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So many of the social life's aspects have changed for women in the years. Starting with the right for education and ending with gender equality - all of this didn't happen overnight, and many badass women had to sacrifice their personal lives for a greater cause. Women's Equality Day celebrated on August 26th in the US, commemorates the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote. It was certified in 1920, despite being introduced many years earlier in 1878, and since 1972, every president has published a proclamation for Women's Equality Day. Only because of the strong women in history we have reached this point in our society.

Starting from female Samurais in the early 1800s and ending with Stephanie Kwolek, who invented Kevlar (yes, a woman invented that!) this list of women who changed the world will shed some light on the 'weaker' gender. And without some of these pioneers, we wouldn't be this advanced in such spheres as neuro-surgeries, chemistry, and even programming.

Scroll down and take a look at our list of famous women in history. And, ladies, you might get inspired by these women in history to reach for your goals, no matter how impossible they might seem.

#1

A Woman Hitting A Neo-Nazi With Her Handbag In Växjö, Sweden (13 April, 1985)

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LizBaruzzini
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read about this woman, she was actually a Holocaust survivor -- I have so much respect for her.

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#2

Marie Curie Was A Polish Physicist And Chemist Famous For Her Work On Radioactivity And Twice A Winner Of The Nobel Prize

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KlaudiaBraun
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She was polish not French at all. She married a French and worked there but never describ do herself as French

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#3

Kathrine Switzer Was The First Woman To Run The Boston Marathon (1967). When Organizer Jock Semple Realised A Woman Was Running He Tried To Tackle Her

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#4

Margaret Heafield Was A Director Of Software Engineering For Nasa's Apollo Space Program (1969)

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JessicaBabineau
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She wrote out by hand the mathematical sequence that enabled the Apollo mission to be successful. (That's what she's standing beside) . They said that she was so accurate they used to get her to double check the math once computers started doing it for the other scientists.

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#5

Russia-born Valentina Tereshkova Became The First Woman In Space Aboard The Vostok 6 (1963)

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RitaInina
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She is behind in points. Tattoo artist is more popular than the woman astronaut? Give me a break!

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#6

One Of The Onna-Bugeisha, Female Samurai Warrior Of The Upper Bushi (Samurai), Class In Feudal Japan (Late 1800's)

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#7

Amelia Earhart Was The First Female Aviator To Fly Solo Across The Atlantic Ocean (1928)

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sydney
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Women have always been pioneers in aviation they just don;t get the press or the credit they deserve. Amelia Earhart

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#8

These Women Were Firefighters At Pearl Harbor (1941)

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DebFick
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hmmm- "These WOMEN were FEMALE firefighters". Would a headline read "These MEN were MALE firefighters"???

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#9

Komako Kimura, A Prominent Japanese Suffragist Marched On Fifth Avenue In New York City Demanding The Right To Vote (27 October, 1917)

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#10

Eliza Leonida Zamfirescu, The First Woman Engineer In The World

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#11

Rosa Louise Mccauley Parks - Civil Rights Activist

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PetraMiddendorp
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She had two strikes against her, she was a woman and she was black and what she did took so much courage. She did not fight for prestige, but for justice

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#12

Sofia Ionescu-ogrezeanu (25 April 1920 – 21 March 2008) Was A Romanian Neurosurgeon And Is Cons

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Claudia
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Romania-born, Sofia Ionescu, is the one female neurosurgeon who was nominated as the first neurosurgeon in the world. She worked in the field for 47 years, performing all the procedures known at that time.

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#13

Anne Frank Was A Jewish Diarist And Writer

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cookiemonster
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

who, totally unimportant fact, lived during the holocaust and was eventually killed by the Nazis a couple of months before the killing stopped.

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#14

A 106-year-old Woman Who Protected Her Home With A Rifle, In Armenia (1990)

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#16

Nadia Comaneci - The First Women To Score A Perfect 10 In Gymnastics At The Olympic Games

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#17

Ana Aslan (romania) - She Is Considered To Be A Pioneer Of Gerontology And Geriatrics.

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#18

Maud Stevens Wagner Was The First Known Female Tattoo Artist In The United States (1907)

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Maureen Mower
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7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've never gotten a tattoo, but I do like her taste in art... dragons, horses, butterflies, a girl with 2 lions as friends, a hummingbird, etc. Plus, if she did all that on herself, that is pretty amazing on it's own... how does one tattoo the back of one's own arm, for instance?

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#19

Mary Winsor Holding Suffrage Prisoners Banner In Washington D.C. (1917)

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#20

Sarla Thakral Was First Indian Woman To Fly. She Earned An Aviation Pilot License In 1936 At The Age Of 21 And Flew A Gypsy Moth Solo

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#21

Annette Kellerman Promoted Women’s Right To Wear A Fitted One-Piece Bathing Suit (1907). She Was Arrested For Indecency

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guess
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If they knew how people dressed now......... I dunno, I think one pieces are cool and whatever but some of the ways people dress at the beach are my definition of "indecent"... but I guess it's their right and all so go Mz. Kellerman! (still no sarcasm here)

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#22

Muslim Woman Covers The Yellow Star Of Her Jewish Neighbor With Her Veil (1941)

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#23

Bertha Von Suttner - First Woman Peace Activist And First Woman To Be Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

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#24

Suu Kyi (burma) Was Under House Arrest For 15 Yrs For Her Pre-democracy Campaigning.

