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So many of the social life's aspects have changed for women in the years. Starting with the right for education and ending with gender equality - all of this didn't happen overnight, and many badass women had to sacrifice their personal lives for a greater cause. Women's Equality Day celebrated on August 26th in the US, commemorates the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote. It was certified in 1920, despite being introduced many years earlier in 1878, and since 1972, every president has published a proclamation for Women's Equality Day. Only because of the strong women in history we have reached this point in our society.
Starting from female Samurais in the early 1800s and ending with Stephanie Kwolek, who invented Kevlar (yes, a woman invented that!) this list of women who changed the world will shed some light on the 'weaker' gender. And without some of these pioneers, we wouldn't be this advanced in such spheres as neuro-surgeries, chemistry, and even programming.
Scroll down and take a look at our list of famous women in history. And, ladies, you might get inspired by these women in history to reach for your goals, no matter how impossible they might seem.
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#1
A Woman Hitting A Neo-Nazi With Her Handbag In Växjö, Sweden (13 April, 1985)
#2
Marie Curie Was A Polish Physicist And Chemist Famous For Her Work On Radioactivity And Twice A Winner Of The Nobel Prize
#3
Kathrine Switzer Was The First Woman To Run The Boston Marathon (1967). When Organizer Jock Semple Realised A Woman Was Running He Tried To Tackle Her
#4
Margaret Heafield Was A Director Of Software Engineering For Nasa's Apollo Space Program (1969)
#5
Russia-born Valentina Tereshkova Became The First Woman In Space Aboard The Vostok 6 (1963)
#6
One Of The Onna-Bugeisha, Female Samurai Warrior Of The Upper Bushi (Samurai), Class In Feudal Japan (Late 1800's)
#7
Amelia Earhart Was The First Female Aviator To Fly Solo Across The Atlantic Ocean (1928)
#9
Komako Kimura, A Prominent Japanese Suffragist Marched On Fifth Avenue In New York City Demanding The Right To Vote (27 October, 1917)
#10
Eliza Leonida Zamfirescu, The First Woman Engineer In The World
Final score:
188points
#11
Rosa Louise Mccauley Parks - Civil Rights Activist
Final score:
164points
#12
Sofia Ionescu-ogrezeanu (25 April 1920 – 21 March 2008) Was A Romanian Neurosurgeon And Is Cons
Final score:
161points
#14
A 106-year-old Woman Who Protected Her Home With A Rifle, In Armenia (1990)
#15
Jane Goodall, Leading Primatologist And Conservationalist
Final score:
128points
#16
Nadia Comaneci - The First Women To Score A Perfect 10 In Gymnastics At The Olympic Games
Final score:
122points
#17
Ana Aslan (romania) - She Is Considered To Be A Pioneer Of Gerontology And Geriatrics.
Final score:
120points
#18
Maud Stevens Wagner Was The First Known Female Tattoo Artist In The United States (1907)
#20
Sarla Thakral Was First Indian Woman To Fly. She Earned An Aviation Pilot License In 1936 At The Age Of 21 And Flew A Gypsy Moth Solo
#21
Annette Kellerman Promoted Women’s Right To Wear A Fitted One-Piece Bathing Suit (1907). She Was Arrested For Indecency
Final score:
102points
#22
Muslim Woman Covers The Yellow Star Of Her Jewish Neighbor With Her Veil (1941)
#23
Bertha Von Suttner - First Woman Peace Activist And First Woman To Be Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Final score:
93points
#24
Suu Kyi (burma) Was Under House Arrest For 15 Yrs For Her Pre-democracy Campaigning.
