Queen Makare Hatshepsut

d. 1483 BC

Queen of Ancient Egypt:  brought internal stability and international prestige to Ancient Egypt

Deborah

c. 1150 BC

Leads Israel in victory over the invading Canaanites.

Cleopatra VII

69-30 BC

Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Mary

c. 22-20 BC

Mother of Jesus Christ

Boadicea (Boudicca)

d. 60 AD

Warrior Queen of the Brythonic Celtic Iceni people of Norfolk in Eastern Britain who led a major uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.

St. Helena

c. 250-c. 330 AD

Mother of Constantine the Great

Zenobia

c. 3rd century AD

Zenobia was a third-century Warrior.  She led her people in a war against Rome, much like Boudicca did in England.

Hypatia

370-415 AD

Hypatia of Alexandria was the first woman to make a substantial contribution to the development of mathematics.

Theodora

497-548 AD

Wife of Justinian I (who was crowned in 527). Ruled in partnership with her husband.  Her great intelligence and courage helped save and advance the Byzantine Empire.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

1122-1204

One of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe during the Middle Ages.  She was Queen consort of France and England and is well known for her involvement in the Second Crusade.

Queen Tamara (Thamar)

c. 1156-1212

She ruled the medieval kingdom between the Black and Caspian Seas and the Caucasus Mountains. She was the protector of Byzantium after the Fourth Crusade and returned it to the control of the Christians.  She was also the protector of many Muslims too.

Queen Margaret

1353-1412

Ruler of 3 Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark and Sweden)

Joan of Arc

1412-1431

French heroine who had visions from God telling her to recover her homeland from English domination during the Hundred Years War.  She asked for permission to travel with the army and bear the arms and equipment of a knight. She was reported to be the only source of hope for a government that was near collapse.

Isabella I

1451-1504

Queen of Spain.  Supported Christopher Columbus’ voyage.

Elizabeth I

1533-1603

Queen of England during the Golden Age of English history.  When she became Queen in 1558, England was a very poor country torn apart by religious arguments.  When she died in 1603, England was one of the most powerful countries in the world.

Queen Jinga (Jinga Mbandi)

c. 1580-1663

Angolan Queen who is honored for her resistance to Portuguese occupation.

Pocahontas (Matoaka)

c. 1595-1617

Indian Princess who was a crucial link between Native Americans and the Englishmen.  She intervened to save the lives of the English colonists.  The focus IS NOT on her romantic involvements with John Smith.

Emilie du Chatelet

1706-1749

Loved mathematics.  She was one of many women whose contributions have helped shape the course of mathematics.

Catherine the Great

1729-1796

Empress of all the Russias.

Caroline Herschel

1750-1848

A German astronomer and one of the first female astronomers to be recognized for her work.  She is credited with discovering 8 comets.  She was the sister of the astronomer William Herschel.

Catherine Littlefield Greene

1755-1814

She is unknown to the general public, but experts on invention agree that Eli Whitney could not have developed the cotton gin---the quintessential American invention---without Greene's advice. In fact, some believe that Whitney stole the credit for what was essentially Greene's invention.

Mary Wollstonecraft

1759-1797

Anglo-Irish feminist, intellectual and writer.  Famous for her book Vindication on the Rights of Women.

Sophie German

1776-1831

Mathematician known for her work with number theory.

Elizabeth Fry

1780-1845

Quaker female prison reformer

Mary Fairfax Somerville

1780-1872

British female scientist

Sacajawea ("Bird Woman")

1784?-1812 or 1884

Guide and interpreter of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Lucretia Coffin Mott

1793-1880

She devoted her life to the abolition of slavery, women's rights, school and prison reforms, temperance, peace, and religious tolerance

Catherine Beecher

1800-1878

She focused on educational reform and women as teachers.  She was the sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Dorothea Dix

1802-1887

Union's Superintendent of Female Nurses during the Civil War.  Ms. Dix focused more than 20 years of her life working to improve the treatment of mentally ill patients as well as improving prison conditions.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

1811-1896

Wrote the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  Focused on the abolition of slavery and education.

Ada Lovelace

1815-1852

Daughter of Lord Byron and a mathematician and lover of technology.

Charlotte Bronte

1816-1855

Author of Jane Eyre

Emily Bronte

1818-1848

Sister of Charlotte – author of Wuthering Heights

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

1815-1902

A major player in the fight for equal rights for women in the United States.

Lucy Stone

1818-1893

Devoted her life to the advancement of women’s rights and the abolishment of slavery.

Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)

1819-1880

Famous English author who wrote under the man’s name “George Eliot.”

Queen Victoria

1819-1901

Longest reigning queen in British history.

Susan B. Anthony

1820-1906

A major player in the fight for equal rights for women in the United States.  Fought for the abolishment of slavery.

Florence Nightingale

1820-1910

Famous nurse who pushed for sanitary conditions in hospitals.  Also known for her brilliance in mathematics.

Harriet Tubman

c. 1820-1913

Conductor of the Underground Railroad.  Worked to abolish slavery.

Clara Barton

1821-1912

Established the American Red Cross

Elizabeth Blackwell

1821-1910

First woman to graduate from medical school

Mary Baker Eddy

1821-1910

Founder of the Christian Science Movement

Lakshmi Bai, Rani of Jhansi

c. 1830-1858

Queen from India who led an uprising against the British.  Fought gallantly for Indian independence from British rule. 

Mary Harris Jones (Mother Jones)

1830-1930

Radical labor organizer

Louisa May Alcott

1832-1888

Author of Little Women.  Worked hard for the right of women to vote.

Emma Lazarus

1849-1887

Wrote poetry that protested the rise of anti-Semitism.  She also argued for the rights of Russian immigrants.

Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst

1858-1928

Worked with her daughter Christabel to give English women the right to vote.

Carrie Chapman Catt

1859-1947

Worked hard to give American women the right to vote.  First president of the American League of Women Voters

Jane Addams

1860-1935

First American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize

Mary Kingsley

1862-1900

British explorer who traveled to Africa.  Criticized the English for trying to change the African ways.

Marie Curie

1867-1934

Scientist who won the Novel Prize in physics along with Pierre Curie and Antoine Becquerel.  Studied radioactivity.

Sarah Breedlove Walker

1867-1919

Known as Madam CJ Walker.  Developed a line of beauty products for African American Women.  Became a millionaire after inventing a metal comb for straightening African American hair.

Gertrude Bell

1868-1926

Powerful British woman who helped create the modern state of Iraq.

Alice Hamilton

1869-1970

Founder of Occupational Medicine and first woman professor at Harvard Medical School.

Maria Montessori

1870-1952

First woman doctor in Italy.  Developed the Montessori method for teaching.

Julia Morgan

1872-1957

Famous architect

Mary McLeod Bethune

1875-1955

Famous educator and champion of racial equality

Helen Keller

1880-1968

Taught the world to respect people who are blind and deaf

Emmy Noether

1882-1935

Important female mathematician (connected symmetry with physical laws)

Margaret Higgins Sanger

1883-1966

Women’s Health activist

Eleanor Roosevelt

1884-1962

Dedicated her life to improving the lives of the underprivileged of all creeds, races, and nations

Louise Boyd

1887-1972

Known as the “ice woman.”  She explored and photographed the Artic Ocean many times.

Gabriela Mistral

1889-1957

Gabriela Mistral was a Chilean poet and educator. Her poetry earned her the Nobel Prize for literature in 1945.

Agatha Christie

1891-1976

Queen of the Golden Age.  Grand Dame of Mystery novels

Martha Graham

1984-1991

“Mother” of American dance

Golda Meir

1898-1978

Prime Minister of Israel

Margaret Mead

1901-1978

Famous anthropologist

Marian Anderson

1902-1993

Famous opera singer

Margaret Bourke-White

1904-1971

Famous photographer – one of 4 who began the magazine LIFE

Rachel Carson

1907-1964

Famous environmentalist – author of Silent Spring

Mother Teresa

1910-1997

Dedicated her life to serving the very poor

Rosa Parks

1913-2006

Civil rights activist – woman who changed a nation

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias

1914-1956

Greatest athlete of the 20^th century

Indira Gandhi

1917-1984

Prime Minister of India

Betty Friedan

1921-2006

Feminist

Shirley Chisholm

1924-2005

First black woman elected to Congress

Anne Frank

1929-1945

German-Jewish teenager forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust.  Kept a diary that is read world-wide and helps to educate the world on the horrors of the Holocaust.

Menes

c. 3100 B.C.

Original king of the first Egyptian dynasty – first united Egypt

Cheops

Fl. 26^th c. B.C.

Egyptian King Khufu who is remembered for his construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza

Moses

13^th c. B.C.

Hebrew prophet who led the Hebrews in the Exodus from Egypt.  Believed to have authored five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), although biblical scholars agree he was not the only author.  Played an important role in preserving Jewish monotheism (belief in one God).

