Women's History

The shores of Mount Athos, a monastic sanctuary where women have been banned for more than 1,000 years

Possible Female Remains Discovered on Greece's All-Male Monastic Peninsula

The identity and sex of the individual have yet to be confirmed, but could mark a first for the sacred Mount Athos

Mrs. Maisel's pink wool house coat and peignoir nightgown, worn in the pilot episode, and black dress, worn in the season one finale

Two Dresses From 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Are Coming to the Smithsonian

Though plans aren't finalized, the costumes might feature in the National Museum of American History's upcoming "Entertaining America" exhibition

Barbara Hillary shows off the parka she wore on her trip to the North Pole.

Barbara Hillary, a Pioneering African-American Adventurer, Dies at 88

At 75, Hillary became the first black woman to set foot on the North Pole

The Ten Best History Books of 2019

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and help explain how we got to where we are today

The 19-page volume features three original stories, advertisements and a table of contents.

Miniature Manuscript Penned by Teenaged Charlotte Brontë Will Return to Author’s Childhood Home

The tiny volume, one of six created for a series, will now join four surviving counterparts on view at the Brontë Parsonage Museum

Nina Allender created political cartoons for The Suffragist newspaper.

Celebrating a Century of Women’s Contributions to Comics and Cartoons

A new exhibit marking the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment features innovative illustrations from the suffragist movement to today

The new book, subtitled Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection includes clockwise from top left: crocheted pussyhat; Sfag-Na-Kins sanitary napkins, Black Lives Matter T-shirt; a clay pot by Hopi-Tewa potter Nampeyo and her daughter Fannie; Alice Paul's ERA charm bracelet; and a cup and saucer by designer Belle Kogan.

Smithsonian Elevates the Frequently Ignored Histories of Women

For many, the personal—tea cups, dresses, needlework and charm bracelets—really was political. A new book tells why

Judith Leyster, The Concert, c. 1633

The Dutch Golden Age's Female Painters Finally Receive a Show of Their Own

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts spotlights eight unheralded 17th- and 18th-century artists

Between 1930 and 1933, the U.S. government funded segregated trips to American military cemeteries in Europe for mothers and widows of fallen soldiers. This Gold Star Pilgrim is visiting a soldier’s grave at Suresnes American Cemetery, west of Paris.

Jim Crow Compounded the Grief of African American Mothers Whose Sons Were Killed in World War I

Smithsonian Books presents ‘We Return Fighting,’ a groundbreaking exploration of African American involvement in World War I

A retrospective centered on artist Judy Chicago is one of the many Feminist Art Coalition exhibitions slated for fall 2020.

Fifty U.S. Museums Champion Feminist Art Ahead of 2020 Election

Curators are banding together to organize feminism-inspired exhibitions and events in fall 2020

Though she looms large in the public imagination, Harriet Tubman has rarely received the attention afforded to similarly iconic Americans. A new biopic starring Cynthia Erivo focuses on the decade between Tubman's escape and the end of her Underground Railroad days.

The True Story Behind the Harriet Tubman Movie

“Harriet,” a new film starring Cynthia Erivo, is the first feature film dedicated solely to the American icon

For the first time in some 450 years, Nelli’s "Last Supper" is finally on public view

Renaissance Nun's 'Last Supper' Painting Makes Public Debut After 450 Years in Hiding

The 21-foot canvas, created by self-taught artist and nun Plautilla Nelli, is now on view in Florence

NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left) and Jessica Meir (right).

Watch the First All-Female Spacewalk

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will exit the International Space Station to replace a power controller that failed last weekend

Eileen Collins in space in 1995, when she became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle.

What It Was Like to Become the First Woman to Pilot and Command a Space Shuttle

Eileen Collins talked to <i>Smithsonian</i> about her career in the Air Force and NASA, women in aerospace and more

Charlotte Moore Sitterly made huge strides in our understanding of how atoms are structured and what stars, especially our sun, are made of.

How Charlotte Moore Sitterly Wrote The Encyclopedia of Starlight

The "world’s most honored woman astrophysicist" worked tirelessly for decades to measure the makeup of the sun and the stars

The Guggenheim Museum's Hilma af Klint exhibition was a surprise hit, eventually becoming the Manhattan institution's most-visited show of all time

Study Shows U.S. Museums Still Lag When It Comes to Acquiring Works by Women Artists

Between 2008 and 2018, artwork by women represented just 11 percent of acquisitions and 14 percent of exhibitions at 26 major museums

Margaret Rossiter's research spotlights the women in science whose intellectual contributions have not been given their due.

Women Scientists Were Written Out of History. It's Margaret Rossiter's Lifelong Mission to Fix That

The historian has devoted her career to bringing to light the ingenious accomplishments of those who have been forgotten

The late journalist Cokie Roberts recently visited the Smithsonian to discuss some of the presidents' wives in a new podcast "Portraits." If only, she remarked the First Ladies had been painted when they were young and vivacious, before they had gray hair.

Why Cokie Roberts Admired Dolley Madison

The legendary newswoman, who died at 75, appeared on a Smithsonian podcast earlier this summer to speak about a favorite topic, the first ladies

A New Monopoly Celebrates Women. But What About the Game’s Own Overlooked Inventor?

At the turn of the 20th century, Lizzie Magie created the Landowner’s Game, which sought to teach players about the injustices of wealth concentration

A digital reconstruction of Lilias Adie's face

Wanted: The Missing Bones of a Scottish 'Witch'

Officials in Fife have put out a call for the remains of Lilias Adie, who died in prison in the early 1700s after being accused of witchcraft

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