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Published in 2010 by Britannica Educational Publishing (a trademark of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.) in association with Rosen Educational Services, LLC 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010. Copyright © 2010 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Rosen Educational Services materials copyright © 2010 Rosen Educational Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Distributed exclusively by Rosen Educational Services. For a listing of additional Britannica Educational Publishing titles, call toll free (800) 237-9932. First Edition Britannica Educational Publishing Michael I. Levy: Executive Editor Marilyn L. Barton: Senior Coordinator, Production Control Steven Bosco: Director, Editorial Technologies Lisa S. Braucher: Senior Producer and Data Editor Yvette Charboneau: Senior Copy Editor Kathy Nakamura: Manager, Media Acquisition Kathleen Kuiper: Manager, Arts and Culture Rosen Educational Services Jeanne Nagle: Senior Editor Nelson Sá: Art Director Nicole Russo: Designer Introduction by Kristi Lew Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The 100 most influential women of all time / edited by Kathleen Kuiper.—1st ed. p. cm.—(The Britannica guide to the world's most influential people) "In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services." Includes index. ISBN 978- - 5301 61 058- (eBook) 7 1. Women—Biography. 2. Women—History. I. Kuiper, Kathleen. II. Title: One hundred most influential women of all time. HQ1121.A14 2010 920.72—dc22 [B] 2009029761
Cover photo: Jodie Coston/Photodisc/Getty Images; p. 16 © www.istockphoto.com/Diane Diederich.
Introduction Hatshepsut Nefertiti Sappho Cleopatra Mary Hypatia Theodora Wuhou Irene Murasaki Shikibu Hildegard Eleanor of Aquitaine Margaret I Christine de Pisan Joan of Arc Mira Bai Isabella I Teresa of Ávila Mary I Catherine de Médicis Elizabeth I Artemisia Gentileschi Okuni Christina Maria Theresa Catherine II Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun Marie-Antoinette Mary Wollstonecraft Germaine de Staël Jane Austen Sacagawea Sojourner Truth Dorothea Dix Charlotte and Emily Brontë 8 17 19 23 25 31 34 36 38 41 43 45 47 51 54 55 70 71 78 80 83 89 103 105 107 110 115 125 126 128 131 136 144 147 149 151
32 153
Victoria Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton Florence Nightingale Harriet Tubman Elizabeth Blackwell Mary Baker Eddy Cixi Mary Cassatt Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Winnemucca Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Jane Addams Annie Jump Cannon Marie Curie Gertrude Bell Maria Montessori Rosa Luxemburg Colette Gertrude Stein Isadora Duncan Margaret Sanger Helen Keller Marie Stopes Anna Pavlova Virginia Woolf Coco Chanel Eleanor Roosevelt Karen Horney Martha Graham Soong Mei-ling Amelia Earhart Irène Joliot-Curie Golda Meir Marlene Dietrich Simone Weil
159 170 177 182 184 186 192 195 197 201 203 206 208 209 213 215 217 220 223 225 229 230 233 235 237 253 255 260 262 267 270 271 274 276 279
Katherine Dunham 281 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin 282 Mother Teresa 286 Lucille Ball 288 Rosa Parks 291 Jiang Qing 292 Elizabeth Stern 295 Sirimavo R. D. Bandaranaike 296 Indira Gandhi 299 Eva Perón 301 Rosalind Franklin 303 Rosalyn S. Yalow 304 Nadine Gordimer 306 Elizabeth II 307 Anne Frank 310 Violeta Barrios de Chamorro 312 Sandra Day O'Connor 313 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf 316 Gro Harlem Brundtland 318 Wangari Maathai 319 Martha Stewart 320 Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard 323 Billie Jean King 324 Mary Robinson 327 Aung San Suu Kyi 329 Shirin Ebadi 330 Hillary Rodham Clinton 332 Oprah Winfrey 338 Rigoberta Menchú 340 Diana, Princess of Wales 342 Glossary 345 For Further Reading 348 Index 350
It did not take long for Ptolemy to forcibly remove Cleopatra from her position. Court artists. and on the world stage. Hatshepsut wielded unprecedented power. Most of these women managed to flourish in the face of adversity. full beard and all. Ahmose. influential women from around the globe. As the eldest sibling by eight years. rose to power when she was 18 years old. After her father and half brother died. coruling with her brother. much to Ptolemy XIII's displeasure. was an infant. no single tome can hold all the intricate details of their collective lives. Clearly. She fled to Syria. Ptolemy XIII. Hatshepsut was allowed to assume the role of regent only because the rightful heir. with a tip of the hat to those who have made their mark in the arts and sciences. covers many of the most outstanding. Coverage runs the gamut from queens to commoners. For centuries. in their country's political arena. Cleopatra. the eldest daughter of ancient Egyptian King Thutmose I and his queen. took to depicting her as a man. Cleopatra quickly became the dominant ruler. But this book. For a woman. filled with profiles of striking individuals who serve as outstanding representatives of their gender. where she promptly gathered an army and returned to confront her brother in a successful attempt to reclaim the throne.7 Introduction 7 he world is filled with fascinating women. She took full advantage of the situation. The young queen did not take this coup lying down. each with her own compelling story. Consider the case of Hatshepsut. unfamiliar with representations of a queen in such firm control. Some withstood opposition from outside sources. 9 T . merely being a woman was an obstacle these individuals had to overcome. Another ruler of Egypt. essentially claiming the throne for herself while nominally coruling with her son. her son. while family intrigue was a malevolent force in the lives of others.
Although forced to share power with first her brothers. and became queen of France. then her son (allegedly fathered by Caesar).7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Restored to power after forcing Ptolemy to flee Alexandria. for example. and John. daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife. After the death of her half-sister Mary." a moniker she earned while trying desperately to suppress a Protestant uprising and restore Roman Catholicism to England. ultimately unsuccessful. and Sicily. Eleanor inherited a large portion of western France upon his death. had considerable power as the wife and mother of several reigning kings of France and England. The first English queen to rule in her own right was Mary I. the duke of Aquitaine. When the marriage was annulled in 1152. Henry II. she married the heir to the throne of England. Eleanor of Aquitaine. Louis VII. Hundreds of people died during this three-year. Elizabeth ascended the throne and became the queen of England at the age of 25. and became queen of England. both of whom would become kings of England. In 1137. but she and Henry produced three daughters and five sons. Her daughters also married into the royal families of Bavaria. Castile. battle. Mary is better known by the nickname "Bloody Mary. she married the heir to the throne of France. Some of them ruled the country on their own. As the daughter of William X. The women of England were not always relegated to the role of wife and mother of kings. Cleopatra proved to be the true driving force behind the Egyptian throne for 22 years. Cleopatra fortified her position through clever political and romantic alliances with future emperor Julius Caesar and the Roman general Mark Antony. Other women became influential rulers directly through marriage or by giving birth. including Richard the Lion-Heart. Catherine of Aragon. Religious and political strife did not 10 . She and Louis had two daughters.
7 Introduction 7 disappear under her rule. Princess of Wales. and unwavering support of the arts. was not the longest in the history. though. elected to lead Sri Lanka in 1960. Through her son and heir apparent. Among them is Hillary Rodham Clinton. there have been women who have achieved high political office. She would ultimately go on to serve three terms in that office. Diana. Elizabeth is connected to another notable women profiled in this book. Six years later. The first female prime minister in history was Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Like the first Queen Elizabeth. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf became the first woman to be head of state in an African country when she was elected president of Liberia. Her untimely death in 1997 at the age of 36 was mourned by many. Prince Charles. Remembered far more fondly than "Bloody Mary. yet England did emerge as a more powerful country on the world's stage by its end. remaining an important part of Sri Lankan politics until her death in 2000. Other countries around the world also have been led by women in the modern age. Her reign. While the United States has yet to elect a woman president." Elizabeth I ruled for 45 years. children's issues. Mary Robinson. who ruled the United Kingdom for almost sixty-four years. Diana's personality. That honour goes to Queen Victoria I. who made political history as the first American 11 . Even today. and in 2006. Ireland elected its first female president. Indira Gandhi became the first female prime minister of India. the United Kingdom is ruled by a woman. So influential was she during her lengthy reign that she has been immortalized by having an epoch named after her—the Victorian Age. in 1990. She served four terms before being assassinated in 1984. and AIDS relief quickly made her a popular public figure all over the world. Elizabeth II came to the throne when she was 25 years old. beauty.
in later years. also spoke out against slavery as well as for equal rights for women in the 1800s. Tubman helped countless others fleeing for freedom on the Underground Railroad. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton struggled to win for women in America the right to vote. John F. Active in the Women's Trade Union League and the League of Women Voters.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 first lady to win an elective office when she became a United States senator in 2001. Susan B. as chair of Pres. An escaped slave. Roosevelt used her position as first lady to help African Americans. In the United States. Although her bid for president failed. their work culminated in the 19th amendment of the United States Constitution. which granted women this right. Sojourner Truth. In 1920. In 1928. she also helped pave the way for American women to make a difference in politics and other fields. Another woman who worked tirelessly on behalf of others was Eleanor Roosevelt. children. some of the individuals featured in this title came to the fore by helping to empower other women. Still others fought for the rights of other marginalized groups. and. and the poor. Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel did much the same thing in England. Rather than wield power themselves. Clinton earned her way back into the White House as secretary of state in Barack Obama's administration. Activism isn't the only means by which women have been able to help scores of people at once. The medical 12 . these suffragists saw the passage of the Representation of the People Act giving women and men equal voting rights in England. another former slave. Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women. Harriet Tubman fought to see African American men and women treated as equal in American society. One of the most admired women of the 20th century. In the 1800s.