Homer

Fl. 8^th c. B.C.?

Supposed author of Iliad and the Odyssey

Zoraster

c. 628 B.C. – c. 551 B.C.

Iranian prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism

Buddha

563 B.C. – 483 B.C.

Founder of Buddhism (“Four Noble Truths” and nirvana).

Cyrus the Great

c. 590 B.C. – 529 B.C.

Founder of the Persian Empire

Confucius

551 B.C. – 479 B.C.

Chinese philosopher who believed in a government serving its people and ruling by moral example.

Plato

427 B.C. – 347 B.C.

Ancient Greek philosopher stands for the starting point of Western political philosophy.

Aristotle

384 B.C. – 322 B.C.

Greatest philosopher and scientist of the ancient world.  Originated the study of formal logic.

Mencius

c. 371 B.C. – c. 289 B.C.

Chinese philosopher and important successor to Confucius

Lao Tzu

c. 4^th B.C.

Author of the philosophy of Taoism

Alexander the Great

356 B.C. – 323 B.C.

Most celebrated conqueror of the ancient world.

Euclid

c. 300 B.C.

Greek author of the textbook of geometry Elements.

Asoka

c. 300 B.C. – c. 232 B.C.

Very important Monarch in the history of India – established the first major empire of Indian history

Shih Huang Ti

259 B.C. – 201 B.C.

Great Chinese Emperor.  Credited with uniting China by force of arms and put in a place a set of reforms.  Famous for ordering the burning of all books in China.  Established a system of unified laws and written language.

Julius Caesar

100 B.C. – 44 B.C.

Famous Roman military and political leader

Augustus Caesar

63 B.C. – 14 A.D.

Founder of the Roman Empire.  Put an end to the civil wars in the Roman Republic.  Grand nephew of Julius Caesar.

Jesus Christ

c. 6 B.C. – c. 30 A.D.

Man who “formulated the basic ethical ideas of Christianity, as well as its basic spiritual outlook and its main ideas concerning human conduct.” 

St. Paul

c. 4 A.D. – c. 64 A.D.

Man who shaped Christian theology.  Responsible for the worship of Christ.

Ts’Ai Lun

c. 105 A.D.

Chinese man who was credited with the invention of paper.

Mani

216-276

Third century prophet and founder of the religion Manichaeism that originated in the Middle East

Constantine the Great

c. 280-337

First Christian Emperor of Rome.

St. Augustine

354-430

Great theologian who writings influenced Christian doctrines

Justinian I

483-565

Emperor know for the great codification of Roman law

Sui Wen Ti

541-604

Chinese Emperor who succeeded in reunited China

Muhammad

570-632

Founder of Islam.  Man who was successful on both the religious, secular and political levels.  Responsible for theology of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles.  Author of the Koran.

Charlemagne

742-814

Medieval Emperor, founder of the Holy Roman Empire

William the Conqueror

1027-1087

Duke of Normandy who crossed the English Channel to become ruler of England.

Pope Urban II

1042-1099

Pope who called for a Christian War to recapture the Holy Land from the Moslems that inaugurated the Crusades.

Genghis Khan

1162-1227

Mongol conqueror.  Mongols ruled the largest land empire in history (China, Russia, Central Asia, Persia and most of Southwest Asia).  Made trade routes safer across Asia.

John Gutenberg

1400-1468

Called the inventor of printing (movable type)

Christopher Columbus

1451-1506

Inadvertently discovered the Americas.  His discovery destroyed the civilizations of the American Indians.

Leonardo da Vinci

1452-1519

Famous artist

Vasco da Gama

1460-1524

Portuguese explorer who discovered the direct sea route from Europe to India by sailing around Africa

Michelangelo

1475-1564

Great Renaissance artist – brilliant painter, sculptor and architect

Niccolo Machiavelli

1469-1527

Italian political philosopher

Ferdinand Magellan

1480-1521

Portuguese explorer

Martin Luther

1483-1546

Responsible for the Protestant Reformation – defied the Roman Catholic Church.

Hernando Cortes

1485-1547

Conqueror of Mexico

Francisco Pizarro

1475-1541

Spanish adventurer who conquered the Inca Empire in Peru

John Calvin

1509-1564

Famous Protestant theologian and moralist.

Nicolaus Copernicius

1473-1543

Polish astronomer who was responsible for the Copernicus hypothesis that the plants revolved around the sun.

William Shakespeare

1564-1616

Great British playwright and poet.

