Inspirational women in history - who's yours?

[HecateTrivia]

My son has to research and do a biography of an inspirational woman in history. I wondered who you feel inspired by?

And have to also add Mary Slessor

womans hour had a program about mary seacole a couple of years ago, assuming it's the same person, a black contempary of florence nightingale, and nightingale took all the glory.

Wollstonecraft. Sorry for spelling and typos.

TheChairmanMeow - there's a film called 'The Hiding Place' which tells the story.. I love it. Corrie appears at the end.

Elsie Inglis

Another Sylvia Pankhurst fan, despite some of her dodgy politics.

Hassiba Boulmerka - Algerian Olympic 1500m champion. Very courageous in face of death threats from militant Islamists, and a great athlete. Loved watching her. Plus now a successful business woman in Algeria. Awesome role model.

Doreen Lawrence for never giving up hope

Yes - absolutely for Doreen Lawrence - her courage and sheer will is amazing

I was just about to put Mary Seacole, Dame H.

She was a Jamaican nurse who was rejected by the British Government when she applied to help in the Crimean war - and went out and did it anyway, working entirely seperately to Florence Nightingale, making herself bankrupt in the process.

Extraordinary woman.

thanx yama, downloading the film from a torrentsite as we speak.....all googeld out and going to bed now!

Oh yes, Doreen Lawrence - I love her.

Chairman - get the tissues out.

Margery kempe of course.

Dorothy parker
I have girl love for her

Ada Lovelace
Anne Boleyn

Emmy Noether, whose work was arguably more important than Einstein's. Noether's Theorem is frequently described as "the most beautiful theorem in physics" and I can't say I disagree. It takes all of those conservation laws you may have heard of (conservation of energy, conservation of mass, conservation of momentum, conservation of angular momentum, conservation of charge... I could go on) and fits them all into a single theoretical framework. This is the kind of thing that makes physicists go all gooey.

Marie Curie, since I don't think anyone mentioned her yet.

D'oh. Three people already mentioned Marie Curie. Carry on...

Inspirational women in history? Well, if you're lucky enough, much closer to home:

Your mum.

Your sisters.

A really inspiring cousin.

Globally, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Luxembourg(the ultimate imo), and of course lots said up thread.

Plus George Eliot.

In fact, for the OP's son's purpose, I'd insist, if I could, Rosa Luxemburg. Dynamic, humble background, fighting for an ideal in a world set against her, 'stained' from the start, and conspired against and murdered by the state, but an inspiration for European feminists.

Meena Keshwal Kamal for founding Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan; amongst her other work and achievements

Charlotte Perkins Gilman - I loved The Yellow Wallpaper as an introduction to her

Rosa Parks

The Pankhursts

Shakira

And from my personal history... my mum; for raising her daughters so lovingly as a young widow, and endlessly amazing me with her selflessness and kindness. She really is my touchstone of motherhood and I try to be like her every single day.

Ada Lovelace
Rosa Parks
the 16 year old girl who kept 13 Jewish people in her attic for the duration of the war
Elizabeth Fry
My old maths teacher who used to tell us to use our feminin intuition to solve geometry problems.

My DD has just did this homework! She did Rosa Parks.

Historically, Sarah Duchess of Marlborough, not only for what she achieved and how she dominated an era, but also for the best diary entry ever: "My Lord the Duke came home from the wars this day and pleasured me in his topboots."

My grandmother, who took herself to Australia in 1908, ran a post office in the outback for two years before coming home to marry the boy her parents disapproved of, was widowed and brought up two children by herself. And her daughter, my Aunt who went out to Africa with the Colonial Service and spent her life setting up girls schools in East Africa.

Alizziebee - sounds like you come from a family of very strong women

Princess Gwenllian

amelia Earhart.

Edith Cavell - because I'm from East Anglia and live in Brussels. Nurse who treated injured soldiers in WW1 regardless of nationality. Guided hundreds of allied soldiers out of Belgium. Court Marshalled and executed for treason.
Elinor Ostrom - the only female winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics
Aspasia - Socrates referred to her as his teacher (might want to ignore the brothel)
Hatshepsuit (sp) - bought stability and wealth during her 15 year reign