Buzz
Although figures like Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Susan B. Anthony are household names, history is brimming with incredible women who remain largely unknown. Whether due to the biased perspectives of past historians or the simple oversight of their achievements during their lifetimes, many remarkable women have not been given the recognition they truly deserve.
Countless women have shaped the world for the better, yet these 10 stand out as some of the most influential. While many of them may be unfamiliar to you, each one has made an indelible impact. Presented in no specific order, these women are honored equally for their outstanding accomplishments.
10. Jovita Idar
Long before the United States even considered granting women the right to vote, Jovita Idar was already challenging a patriarchal system that oppressed her for both her gender and her heritage. Born in Laredo, Texas, to Mexican immigrant parents, Idar grew up in an era and place that was far from welcoming to Mexican Americans.
In the early stages of her career, Idar became a teacher, only to become frustrated by the lack of resources that hindered her ability to educate effectively. Recognizing the limitations of her role, she shifted her focus and became a journalist to amplify her voice.
As a journalist, she tackled issues like inequality and segregation within her community. She was also a strong advocate for causes that aimed to give women a stronger voice in politics, and she fiercely criticized policies she considered unjust.
While working for the newspaper El Progreso, Idar publicly condemned President Wilson’s decision to send troops to the southern border. This drew the ire of the US Army and Texas Rangers, who later attempted to silence the paper.
Undeterred, Idar stood her ground, blocking their entry by standing in the doorway. Though the newspaper was eventually shut down, her unyielding stance against the armed Texas Rangers became a powerful symbol of resistance for both women and Mexican Americans nationwide.
9. Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm made history with numerous groundbreaking achievements throughout her political career. She became the first African-American woman to be elected to the United States Congress, representing New York's 12th Congressional District. She held this position for seven terms from 1969 to 1983.
Never one to limit her ambitions, Chisholm made history once again as the first Black woman to seek the nomination for president from a major political party in 1972. She also became the first woman to contend for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
Chisholm’s tenure in Congress solidified her reputation as a champion for the people. She fought tirelessly for initiatives like the abolition of the draft, the introduction of a minimum wage for domestic workers, and the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Her legacy is often credited with helping to 'pave the way' for the 2008 Democratic presidential race, which saw an African American man face off against a woman. Regardless of the outcome, a new historical milestone was set. As we know, the results of the primary ultimately led to the establishment of the first African-American presidency in the United States.
8. Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in 1797, into the bonds of slavery. She escaped from her enslaved life after giving birth to her daughter in 1826.
She had to leave her son behind but fought to get him back, making history in 1828 when she became the first black woman to win a lawsuit for the custody of her child. Her son, Peter, had been illegally sold to Alabama after New York's emancipation laws were passed.
She continued her work for many years, and in 1843, she adopted the name Sojourner Truth and joined the Methodist faith. During this period, she became a fierce abolitionist, a proponent of pacifism, and a passionate supporter of the women's rights movement. It was during this time that she encountered influential figures such as Frederick Douglass, whose work shaped her own efforts.
In 1850, Sojourner Truth published her memoir, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave. The following year, she delivered her iconic speech, 'Ain’t I a Woman,' at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention. Her words resonated deeply, leaving a lasting legacy within both the women's rights and abolitionist movements.
She was honored as one of the women whose efforts played a key role in influencing the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Additionally, she will be featured on the back of the $10 bill, which is set to be released in 2020.
7. Huda Sha’arawi
Huda Sha’arawi was born into an affluent family in Upper Egypt. Her father, Muhammad Sultan, was the first president of the Egyptian Representative Council, which ensured she grew up in comfort and privilege.
While she enjoyed a privileged lifestyle, as a woman in 19th-century Egypt, she was expected to live confined either at home or in a harem. After marrying her cousin and later separating, she found a sense of independence and pursued her education. This path led her to feminism, where she became one of the first women to publicly remove her veil. Within a decade, most Egyptian women followed her lead.
Sha’arawi hosted women’s groups in her home, bringing women into the public sphere, an act that was unheard of at the time. In 1919, she led the first women’s street demonstration during the Egyptian Revolution and was elected president of the Wafdist Women’s Central Committee.
Although many of her demands were not met by the government in her lifetime, her advocacy for women’s rights laid the foundation for future advancements for Egyptian women. She is remembered as one of the earliest pioneers of feminism and women’s rights in Egypt, honored by Arab women across the globe.
6. Lilian Bland
While Amelia Earhart is widely recognized, few recall the remarkable achievements of Lilian Bland. She was one of the first women in history to design, build, and pilot her own airplane.
In 1910, at a time when airplanes were a rare sight, Lilian became captivated by flying after receiving a postcard from her uncle in Paris. Driven by determination, she built a biplane glider, which she humorously named Mayfly. The glider worked, but her goal was to achieve powered flight, much like the Wright Brothers. She ordered a two-stroke engine, which arrived before the fuel tank, but that didn’t stop her.
