History Resources

Olympe de Gouges: 1748-1793

Olympe de Gouges was a political activist during the French Revolution. She was a prominent writer, as a playwright and a political commentator.

Empress Nur Jahan was the only woman to rule the Mughal Empire and one of the most powerful figures of 17th-century South Asia.

Maeve Cavanagh was a political activist and poet. She was one of the few women in James Connolly’s Irish Citizen Army.

Malintzin was an indigenous woman in the Yucatán peninsula whose role was pivotal in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire.

Shajar al-Durr is the only female Egyptian ruler and only the second woman to rule in her own right in the Muslim world.

Shirley Chisholm was a teacher, political reformer and civil rights campaigner, the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress.

Licoricia of Winchester was a Jewish businesswoman who lent money to many medieval figures including royalty and others.

Elinor James was a formidable early modern printer, author, and political firebrand. She was nicknamed the 'London City Godmother'.

Betty Webb was a remarkable Second World War code breaker whose intelligence work at Bletchley Park helped shape the Allied war effort.