Hey there, everyone. I hope you are having a wonderful day. :) Despite the dreary weather in Nebraska today, my morning is okay thus far: I’ve got my homemade London Fog, crisp air coming in through my cracked window, and a cozy sweater to chill in.
However, that’s not how the past few days have been. I’ve posted nearly nothing about it on social media; I’ve been trying to figure out how to correctly word things. I’ve been trying to figure out how to vent my utter frustration (that’s a light word) with what’s happening in the world right now, but, at the same time, not to add to the negativity surrounding it as I do so. Nothing felt right. Everything I was spitting out just made me sadder, so I didn’t want to throw it out into the universe.
Then, while listening to my favorite podcast (Not Your Father’s History, available on Spotify and iTunes and likely other places; go listen to it!), I hit it. To somewhat combat what’s happening in our world right now—and, frankly, what’s been happening for years, even as it’s started getting better—I want to shine light on some little-known, incredible women who have faced the odds throughout history and done amazing things. There are many words to describe them—courageous, maternal, intelligent, witty, resourceful, heroic—but I think the sum of them is simply: badass.
I am very passionate about subjects like this, and there are so many women I could have chosen. These are only ten of them. I tried not to be horribly Eurocentric, and I’m only doing ones that most people don’t know about (as much I love Abigail Adams and Maya Angelou, you won’t find them on this list). In addition, these are only short blurbs. Please look them up. These women’s stories stuck with me immediately, and I hope you’ll love them, too.
Keep the hope alive. And carry on this legacy of badassery. ;)
10) Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865 – 1915) – The First Female Native American Doctor: Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte was born on the Omaha Reservation in the Northeast of Nebraska (so, hey, NE peeps, she should be close to your heart!), the youngest child of the Chief, Iron Eyes, and his wife, One Woman. She was schooled on the reservation until the age of 14; then, after being homeschooled for a few years, she attended a young ladies’ institution in New Jersey before returning home to teach at the Quaker Mission School. However, after a childhood of watching her people die after white doctors refused them treatment, and at the urging of the ethnologist at the Quaker School, Susan La Flesche went back East to attend medical school. Despite the odds piled against her (being a Native American and a woman in the late 1800s was not exactly easy), she graduated at the top of her class after only two years in the program, becoming the first Native American woman to become a doctor. My god, I love her already. After graduation, she came back to the reservation, treating over 1200 people from her small office. After marrying Henry Picotte in 1894, the two moved to Bancroft, Nebraska, where she set up a private practice to attend to both white and non-white patients. If that weren’t impressive and cool enough, Dr. La Flesche Picotte was also active in government, hosting meetings between white and tribal leaders within her practice. She led a delegation to Washington, D.C. in 1909 to push for prohibition on the reservation; she also won support for the Gallagher Bill, a movement intended to protect the inheritance of Native American women and children, from both sides in 1911. In 1913, shortly before her death, her dream of a reservation hospital came true: she opened one in Walthill, Nebraska. Oh, and she did all this while raising two sons and nursing a terminally ill husband. Incredible. Woman. Thank you, Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte. Look her up, y’all! (Sources: https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_253.html and https://history.nebraska.gov/blog/dr-susan-la-flesche-picotte-first-native-american-woman-physician)
