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Women's History

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The Future Is Female for San Francisco’s Public Art Scene

A new ordinance means that at least 30 percent of new public art will depict notable women of history, beginning with Maya Angelou

"Propped" 1992

Trending Today

Jenny Saville Takes Title of Most Expensive Living Female Artist

Her 1992 nude self-portrait “Propped” sold for $12.4 million. But the record-breaking price lags behind the amount paid to the men’s holder of the title

Annie Kenney in 1909

Newly Discovered Letter Sheds Light on Overlooked Suffragette

Annie Kenney, who took part in the movement’s first militant act, wrote to her sister after being released from prison

Billie Jean King is the fifth recipient of the Smithsonian “Great Americans” medal.

Smithsonian Names Billie Jean King One of Its ‘Great Americans”’

The tennis icon chatted about her life and legacy in a wide-ranging conversation at the National Museum of American History

Denise Mueller Korenek just broke the Cycling World Land Speed Record

Trending Today

American Woman Sets New Bicycle Speed Record

Cyclist Denise Mueller-Korenek hit 183.932 MPH while drafting behind a drag racer in Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, besting the previous record of 167 mph

A modern retelling of the classic arrives in theaters September 28, while director Greta Gerwig plans another remake of the film for late 2019.

Why Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’ Endures

The author of a new book about the classic says the 19th-century novel contains life lessons for all, especially for boys

Anna Howard Shaw in Washington, D.C. in 1914.

History of Now

How Midwestern Suffragists Won the Vote by Attacking Immigrants

Women fighting for the ballot were vocal about believing that German men were less worthy of citizenship than themselves

Diane Leather winning the women's 880 yards in 2:15.8 on May 12, 1956.

Record-Breaking Distance Runner Diane Leather Never Let Lack of Opportunity Slow Her Down

The first woman to run a mile in less than five minutes has died at age 85

Margaret Chase Smith became the first woman ever to serve in both the House of Representatives and the Senate—and the first senator to stand up against Joseph McCarthy's Red Scare.

Women Who Shaped History

The Senator Who Stood Up to Joseph McCarthy When No One Else Would

Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to serve both the House and the Senate and always defended her values, even when it meant opposing her party

Jocelyn Bell Burnell photographed in 2011

Decades After Being Passed Over for a Nobel, Jocelyn Bell Burnell Gets Her Due

Honored with a Special Breakthrough Prize, the astrophysicist says she’ll use the winnings to fund scholarships to support today’s outsiders in the field

Sofonisba Anguissola, "Self-Portrait at the Easel Painting a Devotional Panel," 1556

Madrid’s Prado Museum Will Spotlight Pioneering Duo of Female Renaissance Artists

Lavinia Fontana is widely considered the first professional female artist, while Sofonisba Anguissola served as Philip II of Spain’s court painter

Now You Can View the Travel Sketchbooks of Françoise Gilot, Artist and Inspiration to Picasso

The sketches were made in the ‘70s and ‘80s, during Gilot’s journeys abroad

In the spring of 2018, Angeline Nanni revisited Arlington Hall, where the Venona team got cracking. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Secrets of American History

The Women Code Breakers Who Unmasked Soviet Spies

At the height of the Cold War, America’s most secretive counterespionage effort set out to crack unbreakable ciphers

Michaelina Wautier, "The Triumph of Bacchus," ca. 1643-59

‘Baroque’s Leading Lady’ Artist Michaelina Wautier Finally Gets Retrospective

The 17th-century painter mastered an array of genres at a time when most female artists were consigned to painting flowers

Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, Tainan city councilor Hsieh Lung-chieh and Huang Shu-jen, head of a local group established to commemorate "comfort women"

Taiwan Unveils Its First Statue Honoring ‘Comfort Women’

The monument has sparked diplomatic tensions with Japan

These Women Stepped In to Fill a WWII Pilot Shortage

When a shortage of pilots in WWII forced the U.S. Air Force to recruit women, America was captivated

Ad Astra per Astra by America Meredith

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Meet the Little-Known Math Genius Who Helped America Reach the Stars

It’s time for Mary Golda Ross to be remembered as an aerospace pioneer

A plan for the Virginia women's monument

American South

New Virginia Monument Will Pay Tribute to Hundreds of Historic Women

The monument features 12 bronze statues and a wall etched with 400 additional names of women who played an important role in shaping Virginia’s history

Sold: A Rare Copy of Ada Lovelace’s Groundbreaking Computer Algorithm

The manuscript includes Lovelace’s translation of an Italian paper, her copious notes and a formula that is often recognized as the first computer program

The image on the left is a wood engraving that was likely commissioned by a popular magazine hostile to abolitionism and happy to render Angelina strangely distorted. This is the first time that it has been published next to the photo on the right, on which it was based and which was likely taken in the 1840s.

The South Carolina Aristocrat Who Became a Feminist Abolitionist

After moving to Philadelphia and joining the Quakers, Angelina Grimké rededicated her life to fighting for racial equality

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