Famous Women You've Probably Never Heard Of

 

In honor of Women's History Month, below is a summary of 20 groundbreaking women you've probably never heard of. If you want to learn more about these fascinating women, click on the name for more information.  Enjoy.  

 

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) – English mathematician and writer and world's first computer programmer.  She was the first to recognize that the machine had capabilities beyond computing. 

 

Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) – American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war and surgeon. First female physician in the U.S. Army and only woman to receive the Medal of Honor. 

 

Maria E. Beasley (1836-1913) – American entrepreneur and inventor. She patented fifteen inventions in the U.S. between 1878-1898, including a foot warmer, an improved life raft, and an anti-derailment device for trains. Her primary success involved barrel-making machines and processes. 

 

Margaret E. Knight (1838-1914) – American inventor with dozens of patents in various fields including a machine to produce flat-bottomed paper bags. 

 

Josephine Cochrane (1839-1913) – American entrepreneur and inventor of the first hand-powered dishwasher which she designed and then assembled with the help of mechanic George Buttons. 

 

Nellie Bly (1864-1922) - Pen name for American investigative journalist Elizabeth Cochran.  Known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days.  And an expose she wrote in 1887 after working undercover as a patient in a mental institution. 

 

Mary Anderson (1866-1953) – American real estate developer, rancher, viticulturist and inventor of the windshield wiper in 1903. 

 

Lilian Bland (1878-1971) – Anglo-Irish journalist and pioneer aviator who in 1910-1911 became one of the first woman to design, build and fly an aircraft. 

 

Mary Ware Dennett (1872-1947) – American women's rights activist and pacifist, and pioneer in the areas of birth control, sex education and women's suffrage. 

 

Frances Perkins (1880-1965) – American politician and worker's rights advocate.  First woman to serve in a presidential cabinet as the United States Secretary of Labor (1933-1945) under FDR. 

 

Jacqueline Cochran (1906-1980) – American pilot and business executive who pioneered women's aviation.  She set numerous records and was the first woman to break the sound barrier on May 18, 1953. 

 

Dorothy Vaughan (1910-2008) – American mathematician and human computer who worked for NACA and NASA.  She became NASA's first black manager. 

 

Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000) – Austro-Hungarian-born American actress and inventor. In 1941 she and avant-garde composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes to counteract the threat of jamming by the Axis powers.  The technology possibly led to the development of GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. 

 

Gertrude B. Elion (1918-1999) – American biochemist and pharmacologist who developed drugs used to fight against AIDS and herpes infection, as well as rejection in organ transplants. 

 

Katherine Johnson (1918-2020) – American mathematician with NASA whose calculations were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. 

 

Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) – British chemist and X-ray crystallographer who played a major role in the discovery of DNA and the understanding of RNA, viruses, coal and graphite. 

 

Stephanie Kwolek (1923-2014) – Polish-American chemist who is known for inventing Kevlar. 

 

Bette Nesmith Graham (1924-1980) – American typist, commercial artist and inventor of typewriter correction fluid (aka liquid paper).  Also mother of musician and producer Michael Nesmith of The Monkees. 

 

Valentina Tereshkova (1937-present) – Russian engineer and former Soviet cosmonaut, who became the first woman in space in 1963. 

 

Patricia Bath (1942-2019) – American scientist, ophthalmologist, academic and inventor of the laser phaco probe that improves the use of lasers to remove cataracts. Also first woman to lead a post-graduate program in ophthalmology and first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for medical purposes. 

 

Any women you want to pay tribute to in the comments? 

 

Resources 

35 Groundbreaking Women From History You Didn't Learn About In School 

20 Things You Might Not Know Were Invented by Women  

51 Female Inventors and Inventions That Changed the World