9) Lise Meitner (1878 – 1968) – “A Physicist Who Never Lost Her Humanity”: Lise Meitner was born in Vienna, Austria, the third of eight children in a Jewish family. A lifetime learner and incredible scientific mind, she still wasn’t able to enter the University of Vienna until 1901, due to restrictions on women’s education. Once there, she found physics to be her passion, and left in 1907 with a doctorate in the subject. From there, she traveled to Berlin to study with Max Planck. At the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, Meitner ended up working with Otto Hahn, a chemist interested, as she was, in radioactive substances; it was a partnership that would continue for 30 years (warning: you’ll end up so freaking angry with Otto by the end of this story). In 1913, she gained a permanent position in Berlin, then took a hiatus from her work to run X-ray equipment during World War I before returning in 1916. From there, the discoveries kept on coming: in 1917, she and Hahn discovered the isotope of protactinium; in 1922, she uncovered the cause behind the Auger effect; in 1926, she began the most important research of her life while being the first woman to teach full-time at the University of Berlin. That research was the discovery and understanding of nuclear fission. Now, technically, Meitner worked with Hahn on this; however, papers tell us now that Meitner was the one who did all of the handiwork, the one who figured out the equations, the numbers, and such. Hahn just ran the tests. Unfortunately, after Hitler came to power, Meitner was forced to retreat to Stockholm in 1938; though she continued her work there and communicated with Hahn, her partner downplayed Meitner’s role in the discovery, so much so that in 1944, Hahn received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, while Meitner was completely ignored. She didn’t let that setback stop her, though. Meitner, upon realizing the explosiveness of nuclear fission, wrote to warn other scientists, leading to Einstein composing his own warning for the American government (leading to the Manhattan Project, which she refused to be a part of, but that’s a whole ‘nother story). Meitner then retired to England at the end of her life, and traveled throughout the United States to lecture. After her death, the Nobel Committee released an apology, saying that awarding just Otto Hahn was incorrect, and added her name to the Nobel Prize, postmortem. In addition, Element 109 is named in her honor. Goosebumps, even if it is a little too late. Love you, Lise. (Sources: Not Your Father’s History, https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/lise-meitner, https://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/meitner.html, and http://www.atomicarchive.com/Bios/Meitner.shtml)
8) Elizabeth Jennings Graham (1826? – 1901) – The Original Rosa Parks: Elizabeth Jennings Graham was born to two prominent members of the black middle class in New York, her father being the founder of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the city and the first black man to hold a patent in America. Growing up, Graham was very involved in religious and social organizations, dedicated to helping others around her. Most notably, within her community, she was an organist at her church. That was exactly what she was heading to do on July 16, 1854, when she boarded the Third Avenue streetcar with a friend. Now, the Third Avenue Railway Company did not allow black people on their streetcars (it’s worth noting that while slavery was illegal in NY by this time, segregation was not). When the two were noticed, they were at first told that they could stay as long as they didn’t bother other passengers; ultimately, though, they were told to get off. Graham refused. The conductor attempted to forcibly remove her, but she held on to the window, steadfastly holding to her right to be there. It wasn’t until a policeman was found to assist that Graham was taken off. I mean that literally: the two men threw her off the streetcar, leaving her injured on the street. Instead of giving in, though, Graham fought back. She wrote a letter protesting her treatment (and the treatment of all black Americans); it was published by Frederick Douglass, then by Horace Greeley in the New York Tribune. Afterwards, she and her church rallied to protest, and Graham pressed charges against the company. Against all odds, she won, and was awarded reparations. Her case was the one that led to streetcars being desegregated entirely (although it still took 20 years, ugh). After her win, Graham married and had a son, who died when he was a year old. Following his death, she opened the first kindergarten for black children in New York City, and ran it until her own death in 1901. She had such a true spirit, and I wish more people knew about her. You go, Elizabeth Jennings Graham. (Sources: The Museum of the City of New York, https://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-jennings-graham-091415, and http://www.blackpast.org/aah/graham-elizabeth-jennings-1905)
7) Gráinne Mhaol, or Grace O’Malley (1530? – 1603?) – The Irish Pirate Queen: Okay, there is so, so much that this woman did, far too much for me to cover in a small blurb. I’ll do my best, but I am begging you to look her up. She’s incredible. Okay? Okay. Here we go!
