Top 10 Historical Women and the Difference They Made

Jane Austen (1775 –1817)

Jane Austen is known for her realistic life depictions. She wrote six books, including Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, which were transformed into movies and TV shows.

Ada Lovelace (1815 – 1852)

English mathematician Ada Lovelace was the first computer programmer. STEM women celebrate Ada Lovelace Day every second Tuesday in October.

Sojourner Truth (1797 – 1883)

Abolitionist, author, and women's rights advocate Sojourner Truth was one of America's most influential Black women. She was sold into slavery and isolated from her family. 

Florence Nightingale (1820 – 1910)

Florence Nightingale started modern nursing. Florence founded the Nightingale School of Nursing in London in 1860 after persistently treating Crimean War casualties as the “Lady with the Lamp”.

Marie Curie (1867 – 1934)

Polish physicist Marie Curie discovered polonium and radium and coined radioactivity. 

Amelia Earhart (1897 – 1939)

Amelia Earhart was the first American woman to solo cross the Atlantic. She was then the first to fly solo from Hawaii to California.

Anne Frank (1929 – 1945)

Anne Frank, a Holocaust figure, wrote about her life in hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam in her diary. 

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 – 1962)

Eleanor Roosevelt is celebrated more than her FDR marriage. Before, during, and after her longest tenure, Eleanor was a diplomat, humanitarian, and UN representative for civil and women's rights.

Katharine Graham (1917 – 2001)

The Pentagon Papers and Watergate scandal authors undoubtedly come to mind when you hear about them. 

Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014)

The first African-American woman to publish a nonfiction best-seller, Maya Angelou's memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, gave abuse victims hope.

10 OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING WOMEN IN HISTORY