Final score:
90points
#25
Marina Ginestà Was A French Veteran Of The Spanish Civil War. This Is Her Most Famous Picture At The Top Of Hotel Colón In Barcelona (21 July, 1936)
#26
Taramon Bibi Is One Of The Two Female Freedom Fighters In Bangladesh
Final score:
79points
#27
Voting Activist Annie Lumpkins At The Little Rock City Jail (10 July, 1961)
#28
The First European Woman Ever To Obtain A License And A Phd In Law From The University Of Paris
Final score:
74points
#29
Ftima El Fihria The Founder Of The First University In The World Fes Morocco
Final score:
73points
#30
Stephanie Kwolek, Inventor Of Kevlar
Final score:
70points
#32
Florence Nightingale:1st Nurse To Teach Basic Sanitation Betwn Patients. 1820-1910 Lady W/ Lamp
Final score:
67points
#34
Maria Teresa De Filippis, First Female Formula 1 Driver (1958)
Final score:
65points
#35
Ellen O'neal, One Of The Greatests Female Freestyle Skateboarders In The World (1970)
#38
Ada Lovelace - First Programmer In History
Final score:
60points
#39
These Four Female Pilots Leaving Their Plane At The Four-Engine School At Lockbourne AAF (Early 1940s)
#40
Jeanne Manford With Her Son Morty, Foreground, Marching In The New York City Gay Pride Parade (1972)
#41
Leola N. King, America's First Female Traffic Cop, Washington D.C. (1918)
#42
Girls Deliver Ice. Heavy Work That Formerly Belonged To Men Only Is Being Done By Girls (16 September, 1918)
#43
Milunka Savić Was A Serbian War Heroine Who May Be The Most-decorated Female Combatant Ever.
Final score:
51points
#44
Smith College Class Of 1902 Basketball Team - Senda Berenson introduced and adapted the rules for women's basketball
#45
Angela Davis (b. January 26, 1944), American Political Activist, Scholar, Author & Feminist.
Final score:
46points
#46
Kate Sheppard, Leader Of Womens Suffrage In New Zealand, The 1st Country To Give Women The Vote
Final score:
46points
#47
Hattie Larlham Pioneered Specialized Care For Developmentally Disabled Children.
Final score:
44points
#48
Claudette Colvin - The First Woman To Refuse To Give Up Her Seat On A Montgomery, Al Bus
Final score:
43points
#49
Billie Jean King. Us Tennis Legend & Became The First Prominent Female Athlete To Come Out.
Final score:
41points
#50
Mileva Maric, Serbian Physicist, Einsteins Wife. Worthy "his" Nobel Prize.
Final score:
41points
#51
Sybil Ludington, Alerted Colonial Forces Of The British, Riding Twice The Distance Of Revere.
Final score:
40points
#52
Eliska Junkova: Czech Automobile Racer In Her Bugatti. One Of The Greatest Grand Prix Drivers.
Final score:
39points
#53
Political Activist Dr. Wangari Maathai Founded The Green Belt Movement, 1977.
Final score:
38points
#55
Among The Prisoners Taken On Walcheren Was This Dutch Woman With Her Husband, A German Solder, Whom She Refused To Leave (1944)
#56
Rachl Carson. Author Of "silent Spring" (1962) And Mother Of The Enviromental Movement
Final score:
36points
#57
Irena Sendlerowa - Woman Who Smuggled Approximately 2,500 Jewish Children Out Of The Warsaw Ghett
Final score:
36points
#58
Julia Morgan, Architect, 1st Woman To Graduate From The Ecole Des Beaux Arts De Paris
Final score:
33points
#59
Ada Lovelace: Wrote The First Algorithm Designed For Computation In 1840. First Female Coder
Final score:
33points
#60
Smaranda Brăescu, Romanian parachuting Pioneer, Former Multiple World Record Holder (1932)
Final score:
29points
#61
Henryka Krzywonos - First Stopped Her Tram In 1980 To Start An Anti-communist Strike In Poland
Final score:
29points
#62
Ra. Kartini, B 1879, The First Pioneer For Education For Indonesian Girls And Women's Rights
Final score:
28points
#63
Commander Eileen Collins, First Female Space Shuttle Pilot And Mission Commander.