And although her work was largely uncredited. Women's Medical College was instituted to help others bypass the difficulties and prejudice Blackwell herself had endured when she enrolled in medical school. Early detection and highly successful treatment measures for this particular disease were made possible because of Stern's findings. fondly remembered primarily as a nurse. She also devised models for the practice of nursing that are used to this day. was also a tireless social reformer who was instrumental in overhauling military medical and purveyance systems. Blackwell opened a medical college for women in New York City. Her advocacy helped lower the high rates of infant and maternal mortality prevalent in early 20th-century America. Elizabeth Blackwell was blazing a trail that would eventually allow women to become physicians. Sarah Bernhardt 13 .7 Introduction 7 professionals among the elite individuals featured in this book impacted the masses by not only their service but by advancing the field of health care as well. cervical cancer. Elizabeth Stern conducted pioneering research into the risk factors for. Rosalind Franklin played a vital role in unraveling the mystery of DNA. Several distinguished and talented women have entertained and enlightened the public through their art. too. Regarded as the first woman doctor in modern times. Florence Nightingale. Women of science made great strides toward helping humanity. and the causes and progression of. Then there are the women who have left their mark on humankind's collective creative history. Around the same time as Nightingale was staging her renaissance of nursing. Margaret Sanger's promotion of birth control did more than give women choices when it came to procreation.
passion. one of the millions of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Regardless. who wrote about love." In England. the multicamera format is the standard for television comedies. novelist Jane Austen and. Joining Homer in the panoply of great poets of ancient Greece is Sappho. The world's first novel. Ball made us laugh as one of the world's greatest comic actors. A star of stage and screen in her own right. the Brontë sisters. respectively. More than that. both novels are considered prime examples of superb English literature—as is Austen's entire oeuvre. More than a classic of 14 . but a memoir. The Diary of a Young Girl portrays the short life of Anne Frank. to capture the action. paving the way for future generations of female producers and studio heads. Charlotte and Emily. were weaving tales that would eventually become classics. Other shows quickly followed suit. later. as opposed to the one static camera. The Tale of Genji. Another book that still has the power to touch people today is not a novel. the Japanese author Murasaki Shikibu. The show revolutionized TV sitcoms by utilizing a three-camera setup. are grand dames of stage and screen. while the dramatic and poetic nature of Emily's Wuthering Heights wasn't fully appreciated until years later. Lucille Ball is perhaps best known as the star of the I Love Lucy television program. Today.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 and Marlene Dietrich. was written by a woman. for example. and the education of young women in the "nuptial arts. Other women chose to sway public opinion with the written word. Their performances became the watermark by which other actresses have measured their own careers. she was a shrewd businessperson who became one of the first women to run a major Hollywood production company. Charlotte's Jane Eyre was an immediate hit with critics and readers when it was first published.
men and women alike. and shape modern society. and the others profiled in this book.7 Introduction 7 war literature. scientific research. enlighten. Their leadership. and serves as a beacon of hope to all young women who face adversity. The influence of these women. Anne Frank's diary puts a human face on an unimaginable tragedy. 15 . These amazing and influential individuals have given all of us. and artistic vision have served to enrich. reverberates throughout the ages. something to admire and strive for in our own lives.
a lesser harem queen. But now. the throne passed to his son Thutmose III. As Thutmose III was an infant. For the first few years of her stepson's reign. she had assumed the kingship and adopted a full royal titulary (the royal protocol adopted by Egyptian sovereigns). Hatshepsut bore one daughter. 1473–58 BCE. crown or head-cloth. with Hatshepsut very much the dominant king. and false beard. 15th century BCE) he most famous female king of Egypt was Hatshepsut (Hatchepsut). Hatshepsut acted as regent for the young king. but no son. Neferure. who reigned in her own right c. Hatshepsut was the elder daughter of the 18th-dynasty king Thutmose I and his consort Ahmose. But by the end of his seventh regnal year. To dismiss this as a serious attempt to pass herself off as a man is to misunderstand Egyptian artistic convention.7 Hatshepsut 7 HATSHEPSUT (fl. born to Isis. which showed things not as they were but as they should T 17 . son of the lady Mutnofret. Since three of Mutnofret's older sons had died prematurely. Thutmose II inherited his father's throne about 1492 BCE. adopting the full titles and regalia of a pharaoh. Hitherto Hatshepsut had been depicted as a typical queen. Hatshepsut and Thutmose III were now corulers of Egypt. wearing the traditional regalia of kilt. after a brief period of experimentation that involved combining a female body with kingly (male) regalia. her formal portraits began to show Hatshepsut with a male body. Hatshepsut was an entirely conventional regent. She attained unprecedented power for a woman. with a female body and appropriately feminine garments. and she was married to her half brother Thutmose II. with Hatshepsut as his consort. When her husband died about 1479 BCE.
Hatshepsut claimed. In styling herself as a king. Hatshepsut's reign was essentially a peaceful one. But scenes on the walls of her Dayr al-Ba rī temple. In 18 ." There is thus a certain ambiguity in the treatment of Hatshepsut as king. pronominal references in the texts usually reflect her womanhood. Hatshepsut avoided the epithet "mighty bull.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 be. much of her statuary shows her in male form. baboons." regularly employed by other kings. Gold. an essential element of her success was a group of loyal officials. In causing herself to be depicted as a traditional king. and her foreign policy was based on trade rather than war. In less formal documents she was referred to as "King's Great Wife"—that is. who controlled all the key positions in her government. many handpicked. Hatshepsut never explained why she took the throne or how she persuaded Egypt's elite to accept her new position. However. She undertook an extensive building program. to have restored the damage wrought by the Hyksos (Asian) kings during their rule in Egypt. a trading centre (since vanished) on the East African coast beyond the southernmost end of the Red Sea. Most prominent amongst these was Senenmut. in western Thebes. Similarly. "Queen"—while Thutmose III was "King. but there are rarer examples that render her as a woman. More complete scenes show Hatshepsut's seaborne trading expedition to Punt. animal skins. processed myrrh. overseer of all royal works and tutor to Neferure. ebony. successful military campaign in Nubia. Hatshepsut ensured that this is what she would become. and the trees were planted in the gardens of Dayr al-Ba rī. falsely. suggest that she began with a short. Restoration and building were important royal duties. Although in her reliefs she was depicted as a male. Egyptian kings defended their land against the enemies who lurked at Egypt's borders. and living myrrh trees were brought back to Egypt. Traditionally.
was the queen of Egypt and wife of King Akhenaton 19 . Initially the discrepancy between the female name and the male image caused confusion. Hatshepsut allowed Thutmose to play an increasingly prominent role in state affairs. Re.7 Hatshepsut 7 Thebes this focused on the temples of her divine father. At the Karnak temple complex. added a barque shrine (the Red Chapel). At Beni Hasan in Middle Egypt. the national god Amon-Re. NEFERTITI (fl. an attempt was made to remove all traces of Hatshepsut's rule. where she extended her father's tomb so that she could be buried with him. when the decoding of hieroglyphic script allowed archaeologists to read the Dayr al-Ba rī inscriptions. following her death. she built a rock-cut temple known in Greek as Speos Artemidos. and Anubis and to the royal ancestors. it was dedicated to Amon-Re and included a series of chapels dedicated to the gods Osiris. Her supreme achievement was her Dayr al-Ba rī temple. At the end of his reign. Her statues were torn down. Early scholars interpreted this as an act of vengeance. she remodeled her earthly father's hypostyle hall. Hathor. Hatshepsut sank into obscurity until 1822. 14th century BCE) N efertiti. Thutmose III ruled Egypt alone for 33 years. her monuments were defaced. but it seems that Thutmose was ensuring that the succession would run from Thutmose I through Thutmose II to Thutmose III without female interruption. but today the Thutmoside succession is well understood. designed as a funerary monument for Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was to be interred in the Valley of the Kings. and introduced two pairs of obelisks. also called Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti. Toward the end of her reign. and her name was removed from the official king list.
Mutnodjmet. There is strong circumstantial evidence. In any case. Staatliche Benben ("Mansion of the Museen zu Berlin/Preussischer Benben Stone". Berlin. photograph. the benKulturbesitz. In the Theban Museum. ben was a cult object Jurgen Liepe 20 . where she is shown Nefertiti. Berlin. Nefertiti's parentage is unrecorded. the younger three at Tell el-Amarna. to suggest that she was the Egyptianborn daughter of the courtier Ay. however. Two of her daughters became queens of Egypt. accompanying her husabout 1350 BC. Married to him before her husband's accession. and she played a prominent role in the cult of the sun god (Aton. but. brother of Akhenaton's mother.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 (formerly Amenhotep IV. painted limestone bust. Nefertiti bore six daughters within 10 years of her marriage. The earliest images of Nefertiti come from the Theban tombs of the royal butler Parennefer and the vizier Ramose. Tiy. as her name translates as "A Beautiful Woman Has Come. it is known that she had a younger sister. 1353–36 BCE). temple known as HwtÄgyptisches Museum. in the Egyptian band. or Aten) that he established." early Egyptologists believed that she must have been a princess from Mitanni (Syria). the elder three being born at Thebes. reigned c. Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz.
