aged 84) • Shipston-on-Stour, England Known For: Pioneering work in X-ray crystallography, determining the structures of penicillin, vitamin B12, and insulin. Becoming the third woman to receive the...
Quick Facts Born: August 31, 1870 • Chiaravalle, Italy Died: May 6, 1952 (aged 81) • Noordwijk, Netherlands Known For: Developing the Montessori Method of education, emphasizing hands-on, child-centered learning. Becoming one of the first women in Italy to earn a...
Quick Facts Born: April 3, 1934 • London, England Known For: Pioneering research on wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute Advocate for animal welfare and environmental conservation Legacy: Transformed our understanding of animal...
Quick Facts Born: May 9, 1921 • Forchtenberg, Germany Died: February 22, 1943 (aged 21) • Munich, Germany Known For: Co-founding the White Rose resistance group Writing and distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets Becoming a symbol of courage and moral conviction Legacy: An...
Quick Facts Born: February 4, 1924 • Pensacola, Florida Died: May 3, 1999 (aged 75) • Milton, Florida Known For: Pioneering midwife and advocate for women’s health Author of Why Not Me?, chronicling her journey as a midwife and advocate for racial equality in...
Quick Facts Born: c. 1563 • Paris, France Died: 1636 (aged ~73) • Paris, France Known For: First official midwife to the French royal court Author of one of the earliest textbooks on midwifery, Obstetrics Observations Pioneering advocate for formal education and...
Quick Facts Born: September 11, 1881 • Rock Island, Illinois, USA Died: December 27, 1925 (aged 44) • Chicago, Illinois, USA Known For: Advocacy for maternal and child health Early leader in the U.S. Children's Bureau Pioneer in promoting the importance of prenatal...
Quick Facts Born: August 31, 1842 • London, England Died: June 10, 1906 (aged 63) • New York City, USA Known For: First woman to graduate from the prestigious École de Médecine in Paris Author of The Question of Rest for Women During Menstruation, revolutionizing...
Quick Facts Born: December 6, 1730 • Kaufbeuren, Germany Died: February 18, 1807 (aged 76) • Offenbach, Germany Known For: First German woman to publish a novel, History of Lady Sophie Sternheim Early advocate for women’s education and independence One of the first...
Quick Facts Born: September 15, 1940 • Little Rock, Arkansas Died: October 11, 2024 • San Antonio, Texas Known For: Founding Holy Family Services, a community clinic in the Rio Grande Valley Induction into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for her service to impoverished...
Quick Facts Elizabeth Blackwell Born: February 3, 1821 • Bristol, England Died: May 31, 1910 (aged 89) • Hastings, England Known For: The first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, advocate for women in medicine and public health Emily Blackwell Born:...
Quick Facts Born: February 17, 1881 • Memphis, Tennessee Died: May 16, 1965 (aged 84) • Hyden, Kentucky Known For: Founding the Frontier Nursing Service Championing midwifery and rural healthcare access in the U.S. Mary Breckinridge’s legacy is defined by her...
Quick Facts Born: November 7, 1867 • Warsaw, Poland Died: July 4, 1934 (aged 66) • Passy, France Known For: Pioneering research on radioactivity First woman to win a Nobel Prize Only person to win Nobel Prizes in two scientific fields (Physics and Chemistry)...
Quick Facts Born: June 7, 1909 • Westfield, New Jersey Died: August 7, 1974 (aged 65) • New York City, New York Known For: Developing the Apgar Score, a quick assessment tool for newborn health Pioneering the field of neonatology and advocating for maternal and infant...
Quick Facts Born: March 8, 1940 • Marshalltown, Iowa Known For: Founding The Farm Midwifery Center Authoring Spiritual Midwifery Developing the "Gaskin Maneuver" for shoulder dystocia Pioneering the modern home birth movement Advocating for maternal rights and...