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Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

A black and white gelatin silver print of Gertrude Ederle standing on the shore with a 1920s flotation device.

Discover the Story of Gertrude Ederle, an Olympic Gold Medalist and World Record Setter Who Made Waves as the First Woman to Successfully Swim the English Channel

After a failed 1925 attempt and a year of training, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926—beating the existing record by nearly two hours and establishing herself as a trailblazer in swimming

Detailed photo of a bronze sculpture depicting George Washington, Polly Cooper, and Skenandoah from the waist up.

She Walked Over 200 Miles in the Snow to Feed a Starving Army. The Oneida Nation Has Remembered Polly Cooper for 250 Years

As one of America's first allies, the Oneida Nation sent 47 warriors to Valley Forge in 1778. Among them was a woman named Polly Cooper, whose skill, generosity and knowledge of white corn kept Washington's soldiers alive

Black-and-white photo of Elizebeth Smith Friedman from the chest up

Elizebeth Smith Friedman Was the U.S. Government's First Woman Codebreaker. She Cracked Nazi Secrets, Saved 8,000 Lives and Pioneered Modern Cryptography

For decades, Elizebeth Smith Friedman worked in near-total secrecy, cracking codes that shaped the outcome of two world wars. Recently declassified, the full extent of her story is still coming to light

Julia Ward Howe posed seated with a book open on her lap.

Meet Julia Ward Howe, the Remarkable Poet Who Wrote the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ and Fought for Women's Suffrage

The poet, philosopher and suffragist wrote a rallying cry in 1861 that would resonate for more than a century—echoing through the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.

Martin Luther King, Jr. stands at a podium with several microphones. Behind him to his left is a crowd of seated and standing people, including Dorothy Height, turned towards him.

Excluded at the March on Washington, Dorothy Height Went on to Become the ‘Godmother of the Civil Rights Movement.’ See How She Built a Movement with Women at the Center.

As one of the only women planning the March on Washington, Dorothy Height organized the logistics, mobilized the crowds, and was never given the microphone. What she built in response helped shape the modern women's movement.

Text of the Declaration in two columns, with the names of the signers in four columns.

Every American Knows the Declaration of Independence. Almost Nobody Knows the Woman Who Printed It

As Baltimore's postmaster and printer to the Continental Congress, Mary Katharine Goddard produced the first official copy of the Declaration of Independence to include the signers' names—and added her own.

Summer Hamilton stands in front of a classroom gesturing.

Discover What a Woman's Voice Can Do That a Textbook Can't. Meet the Team Turning Oral History into Financial Education.

What's missing from financial literacy education? The Smithsonian American Women's History Museum is using first-person stories from We Do Declare to reshape the way students learn about money and financial independence.

A woman and child stand at a shop counter facing a woman behind the register.

How Four Women Built Careers on the Financial Lessons They Learned at Home

In oral histories, advocates and executives reflect on how their mothers shaped their understanding of financial independence through quiet examples and everyday conversations.

A group of people stand around a table looking at a dress laid out on top. Lighting and processing equipment is visible in the background.

How the American Women’s History Initiative Pool Lays the Groundwork for a New Museum

Since 2018, the American Women's History Initiative Pool has funded more than 200 projects across the Smithsonian, supporting research, collections, and programming that make women's history visible long before the museum has a building.

Sepia portrait of Sallie E. Pero from the chest up.

Before Computers Were Machines, They Were Women. Here Are Six Places Where Human Computers Built Modern Science

From AT&T to NASA, women working as computers performed the calculations that made modern science possible. In the early 1900s, computing joined teaching and nursing as one of the few careers open to college-educated women, and it opened doors that few other professions could

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