The world has today come of age. From being just a homemaker, women have emerged to take an equal position as men, in the world. They have proved that there are no less capable then men. Infact, they have the capacity to do much more than men, since they carve out a career as well as take care of home. Though past has been too kind to women, there have been some who have managed to make a mark on the world, even in the ancient times. They serve as an inspiration to the women of today and motivate them to move ahead in life. In this article, we have provided a list of the famous women in history.
Famous Women in History
Rulers and Consorts of Rulers
- Razia Sultana (India Delhi Sultanate period)
- Noor Jehan (India Mughal Empire)
- Didda (Kashmir)
- Hatshepsut (Egypt)
- Cleopatra VII (Egypt)
- Mary I (England)
- Queen Elizabeth (Britain)
- Maria Theresa (Austria)
- Catherine II (Russia)
- Queen Victoria (Britain)
- Queen Elizabeth II (Britain)
- Diana, Princess of Wales (Britain)
- Marie Antoinette (France)
- Rani Laxmi Bai (India)
Politics
- Indira Gandhi (India)
- Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan)
- Srimavo Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka)
- Chandrika Kumaratunga ((Sri Lanka)
- Golda Meir (Israel)
- Angela Merkel (Germany)
- Condoleezza Rice (U.S.A)
- Kim Campbell (Canada)
- Tansu Çiller (Turkey)
- Edith Cresson (France)
- Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (Iceland)
- Sarojini Naidu (India)
- Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (India)
- Tarja Halonen (Finland)
- Susanna M. Salter (Kansas, United States)
- Jenny Shipley (New Zealand)
- Margaret Thatcher (Britain)
- Vaira Vîíe-Freiberga, (Latvia)
Arts
- Inva Mula - Albania (Soprano)
- Mahadevi Verma - India (Writer)
- Emma Abbott - America (Opera Singer)
- Jane Austen - England (Writer)
- Mary Cassatt - America (Painter)
- Grazia Deledda - Sardinia (Writer, Nobel Prize Winner)
- Artemisia Gentileschi -Italy (Painter)
- Elfriede Jelinek - Austria (Writer, Nobel Prize Winner)
- Karen Kain - Canada (Ballerina)
- Theano - Troy (Writer, Philosopher)
- Virginia Woolf - England (Author)
Medicine
- Virginia Apgar - America (Physician)
- Rosalind Franklin - England (Biophysicist and Crystallographer)
- Florence Nightingale - England (Nurse)
- Jennie Kidd Trout - Canada (Physician)
- Mary Edwards Walker - America (Army Surgeon)
Music
- Josephine Baker (American-born French Expatriate)
- Maria Callas (United States)
- Jacqueline du Pré (England)
- Ella Fitzgerald (United States)
- Fanny Mendelssohn (Germany)
- Clara Schumann (Germany)
- Germaine Tailleferre (France)
Acting
- Lucille Ball (United States)
- Ingrid Bergman (Sweden)
- Sarah Bernhardt (France)
- Greta Gabo, (Sweden)
- Grace Kelly (United States)
- Vivien Leigh (England)
- Marilyn Monroe (United States)
Sports
- Fanny Blankers-Koen - Dutch (Athlete)
- Florence Griffith Joyner – USA (Athlete)
- Steffi Graf - Germany (Lawn Tennis)
- Martina Navratilova - Czech (Lawn Tennis)
- Billie Jean King - USA (Lawn Tennis)
- Sonja Henie - Norway (Skater)
- Eliska Junkova - Czechoslovakia (Grand Prix Driver)
- Suzanne Lenglen - France (Lawn Tennis)
- Hellé Nice - France (Grand Prix Driver)
- Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias - United States (Athlete)
Other
- Mother Teresa (Nun & Social Reformer)
- James Barry - Victorian (Worked as a Male Physician)
- Dorothea Beale - England (Pioneer of Women's Education)
- Amelie Beese - Germany (Aviator)
- Elfi von Dassanowsky - Austria (Film Studio Founder, Producer, Musician)
- Melanie Klein - Austria (Psychoanalyst)
- Kathleen Kenyon - England (Archaeologist)
- Julia Morgan - United States (Architect)
- Emily Warren Roebling - United States (Engineer)
- Margaret Mead - United States (Anthropologist)