299 Women Who Shaped World History

Born: Nov 29, 1843, LondonDied: Dec 8, 1932 Jekyll was an English landscape architect who was the most successful advocate of the natural garden and who brought to the theories of her colleague William Robinson a cultivated sensibility he lacked.Born of a prosperous family, Jekyll was educated in music and painting and travelled in the […]

Born: July 1, 1873, Paris, FranceDied: March 24, 1968, Mahwah, New Jersey, U.S. Pioneer of the French and American film industries, Guy was the first woman director; she is also generally acknowledged to be the first director to film a narrative story.Hired as Léon Gaumont’s secretary, Guy directed her first moving picture, La Fée aux

Born: 1593, Rome, Papal States [Italy]Died: 1652/53, Naples, Kingdom of Naples Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian baroque painter, one of the few well-known female artists of her era, and an influential artist who developed the compositions of great expressive power and originality. Gentileschi was known for her inventive adaptation of the techniques of Italian artist

Born: 1552, Bologna, Papal StatesDied: Aug 11, 1614, Rome Lavinia Fontana was an Italian painter, one of the most successful women artists of her era. During her career, Fontana executed a series of major public commissions, including the paintings of both religious and mythological subjects. This was an unusual accomplishment as most women painters at

Born: April 29, 1917, Kiev, UkraineDied: Oct 13, 1961, New York, U.S. Maya Deren was an influential director and performer who is often called the “mother” of American avant-garde filmmaking. Her films are not only poetic but instructive, offering insight into the human body and pysche and demonstrating the potential of film to explore these

Born: August 15, 1912, Pasadena, California, U.S.Died: August 13, 2004, Santa Barbara Julia Child was an American cooking expert, author and television personality. Born in Pasadena, California, she graduated from Smith College and served with the Office of Strategic Services in East Asia during World War II. After the war, she married diplomat Paul Child

Born: Aug 19, 1883, Saumur, FranceDied: Jan 10, 1971, Paris Coco Chanel, real name Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was aFrench fashion designer and one of the leaders of haute couture (high fashion), whose name was synonymous with elegance and chic. She was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire. In 1914, Chanel opened a millinery shop in Paris. By

Born: 1940, West Bengal Anjolie Ela Menon is among India’s lending contemporary female artists, who have created a name for themselves in the domestic as well as international art scenario. Her works are a part of significant painting collections across the globe. One of her art works, ‘Yatra’, was recently picked up by the Asian

Born: 1913, HungaryDied: December 6, 1941 Amrita Shergill was one of the most promising Indian artists of the pre-colonial era, youngest ever and the only Asian to be elected as Associate of the Grand Salon in Paris.Amrita Shergill was a renowned Indian painter. She was one of the most charismatic and promising Indian artists of

Born: May 22, 1844, Allegheny City [now part of Pittsburg], Pa., U.S. Died: June 14, 1926, Château de Beaufresne, near Paris, FranceMary Cassatt was an American painter, who lived and worked in France as an important member of the impressionist group (painters who aimed to represent the effects of light on objects. Cassatt was born

Born: Sept 16, 1887, ParisDied: Oct 22, 1979, Paris Nadia Juliette Boulanger was a French teacher, composer and conductor, who influenced a generation of American composers. Born in Paris, she studied under the French composer Gabriel Fauré. In 1918, she stopped composing, after the death of her sister Lili, who was also a gifted composer.

Born: Jan 3, 1897, San Francisco, California., U.S.Died: Oct 1, 1979, La Quinta, California Dorothy Arzner was an American filmmaker who was the only woman directing feature-length studio films in Hollywood during the 1930s. From 1927 to 1943 she was credited with directing 17 films, including Christopher Strong (1933) and Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), both

Born: March 14, 1923, New York, U.S.Died: July 26, 1971, New York City Diane Arbus was an American photographer known for her black-and-white portraits of individuals on the fringes of society. The alienation and inner torment depicted in her photographs mirrored both her own inner feelings and the social turmoil in the United States during