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Women's History

Singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn was applauded—and sometimes banned—for her daring songs about women's lives. 

Country Legend Loretta Lynn Braved Controversy to Tell the Truth About Women’s Experiences

The self-taught singer-songwriter died on October 4 at her home in Tennessee

Betty White in 2015

Betty White’s Belongings Are Up for Auction

The items tell the story of the beloved comedic actress’ life—and her groundbreaking eight-decade career

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Women Who Shaped History

The Little-Known Story of the Women Who Stood Up to General Motors and Demanded Equal Pay

In the 1930s, Florence St. John and her co-workers at an automotive plant won a hard-fought victory for fairness

Florence Pugh (left) stars in Don't Worry Darling as Alice, a 1950s housewife who resides in an idyllic California community with her husband, Jack (Harry Styles, right).

The Feminist Inspiration Behind ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

Director Olivia Wilde dubbed the new film “‘The Feminine Mystique’ on acid”

The Woman King tells the story of the Agojie, an elite, all-woman army in the West African kingdom of Dahomey.

Based on a True Story

The Real Warriors Behind ‘The Woman King’

A new film stars Viola Davis as the leader of the Agojie, the all-woman army of the African kingdom of Dahomey

Gwendolyn Midlo Hall

Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Whose Database Identified Thousands of Enslaved Laborers, Has Died at 93

Searching through forgotten records, she collected data on more than 100,000 individuals

Manual breast pump with black bulb, dating to sometime between 1920 and 1959

The Sucky History of the Breast Pump

Efficient, double electric pumps are only 30 years young, but contraptions for expressing breast milk have been around for millennia

Against all the odds—of her sex, ethnicity and time—Seacole would launch herself into the heart of the war effort, and with it earn herself a unique place in the British public’s consciousness.

A Historian’s Quest to Unravel the Secrets of Mary Seacole, an Innovative, Long-Overlooked Black Nurse

During the Crimean War, the Jamaican businesswoman operated a storehouse and restaurant that offered food, supplies and medicine to British soldiers

A monument of civil rights pioneer Elizabeth Freeman in Sheffield, Massachusetts

Untold Stories of American History

How an Enslaved Woman Took Her Freedom to Court

A new statue honors Elizabeth Freeman, who argued against slavery in a Massachusetts legal case

Pauline Menczer

The Untold Stories of Surfing’s Trailblazing Women

The documentary ‘Girls Can’t Surf’ examines the sexism women surfers faced in the 1980s and ‘90s

Sculptor-printmaker Elizabeth Catlett, photographed at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1977.   

Women Who Shaped History

How Elizabeth Catlett Lifted Up Black Women Through Art

The pioneering sculptor defied trends to honor the daily lives of her subjects

In May 1536, Henry had his second wife, Anne Boleyn, beheaded on trumped-up charges of adultery and incest. For centuries, historians blamed Anne's sister-in-law, Jane Boleyn, for testifying against the queen—but new research calls this claim into question.

The Myths of Lady Rochford, the Tudor Noblewoman Who Supposedly Betrayed George and Anne Boleyn

Historians are reevaluating Jane Boleyn’s role in her husband and sister-in-law’s downfall

The Salem Witch Memorial in Salem, Massachusetts

Last Convicted Salem ‘Witch’ Is Finally Cleared

Elizabeth Johnson Jr. has been officially exonerated—thanks to a dogged band of middle schoolers

Medical student Anna Searcy in 1897

Women Who Shaped History

These Trailblazers Were the Only Women in the Room Where It Happened

A new book spotlights 100 historical photographs of lone women hidden among groups of men

By March 1862, Judith Henry's Virginia home had been reduced to rubble.

Untold Stories of American History

The Civil War’s First Civilian Casualty Was an Elderly Widow From Virginia

Union gunfire killed 85-year-old Judith Carter Henry on July 21, 1861—the day of the First Battle of Bull Run

Drawing of a woman being dragged to a ducking stool at a river in Ipswich, Suffolk, around 1600

When Authorities Dunked Outspoken Women in Water

In early modern England, women accused of being “common scolds” were immersed in rivers and lakes while strapped to contraptions known as ducking stools

The memes place their subjects in situations ranging from historically significant to hilariously obscure, including the Battle of Lexington, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and more.

Trending Today

Why American Girl Dolls Are Starring in Viral History Memes

The popular posts call for characters who witnessed the Salem Witch Trials, JFK’s assassination and other historical events

James Joyce and Sylvia Beach at Shakespeare and Company circa 1926

Who Were the Women Behind James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’?

As the novel turns 100, two exhibitions tell the stories of the women who made it possible

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Untold Stories of American History

Untold Stories of American History

Explore the lives of little-known changemakers who left their mark on the country

Amelia Earhart sitting in her cockpit

Amelia Earhart Statue Finally Arrives at U.S. Capitol

After a 23-year delay, the statue will represent Kansas in the Statuary Hall Collection

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