Johannes Kepler

1571-1630

Discoverer of the laws of planetary motion

Francis Bacon

1561-1626

Leading English politician

William Harvey

1578-1657

English physician who discovered the circulation of blood and function of the heart.

Galileo Galilei

1564-1642

Italian scientist responsible for the law of inertia, invention of the telescope, and proving the Copernician hypothesis (earth and all the other planets revolve around the sun).  Played major role in development of the scientific method and scientific research.

Rene Descartes

1596-1650

French philosopher, scientist and mathematician

Oliver Cromwell

1599-1658

Brilliant English military leader who led the Parliamentary forces to victory in the English Civil War.

Anthony Leeuwenhoek

1632-1723

Man who discovered microbes.

Isaac Newtwon

1642-1727

Most influential scientist who ever lived.  Great astronomer.  Discover of integral calculus, laws of physics.

John Locke

1632-1704

English philosopher

Peter the Great

1672-1725

Russian Czar

Voltaire

1694-1778

Leading figure of the French Enlightenment – apostle of freethinking liberalism

Johann Sebastian Bach

1685-1750

Great composer

Benjamin Franklin

1706-1790

Best known for his research with electricity and lightining

Jean Jacques Rousseau

1712-1778

Famous philosopher

Leonhard Euler

1707-1783

Swiss mathematician and physicist

James Watt

1736-1819

Inventor of the steam engine and key player in the Industrial Revolution.

Thomas Jefferson

1743-1826

The third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence.

Adam Smith

1723-1790

Leading person in the development of economic theory.

George Washington

1732-1799

First president of the United States

Lavoisier

1743-1794

French scientist, most important person in the development of chemistry.

Edward Jenner

1749-1823

English physician who developed and popularized the technique of vaccination against smallpox.

Thomas Malthus

1766-1834

Popularized the theory that growth of population outruns the growth of food supply.

Napoleon Bonaparte

1769-1821

Celebrated French general and emperor.

John Dalton

1766-1844

English scientist who introduced atomic hypothesis into the mainstream of science

Ludwig Beethoven

1770-1827

Musical composer

Simon Bolivar

1783-1830

Played a major role in liberating five South American countries (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) from Spanish rule.

Michael Faraday

1791-1867

Discovered that if a magnet is passed through a closed loop of wire, a current will flow in the wire while the magnet is moving – “electromagnetic induction” (Faraday’s law).

Louis Daguerre

1787-1851

Man who succeeded in developing the first practical method of photography.

Charles Babbage

1792-1871

English inventor who worked out the principles behind the digital computer

Abraham Lincoln

1809-1865

16^th president of the U.S.

William Morton

1819-1868

Man responsible for the introduction of the use of anesthesia in surgery.

Charles Darwin

1809-1882

Credited with the theory of organic evolution by means of natural selection.  Author of The Origin of Species.

James Clerk Maxwell

1831-1879

Known for the formulation of the set of four equations that express the basic laws of electricity and magnetism.

Gregor Mendel

1822-1884

Man who discovered the basic principles of heredity.

Karl Marx

1818-1883

Key creator of “scientific socialism.”  His writings for the basis of Communism

Lister

1827-1912

British surgeon who introduced the use of antiseptic measures in surgery.

Pasteur

1822-1895

Chemist and biologist who developed the technique of pasteurization (technique that destroys harmful bacteria in food and beverages).

Alexander Graham Bell

1847-1922

Inventor of the telephone

Thomas Edison

1847-1931

Great inventor

Wilhelm Rontgen

1845-1923

Discover of the X-rays

Mohandas Gandhi

1869-1948

Leader of the movement for an independent India

Guglielmo Marconi

1874-1937

Inventor of the radio

Wright Brothers

1871 – 1948 & 1867-1912

Brothers credited with making the first flights in a plane.

Albert Einstein

1879-1955

Greatest scientist of the 20^th century.  Best known for his theory of relativity and law of gravitation.

Niels Bohr

1885-1962

Father of the theory of atomic structure

Werner Heisenberg

1901-1976

Played a major role in quantum mechanics

Alexander Fleming

1881-1955

Discover of penicillin

Pablo Picasso

1881-1973

Famous artist

Fermi

1901-1954

Man who designed the first nuclear reactor

Mao Tse-Tung

1893-1976

Led the Communist party to power.  Modernized China.  Moved China from capitalism to socialism.  Installed a ruthless political totalitarian system.  Presided over the Cultural Revolution. 

John F. Kennedy

1917-1963

President of the United States – responsible for instituting the Apollo Space Program