Biographies of Women in History

Rosalind Franklin was what can only be called an overlooked genius. Although she was not fully credited for the feat at the time, her work led to major breakthroughs in our understanding of DNA. In fact, she took the first X-ray photo of DNA in all of its double helix glory. By the time her former colleagues were being showered with accolades for results they made at least partially based on her findings, Franklin would not be around to see it. Sadly, it’s believed that her use of X-ray equipment gave her terminal cancer, cutting her life short at age 37.

One of the most famous women of the 20th century, Marie Curie was a trailblazer in the truest sense. Known for her discovery of two radioactive elements, radium and polonium, Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. She remains the only woman to win two Nobel Prizes in different sciences.

Rosa Parks was a quiet, dignified African-American woman who, in a world of injustice, decided to politely defy a racist policy. In doing so, she ignited a fire in the soul of a community whose "cup of endurance" would permit not even one more comparatively small injustice. Her case resulted in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, wherein some 40,000 African-Americans crippled the Montgomery transportation industry with their non-violent protest of the racist policy that mandated Parks to give up her seat for white riders.

The original international woman of mystery, Mata Hari is maligned as a spy and a traitor. Having seduced a number of the most powerful men in Europe, she was accused of spying for both Allied and Central Powers during the First World War. Mata Hari’s biography tells a different story. From her remarkable transformation from a captain’s wife and mother in the Dutch East Indies to the most celebrated stage presence in Europe, Mata Hari fought for what she believed in.

Mary Baker Eddy stands unique in our collective remembrances of supposed prophets of the bygone past. She was a girl that quite literally felt a calling at an early age when she thought she heard a supernatural voice call her name. Shortly thereafter, she was intermittently beset with chronic illnesses and remarkable bouts of healing. Whether or not you believe her claims of healing and divine intervention, the story of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, is a riveting one all the same.

Amelia Earhart was a legend - but perhaps an unlikely one at that. You see, Amelia Earhart was not always the dashing heroine that most of us associate with her name. She began life as a rather shy girl, who often found herself having to hide from her troubled upbringing. As her family life spiraled out of control, Amelia Earhart was forced to move from state to state, town to town, never getting the chance to put down roots. The high school she graduated from was one of many she attended, and a caption by her photo for that semester’s yearbook seems to have said it all.

As the sole legitimate child of Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace was the progeny of literary royalty. Many might have naturally expected her to go into the field of her father, but instead of delving into poetry, she delved into the hard sciences of mathematics and analytic thinking. Even so, Ada still had the imagination of a lyricist when writing scientific treatises, at times referring to her own work as nothing short of “poetical science”.

What was Helen Keller’s legacy to the world? Was it the impressive list of firsts that she accomplished as a deaf-blind person? Was it the assistance that she gave to the cause of the handicapped? Was it her numerous writings, her forgotten ideals, her inspirational quotations? Or was it simply her story?

Florence Nightingale is usually thought of for her work in the Crimean War, where, as the “Lady with the Lamp”, she tirelessly nursed wounded soldiers at all hours of the night and day. But while these two years were a significant part of her life, she was also much more.