Did you know that not so long ago women were not allowed to participate in sports competitions? Or vote and work out? For a long time, women were assigned a domestic role for the exclusive care of children and the home. There is still a long way to go before a gender-equal society can be considered, but much has changed thanks to the efforts of these and other pioneering and determined women.
1. Amelia Earhart (1897 - 1939)
The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean
A great symbol of aviation. In addition to being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, Amelia was also the first to receive the Distinguished Flight Cross, the military decoration awarded for acts of heroism or extraordinary achievement awarded to pilots in the US Air Forces. The pilot disappeared into the Pacific Ocean while taking a round-the-world flight.
2. Joan of Arc (1412 - 1431)
Military Chief of the 100 Years' War in France
With very simple origins, the French Joan of Arc went from being an illiterate peasant to the head of an army during the 100 Years' War, quite an achievement for her short life. One of France's leading martyrs, she was executed as a heretic in 1431 and, centuries later, was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1920. Today she is considered a saint.
3. Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013)
The first woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Known as the “Iron Lady”, Thatcher was the longest-serving prime minister of the 1979th century, having served three terms from 1990 to XNUMX. as the main obstacle in his government the high level of unemployment caused by the recession.
4. Rosa Parks (1913 - 2005)
Activist symbol of the black civil rights movement in the USA
Rosa Parks became the pivot of the Montgomery bus boycott, which ended the city's racial segregation law on public transportation. In the 1950s, many US cities maintained this law, which divided seats between “whites” and “people of color”, a term used at the time to refer to people of African descent. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person and was arrested. The case had repercussions on the boycott that lasted 381 days, with the black community refusing to use transport until segregation was ended.
5. Yoani Sanchez (1975 - )
Cuban journalist
Best known for the articles she has published on her blog Generación Y since 2007, Yoani Sánchez fights for freedom of expression in Cuba. In the country where politics is totally centralized in the Cuban Communist Party, the media also ends up being controlled. Yoani was able to get insider information out of the country and became an important voice for Cuba's rapprochement with the US.
6. Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu (1920 - 2008)
The first neurosurgeon in history
Sofia Ionescu entered the Bucharest medical school and initially studied ophthalmology. However, over time, she began to volunteer to treat Soviet prisoners and began to operate amputation surgeries there. During the 1944 bombings in Bucharest, for lack of available surgeons, she was forced to perform an emergency surgical intervention on a child's brain. From there she dedicated her life to neurosurgery.
7. Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910 - 1997)
Founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity
Albanian naturalized Indian, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu and dedicated her life to caring for the poorest. One of the biggest names when it comes to charity, the Blessed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was canonized in 2016 by Pope Francis. She founded the Congregation Missionaries of Charity which is present in at least 139 countries.
8. Valentina Tereshkova (1937 - )
The first woman to go to space
Not only was she the first woman to go into space, she is still the only one to have flown solo. The Russian Valentina Tereshkova stood out among other candidates with more studies for being an excellent parachutist, something fundamental for the flight with the Vostok VI spacecraft. She received the two highest national decorations, the Order of Lenin and Hero of the Soviet Union. Years later, she entered the political life of the country.
9. Maud Stevens Wagner (1877 - 1961)
The first professional tattoo artist
The first known tattoo artist, Maud Stevens Wagner was a circus acrobat when she met her husband Gus Wagner, from whom she learned the art of tattooing. The expansion of tattooing across the interior of the United States is attributed to the two.
10. Anita Garibaldi (1821 - 1849)
Combatant of the Farroupilha Revolution and the Unification of Italy
The “Heroine of the Two Worlds” was a brave warrior who fell in love and fought alongside the Italian guerrilla Giuseppe Garibaldi for Gaúcha independence in Brazil and for the Risorgimento, an Italian unification movement. She played a key role during the battles and her drive and determination inspired several tributes to the places where she passed, with at least two cities in Santa Catarina named in her honor: Anita Garibaldi and Anitápolis.