We don’t know much about Grace’s early years, due to many things (bad documentation, language barriers, the fact that the English hated the Irish, etc.). All we really know is that she was born into an Irish aristocracy, or the Gaelic elite, a Connaught princess. She was likely fairly well-educated, and she grew up with a father who enjoyed some piratical pursuits. In 1546, she married Dónal-an-Chogaidh O’Flaherty, the heir presumptive for his family, and had two sons and a daughter. However, O’Flaherty did not assume the chieftainship: Grace did. She became the leader of both her husband’s people and hers. When a relative killed her husband in battle, Grace was the one to exact revenge, gaining control of the murderer’s lands; the famous Cock’s Castle was renamed Hen’s Castle for her. Unfortunately, although Irish women got their dowry back after a husband died, they were not able to keep his lands. She returned home, to her people, and, with her dowry of three galleys and many men underneath her, she began to make a living by land and sea. The Pirate Queen was born, and she attacked vessels all around the coast in order to support her family and her people, levying tolls and plundering ships. She may have had command of as many as 20 ships at a time (whoa). Grace O’Malley was a brilliant strategist and an incredible leader. Upon marrying her second husband, she remained in command of her fleet (there’s even a story of her giving birth to a son, then arising within a few hours to go fight on the frontlines as outsiders threatened her family, the definition of badassery). One of the most important things O’Malley did, though, was help protect the Irish from the English. She was the one who led the battles, the one who spoke to English lawmakers, and the one who was captured by them. Ultimately, and almost most impressively, Grace O’Malley managed to convince Queen Elizabeth I to a) grant her an audience, and b) give the O’Malley lands back to her, and to let her protect her people. She did all this in her native language, and in her own way. The last time Grace O’Malley was seen was in 1601, at the helm of one of her ships. We believe she died in 1603, and she will forever remain a hero of Irish folklore. Go look her up, because I skipped over a lot, and she’s very, very cool. Yas, queen! (Sources: Not Your Father’s History, https://www.historyireland.com/early-modern-history-1500-1700/grainne-mhaol-pirate-queen-of-connacht-behind-the-legend/, and https://www.libraryireland.com/biography/GraceOMalley.php)
6) Hypatia of Alexandria (370 AD? – 415 AD) – The Last of the Alexandrian Thinkers: Hypatia of Alexandria was born around 370 AD, to the mathematician Theon, a professor at the University of Alexandria. Though little is known about her early life (because, well, duh), we do know that her father tutored her in math, astronomy, and philosophy, what we would now just call science. This may seem remarkable for the time, and it was. Hypatia was not given the traditional role of an Egyptian woman at the time; in fact, her father refused to assign her to that. Instead, she became one of the most well-known and respected academics of the time. Many Grecian philosophers made the journey to listen to her speak, and her classes rivaled that of Athens. Eventually, most considered Hypatia to be more skilled than her father in mathematics, and her ideas on Neo-Platonism were unrivaled. Even the Christian writers who considered her a witch wrote that she was known for her generosity, love of learning, and academic expertise. It earned her a permanent teaching position at the University of Alexandria. To continue learning, Hypatia made the decision to never marry, and likely remained celibate for her entire life. Unfortunately, that life ended in 415 AD, when Hypatia was attacked by a Christian mob, torn from her chariot, and beaten and burned on the street; they saw her, an avowed pagan (although with Christian friends), as preventing two great Alexandrian identities from reconciliation (look ‘em up later: the whole thing is ridiculous). After the death of this great teacher, the University of Alexandria and its library was burned to the ground. Many historians believe that Hypatia’s death marked the end of Alexandrian knowledge. She was their last great thinker, and one of the first women to study and teach the sciences. She was brilliant; personally, I think she could have done so much more. Keep her badassery up, my science ladies! (Sources: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hypatia-ancient-alexandrias-great-female-scholar-10942888/ and https://www.ancient.eu/Hypatia_of_Alexandria/)
