Women's History and Heritage Month celebrates the contributions that women have made in all aspects of society. Learn more about their accomplishments through our selection of articles and photo galleries

Cleopatra

Rehabilitating Cleopatra

Egypt's ruler was more than the sum of the seductions that loom so large in history—and in Hollywood
By Stacy Schiff

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman's Amazing Grace

A hymnal owned by the brave leader of the Underground Railroad brings new insights into the life of the American heroine
By Owen Edwards

Vincent van Gogh Doctor Gachet

The Woman Who Brought Van Gogh to the World

Art lovers have Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law to credit for introducing the impressionist’s work to the world
By Jess Righthand

Melinda French Gates

Melinda French Gates on Saving Lives

The co-chair of the world's largest philanthropy talks about what can be done to improve global health and poverty
By Terence Monmaney

Field Beach by Mary Blood Mellen

The Grand Women Artists of the Hudson River School

Unknown and forgotten to history, these painters of America's great landscapes are finally getting their due in a new exhibition
By Judith H. Dobrzynski

Madeline Albright

Madeleine Albright on Her Life in Pins

The former Secretary of State reflects on her famous collection of brooches and pins, now the subject of an exhibition
By Megan Gambino

Harper Lee author of To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee's Novel Achievement

With To Kill a Mockingbird, published 50 years ago, Lee gave America a story for the ages. Just don't ask her about it
By Charles Leerhsen

The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography

A New Look at Anne Frank

Two comic book veterans—who authored the graphic adaptation of the 9/11 Report—train their talents on the young diarist
By Jamie Katz

Annie Oakley shooting over her shoulder

How Annie Oakley, "Princess of the West," Preserved Her Ladylike Reputation

Born in 1860, the famed female sharpshooter skillfully cultivated an image of a daredevil performer with proper Victorian morals
By Jess Righthand

Frances Benjamin Johnston self portrait

Victorian Womanhood, in All Its Guises

Frances Benjamin Johnston's self-portraits show a woman was never content playing just one role
By Victoria Olsen

EXPLORE MORE

  • Women in Science
    Smithsonian spotlights the women that are changing the face of scientific research
Gertrude Stein
The Supremes
Margaret Bourke-White
  • A Life Less Ordinary
    One of Life magazine's original four photographers, Margaret Bourke-White snapped shots around the world






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Photo Gallery

Woodrow Wilsons inauguration

Equal Say

SLIDESHOW: A photographic essay of how women won the vote