Nefertiti played a more prominent role. Here Nefertiti continued to play an important religious role. straight-edged. indicate that she was considered a living fertility goddess. but there is no record of her death and no evidence that she was ever buried in the Amarna royal tomb. The simplest inference is that Nefertiti also died. The old state temples were closed and the court transferred to a purposebuilt capital city. believe that Nefertiti may have acted as queen regnant—her husband's coruler rather than his consort. A group of blocks recovered from Karnak (Luxor) and Hermopolis Magna (Al-Ashmunayn) shows Nefertiti participating in the ritual smiting of the female enemies of Egypt. and his queen. Akhetaton (Amarna). one of the princesses died. Some historians. emphasized by the constant appearance of the six princesses.7 Nefertiti 7 associated with solar ritual). misunderstanding the textual evidence 21 . flat-topped blue crown. the evidence is by no means conclusive. three disappeared (and are also presumed to have died). She wears her own unique headdress— a tall. Nefertiti and the royal family appeared on private devotional stelae and on the walls of nonroyal tombs. worshipping alongside her husband and serving as the female element in the divine triad formed by the god Aton. the Aton had become Egypt's dominant national god. emphasized by her exaggeratedly feminine body shape and her fine linen garments. usurping kingly privileges in order to serve as a priest and offer to the Aton. and images of Nefertiti stood at the four corners of her husband's sarcophagus. Her sexuality. the king Akhenaton. having considered her reliefs and statuary. However. represented by the sun's disk. By the end of Akhenaton's fifth regnal year. and there is no written evidence to confirm her political status. and her fertility. and Nefertiti vanished. Soon after Akhenaton's 12th regnal year. Early Egyptologists.
took the name Smenkhkare. In the early 21st century attention focused on the "Younger Lady" found in the tomb of Amenhotep II. deduced that Nefertiti had separated from Akhenaton and had retired to live either in the north palace at Amarna or in Thebes. Amarna was abandoned soon after Akhenaton's death. most beautiful female figures from the ancient world.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 recovered from the Maru-Aten sun temple at Amarna. There is good evidence for a King Smenkhkare. but the identification in the 20th century of a male body buried in the Valley of the Kings as Tutankhamen's brother makes it unlikely that Nefertiti and Smenkhkare were the same person. and Nefertiti was forgotten until. it seems inconceivable that she would not have been buried in the Amarna royal tomb. Egyptologists have therefore speculated that Nefertiti may be one of the unidentified bodies recovered from the caches of royal mummies in the Valley of the Kings. Had she died at Amarna. The bust went on display at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin in the 1920s and immediately attracted worldwide attention. despite a missing left eye. 22 . a German archaeological mission led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered a portrait bust of Nefertiti lying in the ruins of the Amarna workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. although it is now accepted that this body is almost certainly too young to be Nefertiti. and ruled alone as female king before handing the throne to Tutankhamen. But the burial in the Valley of the Kings confirms that at least one of the Amarna burials was reinterred at Thebes during Tutankhamen's reign. in 1912. causing Nefertiti to become one of the most recognizable and. Others have suggested that she outlived her husband. This theory is now discredited. Nefertiti's body has never been discovered.
a wealthy man from the island of Andros. A fragment from Sappho that is dedicated to Charaxus has survived. and picturesque. as her name is given in the Aeolic dialect spoken by the poet) has been greatly admired in all ages for the beauty of her writing style. Her language contains elements from Aeolic vernacular speech and Aeolic poetic tradition. 570 BCE) he Greek lyric poet Sappho (or Psappho. c. with traces of epic vocabulary familiar to readers of Homer. which are so frequently reflected in the verse of her contemporary Alcaeus. She ranks with Archilochus and Alcaeus. for her ability to impress readers with a lively sense of her personality. to have been married to Cercylas. among Greek poets. The tradition that she fled the island or was banished and went to Sicily may be true. Legends about Sappho abound. Larichus and Charaxus. but she lived most of her life in her hometown of Mytilene on Lesbos. But many scholars challenge this claim.7 Sappho 7 SAPPHO (b. and may have had a third. Her themes are invariably personal—primarily T 23 . Lesbos [Greece]—d. One of her poems mentions a daughter named Cleis or Claïs. Most modern critics also consider it legend that Sappho leaped from the Leucadian rock to certain death in the sea because of her unrequited love of Phaon. finding evidence in the Greek words of the bawdry of later comic poets. She had at least two brothers. and her emotions lose nothing of their force by being recollected in tranquillity. Her phrasing is concise. She has the ability to stand aloof and judge critically her own ecstasies and grief. 610 BCE. c. Sappho's work contains only a few apparent allusions to the political disturbances of the time. for example. She is said. direct. many having been repeated for centuries. a younger man and a sailor.
Aphrodite is the group's tutelary divinity and inspiration. and to be her ally in persuading a girl she desires to love her. nostalgia and memory of affections that are now distant but shared by the community of the thiasos. the poet invokes the goddess to appear. and for the corresponding masculine institutions. naturalistic outdoor scenes. especially for marriage. Sappho herself attacks in her poems other thiasoi directed by other women. perfumed unguents to sprinkle on the body and bathe the hair—that is. the usual term (not found in Sappho's extant writings) for the female community. The goal of the Sapphic thiasos is the education of young women. including the Spartan. altars smoking with incense. which is also collective because all the girls of the group recognize themselves in it. It is desire and sensual emotion. or nuptial songs. the practice of homoeroticism within the thiasos played a role in the context of initiation and education. with a religious and educational background. In Sappho's poetry. all the elements of Aphrodite's rituals. as she has in the past. Singing. dancing. and poetry played a central role in this educational process and other cultural occasions. In the thiasos the girls were educated and initiated into grace and elegance for seduction and love. In the era of Alexandrian scholarship 24 . Sappho is the intimate and servant of the goddess and her intermediary with the girls. There is a personal poetic dimension. It is not known how her poems were published and circulated in her own lifetime and for the following three or four centuries. that met under her leadership. love is passion. an inescapable power that moves at the will of the goddess. As was true for other female communities. In the ode to Aphrodite.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 concerned with her thiasos. An important part of Sappho's poetic oeuvre is occupied by epithalamia. bright garlands. Frequent images in Sappho's poetry include flowers.
Cleopatra actively influenced Roman politics at a crucial period. Ptolemy XII Auletes. Cleopatra was of Macedonian descent and had little.7 Sappho 7 (3rd and 2nd centuries BCE). if any. Sappho was represented only by quotations in other authors. Since 1898 these fragments have been greatly increased by papyrus finds. Alexandria. The line had been founded by Alexander's general Ptolemy. in 51 BCE. 70/69 BCE—d. Cleopatra became queen on the death of her father. and her son Ptolemy XV Caesar (44–30). August of 30 BCE. in the opinion of some scholars. CLEOPATRA (b. This edition did not endure beyond the early Middle Ages. Egyptian blood. though. Ptolemy XIII (51–47) and Ptolemy XIV (47–44). what survived of her work was collected and published in a standard edition of nine books of lyrical verse. By the 8th or 9th century CE. and she came to represent. She ruled successively with her two brothers. Only the ode to Aphrodite. 25 . the prototype of the romantic femme fatale. which is 28 lines long. Early Life and Reign The Greek name Cleopatra means "Famous in Her Father. She was destined to become the last queen of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and its annexation by Rome in 30 BCE. as did no other woman of antiquity. who became King Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. nothing equal in quality to the two longer poems. divided according to metre. The next longest fragment is 16 lines long. Egypt) N oted in history and drama as the lover of Julius Caesar and later the wife of Mark Antony." and her full regnal name is Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator ("Cleopatra the Father-Loving Goddess"). is complete.
When Ptolemy XII died in 51 BCE. and the arrival of Julius Caesar brought temporary peace. The 18-year-old Cleopatra. and daughter. broad forehead. It is likely. who had also claimed to be the living embodiment of the goddess Isis. Caesar sought money for repayment of the debts incurred by Cleopatra's father. to restore the glories of the first Ptolemies and recover as much as possible of their dominions. or.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 although the Classical author Plutarch wrote that she alone of her house took the trouble to learn Egyptian and. a title that distinguished her from the earlier Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra III. Cleopatra was forced to flee Egypt for Syria. A Powerful Alliance Cleopatra realized that she needed Roman support. Evidence shows that the first decree in which Ptolemy's name precedes Cleopatra's was in October of 50 BCE. Coin portraits of Cleopatra show a countenance alive rather than beautiful. Auletes. The murder of the Roman general Pompey. Ptolemy XIII. a practice common among royalty. as he struggled to retain his throne. styled herself as the new Isis. more specifically. 26 . older than her brother by about eight years. on Egypt's eastern border. that the two married soon after their father's death. liquid eyes. Caesar's support. for political reasons. if she was to regain her throne. with a sensitive mouth. the throne passed to his young son. where she raised an army and in 48 BCE returned to face her brother at Pelusium. Each was determined to use the other. if possible. which had included southern Syria and Palestine. Cleopatra VII. firm chin. and prominent nose. Cleopatra was determined to keep her throne and. but not proven. who had sought refuge from Ptolemy XIII at Pelusium. became the dominant ruler. Soon after.