In a true display of resourcefulness, she fashioned a makeshift fuel tank from an empty whiskey bottle and her deaf aunt’s ear trumpet. Although it didn’t work, her persistence eventually paid off. Once the proper fuel tank arrived, she became the first woman to fly an aircraft in Ireland.
Her father disapproved of her flying ambitions and tried to entice her with an offer to buy her a car. This compromise worked, and she taught herself to drive. Later, she ran a car dealership in Belfast and became the first Ford agent in Northern Ireland.
Lilian Bland was always ahead of her time, but it was her passion for flying that proved women’s capacity for innovation. Her trailblazing efforts inspired others across the globe to pursue greatness.
5. Margaret Hamilton
While most people are familiar with Neil Armstrong, fewer are aware of Margaret Hamilton, the woman behind the software that helped put men on the Moon in 1969. Hamilton served as the director of the Software Engineering Division at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, where she led the development of the onboard flight software used by the Apollo space program.
Without her contributions, NASA’s mission to the Moon would have been impossible. Her work was recognized by President Barack Obama, who awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
Later in her career, Margaret Hamilton founded and became the CEO of Hamilton Technologies, Inc. The company went on to create the Universal Systems Language, a key development that advanced system and software design.
Hamilton is credited with over 130 published papers and is the woman who coined the term “software engineering,” a field that remains predominantly male. She is considered one of the leading pioneers in computer science and is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures behind the success of the Apollo missions.
4. Roza Shanina
Roza Georgiyevna Shanina was a Soviet sniper with 59 confirmed kills during World War II. She enlisted in the military in 1941, motivated by the death of her brother.
After volunteering for military service, she became a sharpshooter on the front lines, a role that was typically off-limits to women. While not the first female sniper, she is often regarded as the most skilled in terms of accuracy and the number of kills in combat. During the Battle of Vilnius, she alone achieved 12 kills and mastered the technique of doublets, hitting two targets with a single shot.
She became the first female Soviet sniper to earn the Order of Glory, a prestigious award given for exceptional bravery in the face of enemy forces. In 1944, a Canadian newspaper dubbed her the “unseen terror of East Prussia” for her remarkable feats.
Shanina died in combat while heroically covering a wounded artillery commander, saving him from further harm. She is revered in Russia as a national hero, especially considering the era when women were rarely assigned combat roles, and female snipers were often removed from battle. Yet, her skills and achievements speak volumes.
3. Hedy Lamarr
You’ve likely heard of Hedy Lamarr, the famous Hollywood actress once hailed as “the most beautiful woman in the world.” However, her true legacy lies beyond her glamorous film career.
Lamarr was also an inventor, and her groundbreaking work played a crucial role in the technology you may be using right now to read this article. During World War II, she contributed to the development of frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology for radio signals, which was intended to improve torpedo guidance.
While torpedoes themselves weren’t new, they were vulnerable to jamming, until Lamarr's innovation was introduced. Sadly, the navy didn’t acknowledge her work until the 1960s, but by then, it had already been integrated into their communications systems. The technology she pioneered laid the foundation for modern innovations like cell phones, Bluetooth, CDMA, and Wi-Fi.
Her inventions forever altered the world, earning her a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014. While her Hollywood career remains significant, Lamarr’s contributions to science and technology deserve recognition beyond the silver screen.
2. Belva Ann Lockwood
Long before women gained the right to vote in the United States, trailblazers like Belva Ann Lockwood were already fighting for women’s rights. Lockwood earned her law degree and became one of the earliest women to practice law in the U.S.
Though she wasn’t the very first woman to practice law, Lockwood became the first to successfully petition Congress in 1879, gaining permission to argue cases before the United States Supreme Court. At a time when women were not even permitted to vote, she stood before the highest court in the land—an honor few lawyers ever experience.
Lockwood made history by running for president of the United States in 1884 and 1888 as the candidate of the National Equal Rights Party. Although she did not win either election, she made history as the first woman to be listed on a national ballot.
Long after her death in 1917, Lockwood's contributions have been recognized. Her image has been immortalized in ship figureheads, and she has been featured on United States Postal Service stamps. Several ships have borne her name, and in 1983, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
1. Niloofar Rahmani
Before the US and its allies intervened in Afghanistan in 2001, women were severely restricted in what they could do. They were banned from pursuing education beyond the age of eight, could not hold public office, were required to have an escort when leaving the house, and had little freedom in daily life.
Since the Taliban's fall, Niloofar Rahmani has made history as the first female fixed-wing air force aviator in Afghanistan. She is also the first woman to serve as a pilot in the Afghan military. Despite receiving death threats alongside her family, Rahmani has continued to forge ahead with her groundbreaking career.
Rahmani's determination and achievements as the first woman to fly an aircraft in the Afghan military have earned her international recognition. In 2015, she was honored with the International Women of Courage Award by the US State Department.
After gaining international recognition, the threats against Rahmani escalated, prompting her to stay in the US. In 2018, she sought and was granted asylum in the United States. She now aims to pursue a career as a military pilot in the United States Air Force.