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#25

Marina Ginestà Was A French Veteran Of The Spanish Civil War. This Is Her Most Famous Picture At The Top Of Hotel Colón In Barcelona (21 July, 1936)

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#27

Voting Activist Annie Lumpkins At The Little Rock City Jail (10 July, 1961)

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Maureen Mower
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7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why the suitcase? Had she been in the jail that long - or was she expecting to go to jail for that long?

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#28

The First European Woman Ever To Obtain A License And A Phd In Law From The University Of Paris

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Claudia
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sarmiza Bilcescu, a Romanian. In 1887 she took her license degree (BA) in Law and three years later her PhD in Law

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#29

Ftima El Fihria The Founder Of The First University In The World Fes Morocco

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MaxWinkler
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

contrast this with the current deadly proscription against women learning under radical Islam.

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#30

Stephanie Kwolek, Inventor Of Kevlar

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MarcoBello
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is one of the inventions that most surprise me because it involves innovation in its purest form under a very elegant and clever simplicity. It is a very, very smart invention. I never knew who invented it. Now I know. :)

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#31

Gertrude Caroline Ederle Became The First Woman To Swim Across The English Channel (1926)

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#32

Florence Nightingale:1st Nurse To Teach Basic Sanitation Betwn Patients. 1820-1910 Lady W/ Lamp

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#33

NASA Astronaut Anna Lee Fisher Became The First Mother In Space (1984)

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#35

Ellen O'neal, One Of The Greatests Female Freestyle Skateboarders In The World (1970)

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#36

Women's Liberation Coalition Marching For Equal Pay (1970)

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#37

A Female Lockheed Employee Works On One In Burbank, California (1944)

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BoredHistorian
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People need to stop putting the word "female" before the job. No one says male doctor or male lawyer!

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#38

Ada Lovelace - First Programmer In History

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MonikaLantos
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She is my favourite because I am a woman and a computer programmer and I often meet people who find strange that a woman is capable of doing this. Even other women are surprised.

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#39

These Four Female Pilots Leaving Their Plane At The Four-Engine School At Lockbourne AAF (Early 1940s)

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#40

Jeanne Manford With Her Son Morty, Foreground, Marching In The New York City Gay Pride Parade (1972)

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#41

Leola N. King, America's First Female Traffic Cop, Washington D.C. (1918)

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#42

Girls Deliver Ice. Heavy Work That Formerly Belonged To Men Only Is Being Done By Girls (16 September, 1918)

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Karis
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this is awesome. i hate the steriotypes that women cant do “ male” jobs because they would be bad at it. but turns out women are usually better at it than men😂😂

#43

Milunka Savić Was A Serbian War Heroine Who May Be The Most-decorated Female Combatant Ever.

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#44

Smith College Class Of 1902 Basketball Team - Senda Berenson introduced and adapted the rules for women's basketball

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#45

Angela Davis (b. January 26, 1944), American Political Activist, Scholar, Author & Feminist.

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Simon Kendra
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Angela Davis, who condoned communism dictatorship in Europe, approved of state persecution of democratic freedom fighters and said they “deserved to stay in prison” because they fought against her beloved oppressive murderous communist leaders.

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#46

Kate Sheppard, Leader Of Womens Suffrage In New Zealand, The 1st Country To Give Women The Vote

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#47

Hattie Larlham Pioneered Specialized Care For Developmentally Disabled Children.

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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Circa 1977. Started a foundation for this in 1961. Larlham drew national attention for her efforts and eventually served as a disabilities issue advisor to U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Her accomplishments also earned her a place in the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame. She died in 1996.

#48

Claudette Colvin - The First Woman To Refuse To Give Up Her Seat On A Montgomery, Al Bus

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Tania-Briannë Fox
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7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Miss Colvin is the real Rosa Parks. She was replaced by Miss Parks for marketability reasons. Miss Colvin had a child out of wedlock (she was molested as a teen) and she was darker skinned than Miss Parks. It was Miss Colvin's defiant stance on a bus that inspired the Rosa Parks publicity stunt. Miss Parks was brave, horrible things could have happened to her in retaliation for standing her ground. But she was a stand-in for Miss Colvin, whose experience was not staged but a fact of her everyday life. Read about her.

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#49

Billie Jean King. Us Tennis Legend & Became The First Prominent Female Athlete To Come Out.

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#50

Mileva Maric, Serbian Physicist, Einsteins Wife. Worthy "his" Nobel Prize.

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#51

Sybil Ludington, Alerted Colonial Forces Of The British, Riding Twice The Distance Of Revere.

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#52

Eliska Junkova: Czech Automobile Racer In Her Bugatti. One Of The Greatest Grand Prix Drivers.

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#53

Political Activist Dr. Wangari Maathai Founded The Green Belt Movement, 1977.

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Ikechukwu Ojo
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kenyan professor who led a massive movement, that had massive effect on both Nature and the nation of Kenya The planting of trees, to help stabilize the environment.

#54

Imone Segouin, The 18 Year Old French Résistance Fighter (1944)

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#55

Among The Prisoners Taken On Walcheren Was This Dutch Woman With Her Husband, A German Solder, Whom She Refused To Leave (1944)

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#56

Rachl Carson. Author Of "silent Spring" (1962) And Mother Of The Enviromental Movement

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