Antony. was paraded. Cleopatra was in Rome when Caesar was murdered in 44 BCE. and Ptolemy XIII fled and drowned in the Nile. Cleopatra paid at least one state visit to Rome. he celebrated a four-day triumph—the ceremonial in honour of a general after his victory over a foreign enemy—in which Arsinoe. It took Caesar two years to extinguish the last flames of Pompeian opposition. Octavian. Mark Antony became the heir apparent of Caesar's authority—or so it seemed. or "little Caesar").7 Cleopatra 7 Caesar and Cleopatra became lovers and spent the winter besieged in Alexandria. was but a sickly boy. at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE. In June 47 BCE she gave birth to Ptolemy Caesar (known to the people of Alexandria as Caesarion. Ptolemy XV Caesar. the ancestress of the Julian family to which Caesar belonged. now married to her brother Ptolemy XIV. She set out for Tarsus in Asia Minor loaded 27 . died. in 44 BCE. Cleopatra. cannot now be known. Cleopatra now ruled with her infant son. accompanied by her husband-brother and son. Caesar's assassins were routed. as his name implies. As soon as he returned to Rome. When. Cleopatra's coruler. Roman reinforcements arrived the following spring. Whether Caesar was the father of Caesarion. was restored to her throne. now controller of Rome's eastern territories. in 46 BCE. Cleopatra's younger and hostile sister. Antony and Cleopatra Soon after her return to Alexandria. sent for Cleopatra so that she might explain her role in the aftermath of Caesar's assassination. for Caesar's great-nephew and personal heir. Ptolemy XIV. She was accommodated in Caesar's private villa beyond the Tiber River and may have been present to witness the dedication of a golden statue of herself in the temple of Venus Genetrix.
who equated himself with the god Dionysus. in 34 BCE Antony celebrated a triumphal return to Alexandria. Nevertheless. Octavia (Fulvia having died)." Crowds flocked to the Gymnasium to see Cleopatra and Antony seated on golden thrones on a silver 28 . Fulvia. As part of this settlement. he returned to the east and reunited with Cleopatra. he married Octavian's sister. In return. Three years later Antony was convinced that he and Octavian could never come to terms.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 with gifts. Cleopatra and Antony formed a society of "inimitable livers" whose members lived what some historians have interpreted as a life of debauchery and folly and others have interpreted as lives dedicated to the cult of the mystical god Dionysus. Antony needed Cleopatra's financial support for his postponed Parthian campaign. Antony had already left Alexandria to return to Italy. Antony. whom she named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. as was the temporary conquest of Armenia. In Alexandria. Antony returned to Alexandria. having delayed her departure to heighten Antony's expectation. Cleopatra requested the return of much of Egypt's eastern empire. where he treated Cleopatra not as a "protected" sovereign but as an independent monarch. This was followed by a celebration known as "the Donations of Alexandria. His marriage to Octavia now an irrelevance. including large portions of Syria and Lebanon and even the rich balsam groves of Jericho. was captivated. Forgetting his wife. who in Italy was doing her best to maintain her husband's interests against the growing menace of young Octavian. In 40 BCE Cleopatra gave birth to twins. The Parthian campaign was a costly failure. where he was forced to conclude a temporary settlement with Octavian. She entered the city by sailing up the Cydnus River in a barge while dressed in the robes of the new Isis.
he had himself carried to Cleopatra's retreat and there died. Antony and Cleopatra spent the winter of 32–31 BCE in Greece. though Classical writers came to believe that she had killed herself by means of an asp. Cleopatra Selene. 31 BCE. The naval Battle of Actium. Cleopatra buried Antony and then committed suicide. that Antony intended his extended family to rule the civilized world. Octavian seized Antony's will (or what he claimed to be Antony's will) from the temple of the Vestal Virgins. It was clear to Octavian. who had been adopted by Caesar as his son and heir. in which Octavian faced the combined forces of Antony and Cleopatra on Sept. Antony proclaimed Caesarion to be Caesar's son—thus relegating Octavian. Cleopatra was hailed as queen of kings. symbol of divine royalty. Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt. Caesarion as king of kings. was to be ruler of Cyrene. The Roman Senate deprived Antony of his prospective consulate for the following year. 2. watching from Rome. and Cleopatra retired to her mausoleum as Antony went off to fight his last battle. and it then declared war against Cleopatra. to legal bastardy. Antony fell on his sword. was a disaster for the Egyptians. The means of her death is uncertain.7 Cleopatra 7 platform with their children sitting on slightly lower thrones beside them. The boys' sister. to whom it had been entrusted. A propaganda war erupted. She was 39 and had 29 . In a last excess of devotion. after bidding her to make her peace with Octavian. his infant brother Ptolemy the lands to the west of it. The rumour quickly spread that Antony also intended to transfer the capital from Rome to Alexandria. Receiving the false news that Cleopatra had died. and revealed to the Roman people that not only had Antony bestowed Roman possessions on a foreign woman but intended to be buried beside her in Egypt. Alexander Helios was awarded Armenia and the territory beyond the Euphrates.
and with them was buried the Roman Republic. her story could not be forgotten. They were buried together. stripped of any political validity. Cleopatra Through the Ages The vast majority of Egypt's many hundreds of queens. although famed throughout their own land. and her actions had influenced the formation of the Roman Empire. the queens' stories were forgotten and their monuments buried under Egypt's sands. she became a useful enemy for Octavian. To achieve this. as both of them had wished. Their Cleopatra was first and foremost a scholar and a scientist. 30 . developed their own version of the queen. Cleopatra. As Cleopatra had played a key role in his struggle to power. he published his own autobiography and censored Rome's official records.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 been a queen for 22 years and Antony's partner for 11. where it was retold and reinterpreted as the years passed. Meanwhile. were more or less unknown in the outside world. Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) was determined that Roman history should be recorded in a way that confirmed his right to rule. until it evolved into a story of a wicked life made good by an honourable death. her story was preserved as an integral part of his. Muslim scholars. immoral Cleopatra passed into Western culture. who preferred to be remembered for fighting against foreigners rather than against his fellow Romans. a gifted philosopher and a chemist. This official Roman version of a predatory. As the dynastic age ended and the hieroglyphic script was lost. But Cleopatra had lived in a highly literate age. but it was diminished to just two episodes: her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. writing after the Arab conquest of Egypt about 640 CE. As such. was to be remembered as an immoral foreign woman who tempted upright Roman men.
beginning of the Christian. MARY (fl. is known. paintings. including Theda Bara (1917). In the 20th century Cleopatra's story was preserved and further developed through film. have played the queen. nor was it to be the last.7 Cleopatra 7 Plutarch's Parallel Lives. Shakespeare dropped some of Plutarch's disapproval and allowed his queen to become a true heroine. which are. the mother of Jesus. poetry. and Elizabeth Taylor (1963). In the late 20th century Cleopatra's racial heritage became a subject of intense academic debate. music. Meanwhile. typically in expensive. Era) he Virgin Mary and Saint Mary are among the many names by which Mary. His was by no means the first revision of Cleopatra. exotic films that concentrate on the queen's love life rather than her politics. from cosmetics to cigarettes. however. From Shakespeare stems a wealth of Cleopatra-themed art— plays. translated from the Greek into French by Jacques Amyot (1559) and then from the French into English by Sir Thomas North (1579). She has been an object of veneration in the Christian church since the apostolic age and a favourite subject in Western art. with some African American scholars embracing Cleopatra as a black African heroine. Many actresses. and operas. Mary is known from biblical references. or Common. but his is the Cleopatra that has lingered longest in the public imagination. The development of the doctrine of 31 T . and literature. Cleopatra's seductive beauty—a seductive beauty that is not supported by the queen's contemporary portraiture—has been used to sell a wide range of products. served as the inspiration behind Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra (1606–07). Claudette Colbert (1934). too sparse to construct a coherent biography.
oil on wood panel by Fra Filippo Lippi. 1460. c. Berlin 32 . in the Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Berlin.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 The Virgin Adoring the Child.
). "the other 33 . she was entrusted to the disciple John (John 19:26 ff.).).). the attempt to see Jesus while he was teaching (Mark 3:31 ff. the last mention of her (Acts 1:14) includes her in the company of those who devoted themselves to prayer after the ascension of Jesus into heaven. which reports that she was living in Nazareth and was betrothed to Joseph (Luke 1:26 ff. virgin mother.). her acceptance of the privilege conferred on her in the Annunciation is the solemn prologue to the Christmas story.7 Mary 7 Mary can be traced through titles that have been ascribed to her in the history of the Christian communions—guarantee of the incarnation." The first mention of Mary is the story of the Annunciation. but in the Easter story. In contrast. and the station at the cross. the precursor of Jesus (Luke 1:39 ff. Not only does she stand at the foot of the Cross. her kinswoman and the mother of John the Baptist.). immaculate. and assumed into heaven. Only in the narratives of the Nativity and the Passion of Christ is her place a significant one. where. The New Testament account of her humility and obedience to the message of God have made her an exemplar for all ages of Christians. the Passover visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old (Luke 2:41 ff.). Other stories about her recount her visit with Elizabeth. Even if one takes these scenes as literal historical accounts. they do not add up to an integrated portrait of Mary.). the birth of Jesus and the presentation of him in the Temple (Luke 2:1 ff. ever virgin. apparently widowed. although her name is not used (John 2:1 ff. Out of the details supplied in the New Testament by the Gospels about the maid of Galilee. the marriage at Cana in Galilee. second Eve. mother of God. the coming of the Magi and the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:1 ff. Christian piety and theology have constructed a picture of Mary that fulfills the prediction ascribed to her in the Magnificat (Luke 1:48): "Henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
Since the early days of Christianity. Mary has achieved great cultural importance. and the rosary—has played a tremendously important role in the lives of Roman Catholics and the Orthodox. March 415. this devotion has pushed other doctrines into the background. Modern Roman Catholicism has emphasized that the doctrine of Mary is not an isolated belief but must be seen in the context of two other Christian doctrines: the doctrine of Christ and the doctrine of the church. where they maintain that the legitimate development of doctrine may be said to have ended. HYPATIA (b. Popular devotion to Mary—in such forms as feasts. according to traditional interpretations. devotional services. On the other hand. 370. the themes that these scenes symbolize have been the basis for thought and contemplation about Mary. perhaps even the suggestion that she did not fully understand Jesus' true mission. Alexandria. She has also been known as "the first believer" and as the one in whom the humanity of the church was representatively embodied. she knew that the body of Jesus would not be there. 34 . however. at times. What is said of Mary is derived from what is said of Jesus: this was the basic meaning of Theotokos. Christian communions and theologians differ from one another in their interpretations of Mary principally on the basis of where they set the terminal point for such development and expansion—that is. c.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Mary" who came to the tomb of Jesus (Matthew 28:1) is not she. Egypt—d. the incidents that belong to the life of Jesus contain elements of a pronouncedly human character. Alexandria) T he Egyptian Neoplatonist philosopher Hypatia was also the first notable woman in the field of mathematics.