Final score:
26points
#64
Women Workers Employed As Wipers In The Roundhouse Having Lunch In Their Rest Room (1943)
#65
Mary Harris Jones "mother Jones" Organized Mine Workers Against Mine Owners For Labor Rights
Final score:
25points
#66
This Woman Worker Pushes Back Her Helmet During A Moment's Pause From Her Welding Job At The Richmond Shipyard In California (1943)
#67
Muazzez Ilmiye Cig - Turkish Archaeologist, Assyriologist And Sumerologist (born 1914)
Final score:
22points
#69
Marie Curie, Polish-french Physicist And Chemist. 1st Person To Receive 2 Nobel Prizes.
Final score:
20points
#70
Sabiha Gokcen - First Turkish Female Combat Pilot And A World Pioneer, Aged 23 (1936)
Final score:
19points
#72
Irom Sharmila,activist From Manipur(india), On Hunger Strike Since 2000 Against Armed Forcesact
Final score:
18points
#74
Khertek Anchimaa-toka, First Elected Female Head Of State In The Modern World, In 1940.
Final score:
13points
#76
Ayesha Farooq, The First War-ready Fighter Pilot Of Pakistan.
Final score:
11points
#77
Rita Levi-montalcini - Italian Nobel Laureate Honoured For Her Work In Neurobiology
Final score:
11points
#78
Ida B Wells - Prominent Journalist Who Reported On Lynchings In The United Sates.
Final score:
7points
#81
Simone De Beauvoir, French Feminist, Who Wrote In 1971 "the Manifesto Of The 343"
Final score:
6points
#82
Titled 'mother Of The Nation',fatima Jinnah Also Struggled For The Pakistan Movement.
Final score:
5points
#83
Winnie Mandela -south African Activist And Politician
Final score:
4points
#84
Irena Sendlerowa - Woman Who Smuggled Approximately 2,500 Jewish Children Out Of The Warsaw Ghett
Final score:
3points
#85
This 64-years Young Lady Had Swum Unassisted 180 Kilometers In The Ocean Without A Shark Cage.
Final score:
3points
#86
Christina Noble:irish Children's Rights Campaigner&founder Of Christina Noble Foundation.
Final score:
2points
#87
Countess Constance Markievicz: Irish Revolutionary Nationalist, Suffragette & Socialist.
Final score:
1point
#88
Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) One Of The First [irish] Woman Realist Novelist In Europe.
![Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) One Of The First [irish] Woman Realist Novelist In Europe.](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/maria-edgeworth__700.jpg "Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) One Of The First [irish] Woman Realist Novelist In Europe.")
Final score:
1point
#89
Hanna Sheehy-skeffington (1877-1946) Irish Suffragette, Socialist And Nationalist.
Final score:
1point
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What do you think ?
IsabellaColalilloKates 9 years ago
Any woman who stands up for herself changes the world of male dominated structures.
Nawny 9 years ago
I think that some people are taking the "changed the world" aspect a bit too literally. I agree, some contributions seem much less consequential than others (skateboarding), but changing the world takes baby steps and standing on the shoulders of other great women. Each of these women served as inspiration for other women, and in doing so changed the world in their own way, be it major or minor. Being the first woman to do ANYTHING is an achievement in this world.
KellicAnonymousTiger 8 years ago
A.k.a. a single grain of sand does not make a beach, but enough can change the tide.
Load More Replies...
IsabellaColalilloKates 9 years ago
Any woman who stands up for herself changes the world of male dominated structures.
Nawny 9 years ago
I think that some people are taking the "changed the world" aspect a bit too literally. I agree, some contributions seem much less consequential than others (skateboarding), but changing the world takes baby steps and standing on the shoulders of other great women. Each of these women served as inspiration for other women, and in doing so changed the world in their own way, be it major or minor. Being the first woman to do ANYTHING is an achievement in this world.
KellicAnonymousTiger 8 years ago
A.k.a. a single grain of sand does not make a beach, but enough can change the tide.
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