Famous Female Historical Figures (1400-Present)

## Mary Tudor I

Nation: England

Contribution: Took the English throne in 1553, married Philip II of Spain. Known for burning 300 Protestants, earning her the title "Bloody Mary". Died in 1558, ending Catholic restoration in England.

## Saint Teresa of Avila

Nation: Spain

Contribution: Spanish mystic who experienced mystical visions claiming union of her soul with God. Founded the Carmelite Order and worked to foster mystic experiences.

## Elizabeth Tudor I

Nation: England

Contribution: Became leader of the Protestant nations of Europe. Known for the Elizabethan Religious Settlement (1559)—a compromise between Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist beliefs.

## Judith Leyster

Nation: Netherlands

Contribution: First female member of the painting Guild of Saint Luke.

## Maria Merian

Nation: Netherlands

Contribution: Dutch entomologist in the early 18th century, authored Metamorphosis of the Insects of Surinam.

## Maria Winkelmann

Nation: Germany

Contribution: German astronomer; married the foremost astronomer in Germany and discovered a comet.

## Catherine the Great

Nation: Russia

Contribution: Austrian monarch who modernized the military and expanded the empire. Known for the War of the Austrian Succession and as an autocrat aiming to reform Russia according to Enlightenment ideals. Advocated for the questioning of serfdom, torture, capital punishment, and equality for all.

## Mary Astell

Nation: England

Contribution: English aristocrat advocating for women’s education and equality in marriage. Authored Serious Proposal to the Ladies.

## Mary Wollstonecraft

Nation: England

Contribution: Philosopher and founder of modern European feminism, argued for women's rights.

## Marie-Therese De Geoffrin

Nation: France

Contribution: Welcomed encyclopedists and financially supported those excluded from the royal court.

## Marie Antoinette

Nation: Austria/France

Contribution: Austrian princess who became Queen of France after her marriage to Louis XVI.

## Flora Tristan

Nation: France

Contribution: Advocated for absolute equality and socialist, feminist transformation.

## Mary Shelley

Nation: England

Contribution: Romantic author, known for writing Frankenstein.

## Elizabeth Blackwell

Nation: England/United States

Contribution: Gained one of the first medical degrees for women in medicine from Geneva College, New York.

## Berthe Morisot

Nation: France

Contribution: Artist, known for her piece Young Girl by the Window, which fetched the highest price at an impressionist exhibition.

## Florence Nightingale

Nation: England

Contribution: Efforts during the Crimean War, founder of modern nursing.

## Clara Barton

Nation: United States

Contribution: Noted for her efforts during the American Civil War and for founding the American Red Cross.

## Maria Montessori

Nation: Italy

Contribution: First Italian woman to receive a medical degree and established a school for mentally handicapped children. Influential in childhood education—Montessori schools spread in Europe and the U.S.

## Marie Curie

Nation: France

Contribution: Discovered the element radium which gave off radioactive rays from within the atom itself, showing that electrons and protons behaved randomly.

## Emmeline Pankhurst

Nation: England

Contribution: Created the Women’s Social and Political Union, used media and publicity stunts to spotlight the women’s suffrage movement.

## Emily Davidson

Nation: England

Contribution: Suffragist who died by throwing herself in front of a king's horse at the Epsom Derby horse race.

## Amalie Sieveking

Nation: Germany

Contribution: Created the Female Association for the Care of the Poor in Germany; a pioneer in women's higher education and nursing.

## Hannah Hoch

Nation: Germany

Contribution: Only female member of the Berlin Dada club, known for using photomontages to critique fashion styles of the "new woman."

## Virginia Wolfe

Nation: England

Contribution: 20th-century modernist author, noted for works such as Mrs. Dalloway and Jacob's Room.

## Simone de Beauvoir

Nation: France

Contribution: Authored The Second Sex, argued that women were defined by their differences from men and faced second-class status.

## Betty Friedan

Nation: United States

Contribution: Authored The Feminine Mystique; analyzed issues facing middle-class American women in the 1950s and argued for women's equality.

## Grace Hopper

Nation: United States

Contribution: American naval officer who invented COBOL, enabling computers to respond to words as well as numbers.

## Margaret Thatcher

Nation: Britain

Contribution: First female Prime Minister of Great Britain, known for her policies of "Thatcherism"—aiming to lower taxes, limit social welfare, and curb inflation.

## Mary Robinson

Nation: Ireland

Contribution: First female president of Ireland in 1990.

## Edith Cresson

Nation: France

Contribution: First Prime Minister of France from 1991 to 1992.

## Angela Merkel

Nation: Germany

Contribution: First female German chancellor in 2005, known for pursuing health care reforms and a new energy policy.