expulsion of Alexandrian Jews in 414 and the murder of Hypatia. The departure soon afterward of many scholars marked the beginning of the decline of Alexandria as a major centre of ancient learning. a 10th-century encyclopedia. combined with her remarkable intellectual gifts. Hypatia wrote commentaries on the Arithmetica of 35 . by a fanatical mob of Christians in 415. several of whose letters to her are still extant. 205–270 CE). Although legislation in 393 sought to curb violence. afterward bishop of Ptolemais (c. which at that time in Western history were largely identified with paganism. the founder of the Syrian branch of Neoplatonism. the Temple of Serapis. 250–330 CE). he gave permission to destroy Egyptian religious institutions. and Iamblichus (c. the bishop of Alexandria. Christian mobs obliged by destroying the Library of Alexandria. the most prominent Alexandrian pagan. and her eloquence. the founder of Neoplatonism. Hypatia became the recognized head of the Neoplatonist school of philosophy at Alexandria about 400. Among them was Synesius of Cyrene. modesty. Roman emperor in the East from 379 to 392 and then emperor in both the East and West until 395. attracted a large number of pupils. This left Hypatia in a precarious situation. Theodosius I. Hypatia lectured on mathematics and on the philosophical teachings of two Neoplatonists: Plotinus (c. In 391. and beauty. a renewal of disturbances occurred after the accession of Cyril to the patriarchate of Alexandria in 412. According to the Suda Lexicon. 410). and other pagan monuments. in reply to Theophilus. She symbolized learning and science. albeit illegal.7 Hypatia 7 The daughter of Theon. Tension culminated in the forced. initiated an official policy of intolerance to paganism and Arianism in 380. also a notable mathematician and philosopher. particularly the looting and destruction of Jewish synagogues.
indicate that she devoted herself particularly to astronomy and mathematics. Nevertheless. that she revised Book III of his commentary on the Almagest. The existence of any strictly philosophical works by her is unknown. and on an astronomical canon (presumably Ptolemy's Almagest). THEODORA (b. 497 —d." must have incensed Cyril. such as "Reserve your right to think. combined with the dramatic details of her grisly death. The known titles of her works. Constantinople [now Istanbul. 548. Her intelligence and political acumen made her Justinian's most trusted adviser and enabled her to use the power and T 36 . June 28. for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all" and "To teach superstitions as truth is a most terrible thing. We have it on the authority of her father. Theon. All of these works are lost. statements attributed to her. Turkey]) he Byzantine empress Theodora was the wife of the emperor Justinian I (reigned 527–565) and probably the most powerful woman in Byzantine history.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Diophantus of Alexandria. although some may survive as parts of the extant Arabic versions of the Arithmetica. Indeed. combined with the letters of Synesius who consulted her about the construction of an astrolabe and a hydroscope (identified in the 17th century by Pierre de Fermat as a hydrometer). on the Conics of Apollonius of Perga. her philosophy was more scholarly and scientific in its interest and less mystical and intransigently pagan than the Neoplatonism taught in other schools. who in turn incensed the mob. c. inspiring works such as Charles Kingsley's novel Hypatia: New Foes with an Old Face (1852). Hypatia's reputation as a learned and beautiful female philosopher. have inspired the imaginations of numerous writers.
Her father was a bear keeper at the Hippodrome (circus) in Constantinople.7 Theodora 7 influence of her office to promote religious and social policies that favoured her interests. she was proclaimed Augusta. herded the rioters into the Hippodrome and cut them to pieces. and though she was never coregent. She received foreign envoys and corresponded with foreign rulers. When Justinian succeeded to the throne in 527. Theodora is remembered as one of the first rulers to recognize the rights of women. Belisarius. and in 525 married her. raised her to the rank of patrician. rather than Justinian. Attracted by her beauty and intelligence. he made her his mistress. For a time. Justinian's advisers urged him to flee. whereupon Justinian's general. functions usually reserved for the emperor. passing strict laws to prohibit the traffic in young girls and altering the divorce 37 . her superior intelligence and deft handling of political affairs caused many to think that it was she. she had been converted to monophysitism. a nonorthodox doctrine. but a combination of the official version with that found in the highly coloured Secret History of Procopius of Caesarea probably provides the best explanation. the Blues and the Greens. Little is known of Theodora's early life. leading an unconventional life that included giving birth to at least one child out of wedlock. united in their opposition to the government and set up a rival emperor. When Justinian met her. Her influence in political affairs was decisive. The two political factions in Constantinople. Her name is mentioned in nearly all the laws passed during that period. She became an actress while still young. who ruled Byzantium. as illustrated in the Nika revolt of January 532. she made her living as a wool spinner. but Theodora advised him to stay and save his empire. Theodora exercised considerable influence.
Luoyang) W uhou is the posthumous name (shi) of the woman who rose from concubinage to become empress of China during the Tang dynasty (618–907). and the empire was unified. Her death. By that time. She spent much of her reign trying to mitigate the laws against the monophysites. at age 14. Wenshui [now in Shanxi province]. she is traditionally said to have already entered into intimate relations with his heir. the Gaozong emperor. but. The best-known representation of Theodora is the mosaic portrait in the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna. Tang rule was consolidated. 624. as custom required. largely through the efforts of Taizong.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 laws to give greater benefits to women. possibly from cancer or gangrene. Her importance in Byzantine political life is shown by the fact that little significant legislation dates from the period between her death and that of Justinian (565). 16. She ruled effectively for many years. 705. the last 15 (690–705) in her own name. Wu Zhao. Little is known of Wu's life as a concubine of Taizong. Dec. the future empress Wuhou was visited there by the new emperor. also called Wu Zetian. as a junior concubine. the Tang dynasty had recently reunited China. Relegated to a Buddhist convent on the death of Taizong. During her reign. Though she succeeded in ending their persecution in 533. China—d. entered the palace of the Tang emperor Taizong (ruled 626–649) in 638. was a severe blow to Justinian. WUHOU (b. she never succeeded in changing Justinian's religious policy from its emphasis on orthodoxy and friendship with Rome. who had her brought back to the palace to be his 38 . on his death in 649.
The emperor. and for the last 23 years of his life. her family was not one of the great aristocratic clans. They also objected to the nature of her relationship with Gaozong. She first eliminated her female rivals within the palace—the existing empress and leading concubines—and in 655 gained the position of empress for herself. decisive character. all of whom had served Taizong and still exercised great influence over the government. of the court. on the grounds that as she had been a concubine of Taizong. Virtually supreme power was now exercised by the Wuhou empress in the name of the sickly Gaozong. and. mainly because. the head of the great family of the Changsun.7 Wuhou 7 own favourite concubine. was hounded to death. if not the love. These men opposed her elevation to the position of empress. who was often too ill to attend to state affairs for long periods. the Tang empire conquered Korea under military leaders who were picked and promoted by the empress. her courage. employing able men who clearly felt loyalty to her and stood by her when she was challenged. finally executed. Wuhou used her authority to bring about the fall of the elder statesmen. although she was the daughter of a relatively senior officer. even when these were her own relatives. won her the respect. Her great ability as an administrator. but she governed the empire with great efficiency. of imperial descent. who was weak in character. When Gaozong died in 39 . relied on her entirely. eventually bearing Gaozong four sons and one daughter. who had been dismissed. however highly placed. By 660 the empress had triumphed over all opponents. in many instances. exiled. and readiness to use ruthless means against any opponent. She continued to eliminate potential rivals. In the years between 655 and 675. it was incestuous. and his relatives were exiled or ruined. the empress was the real ruler of China. Even the emperor's uncle.
only a determination to retain power for herself to the end. the exiled Zhongzong was recalled to court and made crown prince. at age 65. Accepted without revolt. even among her loyal supporters. for Zhongzong was as weak and incompetent as his father. she ruled for 15 years. 40 . Wuhou's own sons. After one month Wuhou deposed her son. she did not place her own family in the line of succession or designate one of her nephews as her heir. whose authority was purely nominal. she would also displace the Tang heirs of the Li family and leave the throne to one of the Wu nephews. Li Dan (the Ruizong emperor). Neither of them nor their sons was popular or unusually capable. known as the Zhongzong emperor. A revolt was raised by Tang loyalists and ambitious young officials in the south. She seems to have had no ambition on behalf of her own family. in 690. on the other hand. Her own nephews of the Wu family had hoped that as she had already changed the name of the dynasty to Zhou. and installed as emperor her second son. In 698 the empress decided to accede to these views. The empress showed her remarkable quality in this decision. there was a growing hope that the Tang family of Li would not be discarded. The new emperor had been married to a woman of the Wei family. Six years later. But. who now sought to put herself in the same position of authority as that of Wuhou. exiled him. It was crushed within weeks with the loyal cooperation of the main armies of the throne. During that period the question of the succession began to assume great urgency. This demonstration of the support she commanded in the public service made the position of the empress unshakable. the empress usurped the throne itself. he was succeeded by his son Li Xian (by Wuhou). had little support and less ability. the two former emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 683.
