Washington (CNN) -- When Elizabeth Fry's likeness was bumped from the British £5 note in favor of Winston Churchill, it led to a public outcry and the announcement on Wednesday that Jane Austen's likeness would be added to the £10 note. True, the queen, as the country's monarch, appears on British bills. But historical figures have been included on bank notes for decades. The vast majority have been men. In the United States, there is no shortage of notable women, but bank notes haven't been updated since 1929, nine years after women gained the right to vote. All of the paper money in the United States features men -- nine presidents, two former treasury secretaries and one Benjamin Franklin.
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Bumping woman from £5 note for Churchill caused outcry, Jane Austen on £10 note as make-good
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In the U.S., only woman on currency was Martha Washington, on 19th-century silver certificates
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Hellen Keller, Sacagawea and Susan B. Anthony have appeared on U.S. coins
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The faces currently on U.S. currency were chosen in 1929
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@placeholder explained that U.S. law gives power over the faces on bills to the treasury secretary.
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Washington explained that @placeholder law gives power over the faces on bills to the treasury secretary.
Benjamin Franklin
Being dead is the only technical requirement to appear on a bank note, but presidents have taken up most of the real estate, although there are exceptions, like @placeholder, the Renaissance man and founding father who appears on the $100 bill.