Born: April 21, 1879, Majong, Java [Indonesia]Died: Sept 17, 1904, Rembang Regency, Java Kartini was a Javanese noblewoman whose letters made her an important symbol for the Indonesian independence movement and for Indonesian feminists.The daughter of a Javanese aristocrat working for the Dutch colonial administration as governor of the Japara Regency (an administrative district), Kartini […]
Born: c. 1412, Domrémy, Bar, FranceDied: May 30, 1431, Rouen; canonized May 16, 1920; feast day May 30; French national holiday,second Sunday in May Joan of Arc, Saint, in French, Jeanne d’Arc called the Maidof Orléans was a national heroine and patron saint of France, who united the nation at a critical hour and decisively
Born: 1914, Chu-ch’eng, Shantung province, ChinaDied: May 14, 1991 Jiang Qing or Chiang Ch’ing was a Chinese social and cultural activist, third wife of Mao Zedong and leader of the Gang of Four. Jiang became an actor in the 1930s, using the stage name Lan Ping (Lan P’ing). In 1937 she joined the Chinese Communist
Born: April 22, 1451, Madrigal de las Altas Torres, CastileDied: November 26, 1504, Medina del Campo, SpainIsabella I was the queen of Castile, called la Católica (“the Catholic”), and a sponsor of the voyages of Christopher Columbus. She was the daughter of John II of Castile and León by his second wife, Isabella of Portugal.
Born: c. 752, , AthensDied: Aug 9, 803, Lesbos Irene was a Byzantine empress, born of a humble family in Athens. In 769, she married Emperor Leo IV. After her husband’s death she ruled as regent during the minority of her son, Emperor Constantine VI. Irene desired supreme power. However; she contested the throne with
Born: 1157, Izu Province, JapanDied: Aug 16, 1225, KamakuraMasako was the wife of Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-99), the first shogun, or military dictator, of Japan. She is said to have been largely responsible for Yoritomo’s success, and after his death she assumed great power.Masako fell in love with Yoritomo when he was exiled from the capital
Born: c. 248, Drepanon, Bithynia, Asia MinorDied: c. 328, Nicomedia; Western feast day August 18; Eastern feast day [with Constantine] May 21 Saint Helena was a concubine and possibly wife of the Roman emperor Constantius I, and mother of Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome. She was probably born in Drepanum, later called Helenopolis in
Hatshepsut (lived 15th Century BC), was an Egyptian ruler of the 18th Dynasty, daughter of Thutmose I. She married her half brother, Thutmose II, with whom she co-ruled Egypt until his death in 1479 BC. His successor, Thutmose III, a son by a concubine, was a child at the time and was married to Hatshepsut’s
Born: June 27, 1869, Kovno (now Kaunas),Lithuania, Russian EmpireDied: May 14, 1940, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Emma Goldman was Lithuanian-born anarchist, born in Kovno (now Kaunas, Lithuania). In 1885 she immigrated to the United States, where she became a leader of the anarchist movement, working in close association with the Polish-born anarchist Alexander Berkman. After attacking
Born: March 15, 1933, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an American jurist and professor of law, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court who has worked towards ending institutionalized discrimination against women. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 15, 1933. She attended Cornell University and the law schools
Died: 180 BC, ChinaGaohou was the first woman ruler of China, wife of Gaozu, the first emperor of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).After Gaozu’s death, his and Gaohou’s young son, the emperor Huidi (reigned 195-188 BC), ascended the throne. Gaohou, whose ambition had spurred her husband’s rise to power, acted as regent and seized
Born: November 19, 1917, Allahabad, IndiaDied: October 31, 1984, New Delhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian politician, who served as prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1984. Gandhi’s controversial political career ended when she was assassinated by Sikh extremists.Gandhi was born Indira Priyadarshini Nehru in Allahabad, the only
Died: 597, ParisFredegund was the queen consort of Chilperic I, the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons.Originally a servant, Fredegund became Chilperic’s mistress after he had murdered his wife and queen, Galswintha (c. 568). Galswintha, however, was also the sister of Brunhild, the wife of Chilperic’s half-brother Sigebert I, king of the eastern kingdom of Austrasia.
Born: April 15, 1930, Reykjavík, IcelandFinnbogadottir was a teacher, cultural figure and politician who served as president of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. She was the first woman in the world to be elected head of state in a national election.Finnbogadóttir was born into a wealthy and well-connected family. Her mother chaired Iceland’s National Nurses
Born: April 21, 1926, London, England Flizabeth II, full name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is the present queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland daughter of King George VI, born in London. In 1944, she served as a councillor of state while her father was on the war front in Italy. She married Prince Philip, Duke