the consequences of her policies were to be of great historical importance. executed the Zhang brothers. The significance of this aspect of her rule was long obscured by the prejudice of Chinese historians against an usurping empress and her many acts of cruelty toward opponents. The Wuhou empress was a highly competent ruler. They were intensely resented by the court and senior officials. regardless of their social standing. as she gradually fell into ill health. from 699. c. using men of her own choice. old and ill. 9. The transformation of Chinese society in the Tang period from one dominated by a military and political aristocracy to one governed by a scholarly bureaucracy drawn from the gentry was promoted by her policy. Aug. 752. Although her motives were to secure her own authority. She retired to another palace and died there in December of that year. Athens [Greece]—d. She established the new unified empire on a lasting basis and brought about needed social changes that stabilized the dynasty and ushered in one of the most fruitful ages of Chinese civilization. 803. IRENE (b. to yield power to Zhongzong. artistic but depraved courtiers who engaged her affection by elaborate entertainments and skillful flattery. 41 .7 Wuhou 7 In the last years of her life. depended increasingly on the care of the Zhang brothers. who seized the palace. and compelled the empress. many of whom had the temerity—and courage—to warn the empress of their pernicious activity. Lesbos) I rene was a Byzantine ruler and saint of the Greek Orthodox Church who was instrumental in restoring the use of icons in the Eastern Roman Empire. the empress gave her favour to the Zhang brothers. who reigned until 710. In February 705 a conspiracy formed among the leading ministers and generals. She did not heed these warnings and.
guardian of their 10-year-old son. Nicephorus. Irene then reigned alone as emperor (not empress) for five years. Later in that year she crushed what seems to have been a plot by the Iconoclasts (opposers of the use of icons) to put Leo's half brother. however. Another council. According to the contemporary Byzantine historian Theophanes. on her husband's death in September 780. who demanded that the military oath of fidelity should recognize her as senior ruler. Irene favoured the restoration of the use of icons. An attempt to seize power was crushed by the empress. which is recognized by both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as the Seventh Ecumenical Council. By skillful intrigues with the bishops and courtiers she organized a conspiracy against Constantine. In January 792. When it met in Constantinople in 786. the scheme was frustrated by one of Irene's 42 . he grew resentful of his mother's controlling influence in the empire. and co-emperor with him. Irene was allowed to return to court and even to resume her position as coruler. which had been prohibited in 730. Constantine VI was proclaimed sole ruler and his mother banished from court. Constantine VI. Irene became. met at Nicaea in 787 and restored the cult of images. it was broken up by Iconoclast soldiers stationed in that city. She had Tarasius. As Constantine approached maturity. elected patriarch of Constantinople and then summoned a general church council on the subject. and in 802 a marriage between her and Charlemagne was reportedly contemplated. In 798 she opened diplomatic relations with the Western emperor Charlemagne. Anger at the demand prompted the themes (administrative divisions) of Asia Minor to open resistance in 790. who was arrested and blinded at his mother's orders (797). on the throne. one of her supporters.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 The wife of the Byzantine emperor Leo IV.
generally considered the greatest work of Japanese literature and thought to be the world's oldest full novel. 1014. MURASAKI SHIKIBU (b. In any case this work is the main source of knowledge about her life. c. Fujiwara Nobutaka. 978. Japan—d. She was exiled. Irene's zeal in restoring icons and her patronage of monasteries ensured her a place among the saints of the Greek Orthodox Church. c. but after two years of marriage he died. She was born into a lesser branch of the noble and highly influential Fujiwara family and was well educated. The author's real name is unknown. it is conjectured that she acquired the sobriquet of Murasaki from the name of the heroine of her novel.7 Irene 7 favourites. having learned Chinese (generally the exclusive sphere of males). the year in which she was summoned to serve at court (for reasons unknown). the minister of finance. and bore him a daughter. her new position within what was then a leading literary centre likely enabled her to produce a story that was not finished until about 1010. In 802 a conspiracy of officials and generals deposed her and placed on the throne Nicephorus. Kyōto) he court lady known as Murasaki Shikibu was the author of the Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji). and the name Shikibu reflects her father's position at the Bureau of Rites. It possesses considerable interest for the delightful 43 T . It is more likely that the composition of her extremely long and complex novel extended over a much greater period. first to the island of Prinkipo (now Büyükada) and then to Lesbos. Her feast day is August 9. Kyōto. She married a much older distant cousin. Some critics believe that she wrote the entire Tale of Genji between 1001 (the year her husband died) and 1005.
She is credited with writing one of the greatest works of Japanese literature. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division 44 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Murasaki Shikibu confers with wise men and fellow poets in this detail of a woodcut by Kitigawa Utamaro.
HILDEGARD (b. but its notes and reader aids are sparse. Much of it is concerned with the loves of Prince Genji and the different women in his life. Sept. all of whom are exquisitely delineated. The tone of the novel darkens as it progresses. Edward Seidensticker's translation (1976) is true to the original in both content and tone. but also very free. and courtship. Arthur Waley was the first to translate The Tale of Genji into English (6 vol. music. visionary mystic. whom Murasaki Shikibu served. 17. was a German abbess. indicating perhaps a deepening of Murasaki Shikibu's Buddhist conviction of the vanity of the world. 45 . an anchorite and sister of the count of Spanheim. also called Hildegard von Bingen and the Sibyl of the Rhine.. The Tale of Genji captures the image of a unique society of ultrarefined and elegant aristocrats. Born of noble parents. 1179. believe that its last 14 chapters were written by another author. it is permeated with a sensitivity to human emotions and to the beauties of nature hardly paralleled elsewhere. near Bingen. traditional feast day September 17) H ildegard. Böckelheim. however. Murasaki Shikibu's diary is included in Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan (1935). Hildegard was educated at the Benedictine cloister of Disibodenberg by Jutta. 1925–33). Although the novel does not contain scenes of powerful action. 1098. whose indispensable accomplishments were skill in poetry. calligraphy. and composer. Some. West Franconia [Germany]—d.7 Murasaki Shikibu 7 glimpses it affords of life at the court of the empress Jōtō mon'in. Waley's translation is beautiful and inspiring. unlike the translation published by Royall Tyler in 2001. translated by Annie Shepley Ōmori and Kōchi Doi. a classic of English literature. Rupertsberg.
She traveled widely throughout Germany. The finished work. A committee of theologians subsequently confirmed the authenticity of Hildegard's visions. each with a musical setting composed by her. who in turn reported the matter to the archbishop of Mainz. at age 43 she consulted her confessor. evangelizing to large groups of people about her visions and religious insights. As one of the few prominent women in medieval church history. and a monk was appointed to help her record them in writing. A talented poet and composer. Though her earliest biographer proclaimed her a saint and miracles were reported during her life and at her tomb. consists of 26 visions that are prophetic and apocalyptic in form and in their treatment of such topics as the church. however. Having experienced visions since she was a child. she was never formally canonized. in Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum. reflecting a quality of scientific observation rare at that period. where she continued to exercise the gift of prophecy and to record her visions in writing. She succeeded Jutta as prioress in 1136. and extensive correspondence. the relationship between God and man.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Hildegard was 15 years old when she began wearing the Benedictine habit and pursuing a religious life. Scivias (1141–52). About 1147 Hildegard left Disibodenberg with several nuns to found a new convent at Rupertsberg. She also for amusement contrived her own language. Hildegard collected 77 of her lyric poems. Her writings 46 . two treatises on medicine and natural history. in which are to be found further prophecies and allegorical treatises. and redemption. Her numerous other writings include lives of saints. Hildegard became the subject of increasing interest in the latter half of the 20th century. She is. listed as a saint in the Roman Martyrology and is honoured on her feast day in certain German dioceses.