5) Margaret Sanger (1879 – 1966) – America’s First Sex Educator: (Yes, Margaret Sanger is controversial. Yes, she did believe some not so good things, as do most human beings. But she did some incredible things, too, and we cannot discredit those. Here they are!) Margaret Sanger (nee Higgins) was born to an Irish Catholic working family in New York, one of 11 children. Growing up, she watched her mother have numerous miscarriages and dangerous pregnancies, resulting in her mother’s death at the young age of 40; her father drank them all into poverty, a stonemason without a job. Wanting to have a better life, Sanger attended Claverack College and the Hudson River Institute before studying nursing at the White Plains Hospital. It was during this time that she married her husband, William, and the two moved to the radical, bohemian neighborhood of Greenwich Village in 1910. She found work as a nurse in the Lower East Side, and saw horrible tragedy there: women, both unaware of sex ed. and unable to afford contraceptives, were resorting to back alley abortions, ending in either severe injury or death. This inspired Sanger to begin teaching women about the workings of sex and pregnancy, and to provide them with contraceptive options. In 1914, she began a publication, sent through the mail, to inform women of their options and to offer financial assistance to those who needed it. This led to her having to flee to England for a time to avoid a jail sentence under the Comstock Act of 1873, which prohibited the circulation of “obscene and immoral materials.” Upon returning to the States and separating from her husband, Sanger opened up the first birth control clinic in America, in 1916, and began offering contraceptive services that she had learned about in England. It was from this that she and her sister were finally arrested; they spent 30 days in jail. Ultimately, this led to Sanger’s movement gaining a giant victory: the court would now allow doctors to prescribe contraceptives to their female patients (this provided a whole ‘nother barrier, but HUGE step forward). After this, in 1921, Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, Planned Parenthood’s predecessor. She went on to win many different cases in support of contraceptives and sex education, and even lived long enough to see the birth of a birth control pill and the dismantling of the Comstock Act. Although she has been connected to extreme controversy, Sanger made an indescribable difference in the lives of so many women in the 20th century. Her legacy continues today. So, thank you, Ms. Sanger, for that much. (Sources: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-margaret-sanger-1879-1966/ and https://www.biography.com/people/margaret-sanger-9471186)
4) Lalla Fadhma N’Soumer (1830 – 1863) – The Algerian Warrior: Lalla Fadhma N’Soumer was born as Fadhma Nat Si Hmed in 1830, the daughter of sheikh Ali Ben Aissi. As a child, Fadhma already showed an extreme thirst for knowledge, and was highly gifted; her father ran the Qur’anic school in their village, and, though girls were not supposed to be educated at the time, Fadhma memorized the Qur’an by simply listening to her father’s disciples recite it. For the rest of her life, she would be known for her sharp intellect, in addition to her piety and kindness. At the age of 16, a wedding was arranged for her, but Fadhma refused, choosing instead to focus on her education and betterment. This was totally odd for the time, as you can imagine. Shortly after the French began to more actively take control of Algeria, Fadhma met Bou Baghla (full name: Mohamed ben Abdallah), and the two had an attraction immediately. I’m not talking a physical attraction—although that totally could have been a thing, too; we don’t know—but a spiritual one. While Baghla was a great strategist for his guerilla army, Fadhma could inspire loyalty and hope in the men, being as intelligent, eloquent, and strong as she was. The two fit perfectly; they became the leaders of the Algerian resistance. When Baghla was killed in 1854, their group turned to Fadhma for leadership. She led countless battles from the front lines, delving in herself against an army of 13,000 Frenchmen. Her army, composed of men and women, held the “superior” French at bay for years. Eventually, the French asked for a ceasefire, which Fadhma agreed to, putting her focus on caring for her people. In 1857, though, the French broke their word (surprise, surprise), and launched an attack on the rebel forces. Fadhma, surrounded by only female warriors, held them off for quite some time, but was eventually captured. In 1863, at the age of 33, Lalla Fadhma N’Soumer died after incarceration. She was given the name of “Lalla” to venerate her as a saint, and “N’Soumer” to honor her piety and strength. She is, to this day, a symbol of courage in Algeria. She was an incredible woman, and I’m so mad that most people don’t know about her. Look her up, because there are some cool stories that I didn’t share in this paragraph! (Sources: https://afrolegends.com/2012/11/21/lalla-fadhma-nsoumer-the-embodiment-of-algerian-resistance-against-french-colonization/ and http://www.algeria.com/blog/lalla-fatma-nsoumer-a-symbol-of-feminine-strength)
