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We’ve
created profiles of nine of our favourite inspirational women to share with your
class on International Women’s Day, on 8th March. They are perfect for learners
aged 10 to 14. We’ve found amazing women to cover every area of the curriculum,
from Maths and Science to Art and Activism.
Born: 10th December 1815, London
Died: 27th November 1852, London
Known for: Mathematics and computing
The first in our list of inspirational women, Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer. She is known for working with Charles Babbage on his ‘Analytical Engine’. Ada was the first person to realise that Babbage’s machine could be used for more than just calculation, and to see its potential as a ‘computing machine’. Her notes on the machine contain what many people consider to be the first ever computer programme. She also examined how individuals and society relate to technology as a collaborative tool; something that we still talk about today.
Did you know?
Ada was the
only legitimate child of the famous poet, Lord Byron.
Born: 26th August 1918, West Virginia, US
Died: 24th February 2020, Virginia, US
Known for: Mathematics at NASA
Katherine Johnson was the first African-American woman to attend West Virginia University. During her first years at NASA, due to racial segregation, Katherine was required to work, eat, and use restrooms separately from her white peers. Katherine’s calculations as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first manned spaceflights. Johnson’s work included calculating trajectories, launch windows and emergency return paths for spaceflights, including those of the first Americans in space and orbit, and on flights to the Moon. She also helped NASA to pioneer the use of computers.
Did you know?
In 2015, Katherine was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.
Born: 6th July 1907, Mexico City, Mexico
Died: 13th July 1954, Mexico City, Mexico
Know for: Art
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist who painted many portraits, self-portraits and works inspired by her home country of Mexico. In her work, she explored questions of identity, post-colonialism, gender, class and race in Mexican society. Her paintings were often autobiographical and mixed realism with fantasy. Frida was a promising student, however, a traffic accident when she was eighteen, left her with lifelong pain and medical problems, During her recovery, she took up her childhood hobby of art. She only became world-famous in the late twentieth century, more than twenty years after her death.
Did you know?
In 1984, Mexico declared Frida’s works as
national cultural heritage, prohibiting them from being exported from the
country.
Born: 4th February 1913, Alabama, US
Died: 24th October 2005, Michigan, US
Known for: Civil Rights Activist
Rosa Parks was an American activist in the civil rights movement and is best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In December 1955, Rosa refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger; she was arrested for civil disobedience. Her prominence and willingness to become a controversial figure, inspired the black community to boycott Montgomery buses; the first major campaign of the civil rights movement. Rosa’s defiance became a symbol of the movement. She continued to work for the movement, alongside Martin Luther King Jnr and other leaders. We think she’s one of the most inspirational women in US history.
Did you know?
Upon her death in 2005, Rosa was the first woman to lie in honour in the Capitol Rotunda, one of only four Americans to receive this honour.
Born: 7th November 1867, Warsaw, Poland
Died: 4th July 1934, Haute-Savoie, France
Known for: Physics and Chemistry
Marie Curie was a scientist who did pioneering research on radioactivity. She discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, as well as leading the world’s first studies in the use of radiation on tumours. She also developed mobile x-ray units to support field hospitals during world war one. Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences. She was also the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.
Did you know?
In 1995 Marie became the first woman to be entombed in the Panthéon in Paris as a result of her own personal achievements.
Born: 7th September 1533, Greenwich, London
Died: 24th March 1603, Surrey, England
Known for: being the Queen of England
One of Elizabeth’s first actions as queen, was the establishment of an English Protestant church, this evolved to become the Church of England. Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and siblings, and was relatively tolerant in terms of religion. She was also cautious in foreign affairs, but through the English defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, she became associated with one of the greatest victories in English history. After the short reigns of her half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity.
Did you know?
Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed on the orders of her father, Henry VIII, when Elizabeth was just two years old.
Born: 24th July 1897, Kansas, US
Died: c. 2nd July 1937, Pacific Ocean
Known for: being an aviation pioneer
Amelia Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. In 1935, Amelia started to work at Purdue University as an advisor on aeronautical engineering and a career counsellor for women students. During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight around the globe in 1937, Amelia’s plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean, it was never found.
Did you know?
Amelia was the sixteenth woman in the United States to be issued with a pilot’s license.
Born: 12th July 1997, Swat, Pakistan
Died: N/a
Known for: human rights advocacy
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize winner. She’s one of our favourite modern inspirational women. She is known for fighting for human rights, especially the education of women and children in northwest Pakistan, where the Taliban have at times banned girls from attending school. On the 9th October 2012, while on a bus, Malala and two other girls were shot by a Taliban gunman in an assassination attempt in retaliation for her activism. Following her recovery, Malala became a prominent activist for the right to education. Her work has grown into an international movement.
Did you know?
In 2013, Malala co-authored I Am Malala, an international best seller.
Born: 15th July 1858, Manchester, England
Died: 14th June 1928, London, England
Known for: leading the suffragettes
Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union, an all-women organisation dedicated to fighting for votes for women. With a motto of ‘deeds, not words’, the WSPU became known for smashing windows, assaulting police officers and destroying property. Pankhurst, her daughters, and other suffragettes were repeatedly sent to prison, where they went on hunger strike to secure better conditions, and were often force fed. She was widely criticised for her violent tactics, but her work is recognised as crucial in achieving the women’s vote in the United Kingdom.
Did you know?
At the outbreak of the First World War, Emmeline called for a halt to suffrage activism in support of the British government’s fight against Germany.
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