Upon William's death in 1137 she inherited the duchy of Aquitaine and in July 1137 married the heir to the French throne. April 1. 1122—d. Eleanor of Aquitaine (also called Eleanor of Guyenne) was the mother of Richard the Lion-Heart and John of England. c. After their return to France and a short-lived reconciliation. and works of fiction. or Aliénor.7 Hildegard 7 were widely translated into English. especially at the court of her uncle Raymond of Poitiers at Antioch. 47 T . were published. Eleanor (French: Éléonore. a title she held for the next 15 years. capricious. She was perhaps the most powerful woman in 12th-century Europe. than those held by the French king. 1204. often goading him into undertaking perilous ventures. and adored by Louis. who succeeded his father. Fontevrault. From 1147 to 1149 Eleanor accompanied Louis on the Second Crusade to protect the fragile Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitiers. several recordings of her music were made available. Eleanor's conduct during this expedition. Eleanor became queen of France. Louis VI. the following month. Anjou. d'Aquitaine [or de Guyenne]) was the daughter and heiress of William X. from Turkish assault. France) he queen consort of both Louis VII of France (1137–52) and Henry II of England (1152–1204). who possessed one of the largest domains in France—larger. ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE (b. in fact. founded after the First Crusade only 50 years before. aroused Louis's jealousy and marked the beginning of their estrangement. including Barbara Lachman's The Journal of Hildegard of Bingen (1993) and Joan Ohanneson's Scarlet Music: A Life of Hildegard of Bingen (1997). Eleanor exerted considerable influence over him. Beautiful.
com/Jupiterimages their marriage was annulled in March 1152. Normandy. Eleanor then regained possession of Aquitaine. count of Anjou and duke of Normandy. with the result that England. The 48 . king of England. drawing from Les Chroniques de Saint-Denis. In 1154 he became. late 14th century. Eleanor had only two daughters by Louis VII. and the west of France were united under his rule. and two months later she married the grandson of Henry I of England. © Photos. as Henry II. to her new husband she bore five sons and three daughters.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Eleanor of Aquitaine marrying Louis VII in 1137 (left scene) and Louis VII departing on the Second Crusade (1147). According to feudal customs. Henry Plantagenet.
or "legends of Brittany. count of Toulouse. surnamed Lackland until. had long resented his infidelities. Her semi-imprisonment in England ended only with the death of Henry II in 1189. 11 years her husband's senior. The daughters were Matilda. she participated actively in the administration of the realm and even more actively in the management of her own domains. king of Sicily. and the historical matière de Bretagne. having outlived all his brothers. and John. Eleanor would well have deserved to be named the "grandmother of Europe. the Lion-Heart. into a centre of poetry and a model of courtly life and manners. duke of Saxony and Bavaria. On her release. the revolt may have been instigated by her. who married Henry the Lion. Eleanor. and Raymond VI. the crown of England. Richard. she gave her sons considerable military support. who married successively William II. She actively prepared for Richard's coronation as king. duke of Brittany. who married Alfonso VIII.7 Eleanor of Aquitaine 7 sons were William. Henry. She was the great patron of the two dominant poetic movements of the time: the courtly love tradition. then frequented by the most famous troubadours of the time. She was instrumental in turning the court of Poitiers. king of Castile. in 1199. he inherited. who died at the age of three. and Eleanor was captured while seeking refuge in the kingdom of her first husband." During her childbearing years. The revolt failed." which originated in Celtic traditions and in the Historia regum Britanniae. Geoffrey. written by the chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth sometime between 1135 and 1138. Eleanor played a greater political role than ever before. The revolt of her sons against her husband in 1173 put her cultural activities to a brutal end. Louis VII. conveyed in the romantic songs of the troubadours. in any case. and Joan. was 49 . Since Eleanor.
ignoring the tenacity. After the loss of Normandy (1204). crossed the Pyrenees in 1200 in order to fetch her granddaughter Blanche from the court of Castile and marry her to the son of the French king. and John was crowned king. until John. fearing the disintegration of the Plantagenet domain. In the same year she helped to defend Anjou and Aquitaine against her grandson Arthur of Brittany. In 1199 Richard died without leaving an heir to the throne. a queen "who surpassed almost all the queens of the world. and energy that characterized the years of her maturity. after his capture by the duke of Austria on Richard's return from the East. where she had retired after the campaign at Mirebeau. Anjou. therefore. In 1202 John was again in her debt for holding Mirebeau against Arthur. nearly 80 years old. king of France. and. coming to her relief. was able to take him prisoner. thus securing John's French possessions. During Richard's absence. Eleanor. By this marriage she hoped to ensure peace between the Plantagenets of England and the Capetian kings of France. John's only victories on the Continent." 50 . imposing and modest. "She was beautiful and just. and.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 administrator of the realm during his Crusade to the Holy Land. political wisdom. against him. as the nuns of Fontevrault wrote in their necrology. collected his ransom and went in person to escort him to England. it was her own ancestral lands and not the old Norman territories that remained loyal to England. She died in 1204 at the monastery at Fontevrault. she succeeded in keeping his kingdom intact and in thwarting the intrigues of his brother John Lackland and Philip II Augustus. humble and elegant". She has been misjudged by many French historians who have noted only her youthful frivolity. Her contribution to England extended beyond her own lifetime. were due to Eleanor.
1412. Søborg. Margaret—over the objections of the Mecklenburgian claimants—was 51 . The wedding of Margaret and Haakon took place in Copenhagen in the same year. Haakon. intended to counter the dynastic claims to the Scandinavian thrones by the dukes of Mecklenburg and the intrigues of certain aristocratic factions within the Scandinavian countries. and Sweden until 1523 and Denmark and Norway until 1814. and it was there that Margaret spent her youth. The betrothal. Margaret I. Margaret was only six years old when she was betrothed to Haakon. under the tutelage of Märta Ulfsdotter. by diplomacy and war. Bridget. a daughter of the Swedish saint. Norway. The daughter of King Valdemar IV of Denmark. who bore the Swedish crown from 1364 to 1389. The couple's only child.—d. king of Norway and son of King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden and Norway. But military reverses and the opposition of his own nobility forced Magnus to suspend hostilities in 1363. Haakon's aspirations to become king of Sweden were thwarted when he and his father were defeated soon afterward by Albert of Mecklenburg. Olaf. pursued dynastic policies that led to the Kalmar Union (1397). of Norway (from 1380). After her father's death in 1375. Margaret early displayed her talent as a ruler: she soon overshadowed her husband and appears to have exercised the real power. and of Sweden (from 1389). Oct. which united Denmark. was born in 1370.7 Margaret I 7 MARGARET I (b. Flensburg) A s the regent of Denmark (from 1375). succeeded in keeping his Norwegian kingdom. however. 28. 1353. Den. was imperilled by the renewal in 1360 of the old struggle between Valdemar of Denmark and Magnus of Sweden.
was proclaimed hereditary king of Norway in 1389 and was elected king of Denmark and Sweden (which also included Finland) in 1396. in the absence of an heir. Margaret consolidated her position. Erik of Pomerania. By the Treaty of Dalaborg of 1388. the powerful chancellor. in the presence of the leading figures of all the Scandinavian countries. Deploying all her diplomatic skill. Erik of Pomerania. Following Haakon's death in 1380.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 successful in getting Olaf elected to the Danish throne. Defeating Albert in 1389. who came of age in 1385. Margaret secured and extended her sovereignty: in 1385 she won back the economically important strongholds on the west coast of Scandia from the Hanseatic League. and for a time she was also able to safeguard Denmark's southern borders by agreement with the counts of Holstein. adopting her six-year-old nephew. She then joined forces with the Swedish nobles. the nobles proclaimed Margaret Sweden's "sovereign lady and rightful ruler" and granted her the main portion of Bo Jonsson Grip's vast domains. who had allied themselves with pirate bands in the Baltic Sea. His coronation took place the following year in the southern Swedish town of Kalmar. did not surrender Stockholm until 1398. Margaret also ruled Norway in her son's name. becoming regent of both Norway and Denmark and. Thus began the DanishNorwegian union that lasted until 1814. Her heir. His supporters. who had risen against the unpopular king Albert in a dispute over the will disposing of the lands of Bo Jonsson Grip. 52 . Margaret and Olaf. Margaret was now the undisputed ruler of the three Scandinavian states. Margaret took him captive and released him only after the conclusion of peace six years later. were on the point of making war on Albert to enforce their claims to the Swedish throne when Olaf died unexpectedly in 1387.
as expressed in the so-called coronation act. Her main goals were to put an end to German expansion to the north and to extend and secure Denmark's southern borders. An armed conflict did. her old hereditary dominion. Her aim was to further develop a strong royal central power and to foster the growth of a united Scandinavian state with its centre of gravity located in Denmark.7 Margaret I 7 At Kalmar the nobility manifested its opposition to Margaret's increasing exercise of absolute power. Despite Erik's coronation. She succeeded in eliminating the opposition of the nobility. goals she tried to achieve through diplomatic means. 53 . That such a policy succeeded without fatal strife to the union testifies to her strong political position as well as to her diplomatic skills and her ruthlessness. the union act—perhaps the medieval Scandinavian document most debated by historians—denoted a plan that failed. she was able to strengthen her influence over the church and on the politically important episcopal elections. break out with Holstein. Margaret remained Scandinavia's actual ruler until her death. and in consolidating the administration through a network of royal sheriffs. By adroitly using her relations to the Holy See. as expressed in the so-called union act. The two extant documents disclose traces of the struggle between two political principles: the principle of absolute hereditary monarchy. In order to secure her position economically. in curbing the powers of the council of state. Margaret's political acumen was also evident in foreign affairs. she levied heavy taxes and confiscated church estates and lands exempt from dues to the crown. The Kalmar assembly was a victory for Margaret and absolutism. however. and during the war Margaret died unexpectedly in 1412. and the constitutional elective kingship preferred by some nobles.
in which she defended women against the satire of Jean de Meun in the Roman de la rose. "Letter to the God of Loves"). whose cementing factor was a strong monarchy. studious childhood at the French court. she took up writing in order to support herself and her three young children. and complaints in which she expressed her feelings with grace and sincerity. and she continued writing ballads. the duke d'Orléans. Christine de Pisan was a prolific and versatile French poet and author whose diverse writings include numerous poems of courtly love. a biography of Charles V of France. Margaret was able not only to establish peace in her realms but also to maintain her authority against the aspirations of German princes and against the superior economic power of the Hanseatic League. in England. Philip II the Bold of Burgundy. lays. At 15 she married Estienne de Castel. The united kingdom that she created and left as a legacy. albeit not without interruptions. Widowed after 10 years of marriage. CHRISTINE DE PISAN (b. remained in existence until 1523. and several works championing women. Queen Isabella of Bavaria. Christine's Italian father was astrologer to Charles V. the duke de Berry. rondeaux. Her first poems were ballades of lost love written to the memory of her husband. Among her patrons were Louis I. Venice [Italy]—d. and. she wrote 10 volumes in verse. c. including L'Épistre au Dieu d'amours (1399. These verses met with success. 1364. the 4th earl of Salisbury. and she spent a pleasant. In all.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 One of Scandinavia's most eminent monarchs. 1430) O ne of the earliest feminists. who became court secretary. 54 .