3) Virginia Hall, or “The Limping Lady” (1906 -1982) – The Nazis’ Worst Nightmare: (Hi. I want a movie about this woman. Kay, thanks. ;)) Virginia Hall was born to a wealthy family in Baltimore, Maryland, growing up on a peaceful farm with her siblings. She attended Radcliffe and Barnard Colleges and visited Europe regularly, studying languages. In addition to English (of course), she spoke French and German fluently. This led her to working at several embassies, aiming to get a job with the US Foreign Service. However, on a hunting trip with friends in Turkey, an accidental gun discharge shot her through the foot, and her left leg had to be amputated just under the knee. Even though Hall worked out how to walk with an almost imperceptible limp, the State Department wouldn’t hire someone with a false limb (and she’d been on them about taking the rise of fascism seriously for years, which they didn’t like. Boo). Still, Hall wanted to be involved overseas. In World War II, she volunteered as an ambulance driver for the French Army. Once there, she saw what was happening to the Jewish people in Poland, and became convinced she could do something else to help. Soon after, Hall was recruited for the British Resistance; she was given a fake identity, and sent to France to create safe drop zones for the Allies. However, she did far more than that: Virginia liberated entire prisons, saved Allied battalions, and passed on Nazi movements. She did all this as a “Limping Lady,” going undercover first as a journalist, then as an elderly woman. Her espionage was so good, and the amount of people saved so great, that Nazi officials put out arrest warrants for her, calling her “the most dangerous of all Allied spies.” Virginia Hall was never captured. She returned to London to a hero’s welcome, which she dismissed, wanting to maintain anonymity (however, she finally acquiesced to a medal from the king, given in a private office). She received further awards from France, Britain, and the USA. Even after this, though, the foreign service still wouldn’t hire her (dudes, what the heck?). She became the first female staff at the CIA, eventually, but was kept on desk duty. She retired at age 60, and, after her death, her contributions were finally made public. Virginia Hall, you were and are a true badass. Ugh, I love her. (Sources: https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/virginia-hall, http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-virginia-hall-marker-20180404-story.html, and https://americacomesalive.com/2012/03/12/virginia-hall-1906-1982-world-war-ii-spy-for-the-allies/)
2) Sophie Scholl (1921 – 1943) – The White Rose of Germany: I didn’t mean to do two Nazi stories in a row, so I’m sorry. This one is much sadder, but I hope you’ll all be okay.
Sophie Scholl was born in Forchtenberg, Germany, where her father was the mayor; for two years, the family lived in Ludwigsburg, before moving to Ulm, where Sophie attended a girls’ secondary school. Growing up, she and her siblings—especially her older brother Hans—were aware of their parents’ dissenting views: at home, their mother and father wouldn’t hide their hatred of and disagreement with Hitler and the Nazis. That directly contradicted with what Sophie was hearing at school, being taught of the inferiority of Jewish people and those that supported them. This was a little confusing to her, and, as was common at the time, she joined Bund Deutscher Mädel (essentially the female Nazi Youth). Once there, she quickly became critical of it, especially after her brother and his friends were arrested for participating in the German Youth Movement in 1937. She was suddenly much more aware of how horrific the Nazi Party’s views were, and that political view became a key point in the friends she made. This was solidified further after she was forced into the Reichsarbeitsdienst (the “National Labor Service,” literally required of everyone), and had to witness war. She began passive resistance after that. In 1942, Sophie Scholl enrolled at the University of Munich, studying biology and philosophy. There, her brother, Hans, introduced her to his friends: Alexander Schmorell, Christoph Probst, Will Graf, and Jurgen Wittenstein. Together, this group formed Die Weisse Rose, or “The White Rose.” Each of them saw the