11. Bertha Von Suttner (1843 - 1914)
The first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize
Author of the novel Die Waffen nieder! Down with Guns!, Bertha Von Suttner brought together in this work her two greatest passions: literature and the fight for disarmament. The writer was involved in the organization of the first International Peace Congress in Vienna and was always present in subsequent editions. She published a journal devoted to Peace of the same name as the novel and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905.
12. Marie Curie (1867 - 1934)
Two-time winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Polish scientist was the first woman to be buried in the Pantheon in Paris on her own merits. No wonder, since she was a pioneer in several aspects: she was the one who discovered two elements of the periodic table (Polonium and Radium), who discovered and coined the theory of relativity, was the first professor admitted to the University of Paris and the first person to receive the Nobel Prize twice.
13. Kathrine Switzer (1947 - )
The first woman to participate in a marathon
Kathrine Switzer defied the rules and became the first woman to run in a marathon in 1967 in Boston, when only men were allowed to participate in street races in the USA. One of the event directors tried to stop her from running, but was blocked by other competitors, all in front of the cameras. After this achievement, the athlete created the 261 Fearless foundation for the fight for gender equality in sports.
14. Sabiha Gökçen (1913 - 2001)
The first female fighter pilot
Sabiha Gökçen's last name means "belonging or relating to the sky" in Turkish. A very fitting name for Turkey's first female aviator and the world's first female combat pilot. Sabiha Gökçen flew all her life and her last pilot was at 88 years old.
15. Maria da Penha (1945 - )
Leader of women's rights movements
The Maria da Penha Law in defense of victims of domestic violence exists today in Brazil largely because of this woman's struggle to ensure that her aggressor was convicted. Maria da Penha was the victim of serious attacks by her husband that left her paraplegic. This did not stop her from acting to seek justice for her case and creating movements in defense of other victims.
16. Gertrude Ederle (1905 - 2003)
The first woman to swim across the English Channel
At just 12 years old Gertrude Ederle became the youngest person to break a swimming record, and this was just the first. However, what really left her for history was being the first woman to have crossed the English Channel by swimming, having also broken the record on this occasion. Before her, the fastest swimmer had been Enrique Tiraboschi with 16 hours and 33 minutes of crossing. Gertrude made the journey in 14 hours and 34 minutes.
17. Malala Yousafzai (1997 - )
The youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize
Known internationally for her efforts to ensure that Pakistani women and children receive an education, even against the orders of the Taliban regime. Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize when she was just 17 years old, in 2014. Her activism began very early, at just 11 years old she was already writing reports about the Taliban occupation, and at the age of 15 she suffered an attack due to her actions activists.
18. Marsha P. Johnson (1945 - 1992)
Pioneer in the struggle for LGBTQIA+ rights in the West
Activist for the rights of the LGTBQIA+ population and other marginalized minorities in the United States, Marsha P. Johnson marked the history of the movement alongside other emblematic figures such as Sylvia Rae Rivera. In 1969, she became an icon for the community by actively participating in the Stonewall rebellion against the police repression that non-heteronormative people were suffering in New York City.
19. Anne Frank (1929 - 1945)
Symbol against intolerance
Anne Frank's Diary revealed to the world one of the most inhuman stories of the last centuries and continues to be used as an important historical material on the fight against any kind of prejudice. The Jewish Frank family lived in Germany and Austria throughout Hitler's rise in World War II. Through a diary, the young woman honestly and poignantly revealed the events of her life before she died in 1945. Her father was responsible for publishing the diary of the young woman who became one of the most important figures in modern history.
20. Empress Dowager Cixi (1835 - 1908)
Most Powerful Empress in Chinese History
Also known as Tseu-Hi, Empress Dowager Cixi is considered one of the most important female figures in Chinese history, and by extension, one of the most important in Asian history. She was the concubine of Emperor Tongzhi (1856 - 1875) and had her only child with him. When the emperor died, she staged a coup to take over the government. She was known for shaping rebellions, politics and the court of Imperial China for over 50 years.