horrors of the Nazi ideals, and they decided to educate the rest of the young Germans on it. They created a leaflet, calling for resistance to Hitler and his command, and anonymously spread it around the campus at the University; at the bottom, they asked for whoever picked it up to make copies and pass it on. Ultimately, six leaflets of Die Weisse Rose were published and spread between 1942 and 1943, causing much upheaval and agreement within the young community. However, on February 18, 1943, Sophie Scholl, her brother Hans, and Christoph Probst were caught. They were tried on February 22: none of them were apologetic, especially not Sophie. They were sentenced to death that same day. Within a few hours, Sophie Scholl was executed. She was 21 years old. Her last words? “Such a fine day, and I have to go. But what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” She and the rest of Die Weisse Rose are heroes to this day; in fact, in 2003, Hans and Sophie Scholl were chosen as two of the top ten most important Germans of all time, ranking above Bach, Einstein, Bismarck, and Goethe. She still lives on to this day. Tears. (Sources: https://timeline.com/sophie-scholl-white-rose-guillotine-6b3901042c98, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-white-rose-a-lesson-in-dissent, and http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/revolt/scholl.html)
1) Stephanie St. Clair (1886 – 1969) – Harlem’s Queen of Numbers: (Again, where’s the movie??) Stephanie St. Clair was born on the island of Martinique, becoming a highly educated, bilingual woman. Unfortunately, as a black woman, there were few options available to her at the time, her education almost seeming like a burden. After being repeatedly raped by the son of her boss in Martinique, St. Clair decided to move to America (more specifically, NYC and Harlem) after saving up enough money. Sometime in the 1910s, she did just that, and promptly survived a KKK attack on the bus she was riding. Needing to find a way to support herself, and aware of how profitable the newly arriving speakeasys and gambling houses were, St. Clair started a numbers racket sometime between 1920 and 1923. Within a few months, she was making over a quarter of a million a year. With this money, she donated large portions to social causes she believed in, and bought out huge sections of newspaper to educate the public on them: women’s rights, the poor treatment of African Americans, police brutality. With that last one, St. Clair got in a whole load of trouble; however, when she was taken into trial, she decided she was going down swinging: St. Clair brought in every receipt from her buying off officers or them coming into her numbers game, and reportedly got a whole horde of policemen fired from their jobs. After getting out of jail, St. Clair went straight back to running her gang. It was at this time that Harlem—and, especially, our girl Stephanie—caught the attention of the mob and one of its infamous leaders, Dutch Schultz. They wanted full control of the Harlem numbers scene (since theirs was dying down due to the Depression), and they wanted Stephanie St. Clair gone. Well, she fought back…and she freaking won. Though she rarely killed anyone, St. Clair effectively took down the mob, offering anonymous tips to the police on where their storefronts were; at one point, the police took $2 million from the mob because of her. When Schultz was dying of a gunshot wound, St. Clair sent him a signed note saying, “So You Sow – So Shall You Reap” (savage!). After this, her cover basically blown, St. Clair stepped into a more active role in the social reform spotlight, eventually marrying Sufi Abdul Hamid, later known as the “Black Hitler.” This marriage didn’t last. It ended with him being shot, possibly by St. Clair, after he was caught spreading anti-Semitism and attempting to steal St. Clair’s money to run off with his girlfriend. Holy. Crap. It is after this that St. Clair’s timeline gets a little hazy. We know that she completely exited the numbers game and moved in with her second-in-command, writing poetry until she died at the age of 73. The woman who beat the mafia ended up living out her last days in relative peace, likely just how she wanted it. (Seriously, this needs a movie) (Sources: Not Your Father’s History, https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/stephanie-st-clair, and http://www.blackpast.org/aah/st-clair-stephanie-1886-1969)
I did not anticipate this being that long, but I got excited! I hope you enjoyed – maybe I’ll do more of these! And, please, Google these women: there are many more stores that I didn’t cover here. :) Thanks for reading!
~Rhiannon~
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