Christine de Pisan
Christine's prose works include Le Livre de la cité des dames (1405; The Book of the City of Ladies), in which she wrote of women known for their heroism and virtue, and Le Livre des trois vertus (1405; "Book of Three Virtues"), a sequel comprising a classification of women's roles in medieval society and a collection of moral instructions for women in the various social spheres. The story of her life, L'Avision de Christine (1405), told in an allegorical manner, was a reply to her detractors. At the request of the regent, Philip the Bold of Burgundy, Christine wrote the life of the deceased king, Charles—Le Livre des fais et bonnes meurs du sage roy Charles V (1404; "Book of the Deeds and Good Morals of the Wise King Charles V"), a firsthand picture of Charles V and his court. Her eight additional prose works reveal her remarkable breadth of knowledge. After the disastrous Battle of Agincourt in 1415, she retired to a convent. Her last work, Le Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc (written in 1429), is a lyrical, joyous outburst inspired by the early victories of Joan of Arc; it is the only such French-language work written during Joan's lifetime.
(b. c. 1412, Domrémy, Bar, France—d. May 30, 1431, Rouen; canonized May 16, 1920; feast day May 30; French national holiday, second Sunday in May)
to the history of human courage than to the political and military history of France. She was a peasant girl who, believing that she was acting under divine guidance, led the French army in a momentous victory at Orléans that repulsed an English attempt to conquer France during the Hundred Years' War. Captured a year afterward, Joan was
(French: Jeanne d'Arc) a J oan of Arcperhaps more significantisfor national heroine of France, her contribution
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time
In 1429, Joan of Arc celebrated the defeat of British troops in Orleans with a triumphant ride through the city. Two years later, she was captured and burned at the stake. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Joan of Arc
burned by the English and their French collaborators as a heretic. She became the greatest national heroine of her compatriots. Her achievement was a decisive factor in the later awakening of French national consciousness. Joan was the daughter of a tenant farmer. In her mission of expelling the English and their Burgundian allies from the Valois kingdom of France, she felt herself to be guided by the "voices" of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. She possessed many attributes characteristic of the female visionaries who were a noted feature of her time. These qualities included extreme personal piety, a claim to direct communication with the saints, and a consequent reliance upon individual experience of God's presence beyond the ministrations of the priesthood and the confines of the institutional church. But to these were added remarkable mental and physical courage, as well as a robust common sense. Known as La Pucelle, or the Maid, of Orléans, Joan became in the following centuries a focus of unity for the French people, especially at times of crisis.
Joan's Mission
The crown of France at the time was in dispute between the dauphin Charles (later Charles VII), son and heir of the Valois king Charles VI, and the Lancastrian English king Henry VI. Henry's armies were in alliance with those of Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy (whose father, John the Fearless, had been assassinated in 1419 by partisans of the Dauphin), and were occupying much of the northern part of the kingdom. The apparent hopelessness of the Dauphin's cause at the end of 1427 was increased by the fact that, five years after his father's death, he still had not been crowned. Reims, the traditional place for the investiture of French kings, was well within the territory held by his
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time
enemies. As long as the Dauphin remained unconsecrated, the rightfulness of his claim to be king of France was open to challenge. Joan's village of Domrémy was on the frontier between the France of the Anglo-Burgundians and that of the Dauphin. The villagers had already had to abandon their homes before Burgundian threats. Led by her voices, Joan traveled in May 1428 from Domrémy to Vaucouleurs, the nearest stronghold still loyal to the Dauphin, where she asked the captain of the garrison, Robert de Baudricourt, for permission to join the Dauphin. He did not take the 16-year-old girl and her visions seriously, and she returned home. Joan went to Vaucouleurs again in January 1429. This time her quiet firmness and piety gained her the respect of the people, and the captain, persuaded that she was neither a witch nor feebleminded, allowed her to go to the Dauphin at Chinon. She left Vaucouleurs about February 13, dressed in men's clothes and accompanied by six men-at-arms. Crossing territory held by the enemy, and traveling for 11 days, she reached Chinon. Joan went at once to the castle occupied by the Dauphin Charles. He was uncertain whether to receive her, but two days later he granted her an audience. Charles had hidden himself among his courtiers, but Joan made straight for him and told him that she wished to go to battle against the English and that she would have him crowned at Reims. On the Dauphin's orders she was immediately interrogated by ecclesiastical authorities in the presence of Jean, duc d'Alençon, a relative of Charles, who showed himself well-disposed toward her. For three weeks she was further questioned at Poitiers by eminent theologians who were allied to the Dauphin's cause. These examinations, the record of which has not survived, were occasioned by the ever-present fear of heresy following
7 Joan of Arc
the end of the Great Schism in 1417. Joan told the ecclesiastics that it was not at Poitiers but at Orléans that she would give proof of her mission; forthwith, on March 22, she dictated letters of defiance to the English. In their report the churchmen suggested that in view of the desperate situation of Orléans, which had been under English siege for months, the Dauphin would be welladvised to make use of her. Joan returned to Chinon. At Tours, during April, the Dauphin provided her with a military household of several men; Jean d'Aulon became her squire, and she was joined by her brothers Jean and Pierre. She had her standard painted with an image of Christ in Judgment and a banner made bearing the name of Jesus. When the question of a sword was brought up, she declared that it would be found in the church of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois, and one was in fact discovered there. Action at Orléans Troops numbering several hundred men were mustered at Blois, and on April 27 they set out for Orléans. The city, besieged since Oct. 12, 1428, was almost totally surrounded by a ring of English strongholds. When Joan and one of the French commanders, La Hire, entered with supplies on April 29, she was told that action must be deferred until further reinforcements could be brought in. On the evening of May 4, when Joan was resting, she suddenly sprang up, apparently inspired, and announced that she must go and attack the English. Having herself armed, she hurried out to the east of the city toward an English fort where, indeed, an engagement of which she had not been told was taking place. Her arrival roused the French, and they took the fort. The next day Joan addressed another of her letters of defiance to the English.
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time
On the morning of May 6 she crossed to the south bank of the river and advanced toward another fort. The English immediately evacuated it in order to defend a stronger position nearby, but Joan and La Hire attacked them there and took it by storm. Very early on May 7 the French advanced against the fort of Les Tourelles. Joan was wounded but quickly returned to the fight; it was thanks in part to her example that the French commanders maintained the attack until the English capitulated. Next day the English were seen to be retreating, but, because it was a Sunday, Joan refused to allow any pursuit. Victories and Coronation Joan left Orléans on May 9 and met Charles at Tours. She urged him to make haste to Reims to be crowned. Though he hesitated because some of his more prudent counselors were advising him to undertake the conquest of Normandy, Joan's importunity ultimately carried the day. It was decided, however, first to clear the English out of the other towns along the Loire River. Joan met her friend the duc d'Alençon, who had been made lieutenant general of the French armies, and they moved off together, taking a town and an important bridge. They next attacked Beaugency, whereupon the English retreated into the castle. Then, notwithstanding the opposition of the Dauphin and Georges de La Trémoille, one of his favourites, and despite the reserve of Alençon, Joan received the Constable de Richemont, who was under suspicion at the French court. After making him swear fidelity, she accepted his help. Shortly thereafter the castle of Beaugency was surrendered. The French and English armies came face to face at Patay on June 18, 1429. Joan promised success to the French, saying that Charles would win a greater victory
Joan of Arc
that day than any he had won so far. The victory was indeed complete; the English army was routed and with it, finally, its reputation for invincibility. Instead of pressing home their advantage by a bold attack upon Paris, Joan and the French commanders turned back to rejoin the Dauphin, who was staying with La Trémoille at Sully-sur-Loire. Again Joan urged upon Charles the need to go on swiftly to Reims. He vacillated, however; and as he meandered through the towns along the Loire, Joan accompanied him, arguing all the while in an attempt to vanquish his hesitancy and prevail over the counselors who advised delay. She was not unaware of the dangers and difficulties involved but declared them of no account. Finally she won Charles to her view. From Gien, where the army began to assemble, the Dauphin sent out the customary letters of summons to the coronation. Joan wrote two letters: one of exhortation to the people of Tournai, always loyal to Charles, the other a challenge to Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy. She and the Dauphin set out on the march to Reims on June 29. Before arriving at Troyes, Joan wrote to the inhabitants, promising them pardon if they would submit. They countered by sending a friar, the popular preacher Brother Richard to take stock of her. Though he returned full of enthusiasm for the Maid and her mission, the townsfolk decided after all to remain loyal to the Anglo-Burgundian regime. The Dauphin held a council, and Joan proposed that the town be attacked. The next morning she began the assault, and the citizens at once asked for terms. The royal army then marched on to Châlons. Despite an earlier decision to resist, the Count-Bishop handed the keys of the town to Charles. On July 16 the royal army reached Reims, which opened its gates. The coronation took place on July 17, 1429. Joan was present at the consecration, standing with her banner not far from
She herself felt that the purpose of her mission had been achieved. Everywhere acclaimed. Meanwhile Compiègne. after which it was hoped that he would yield Paris to the king. On August 2 the king decided on a retreat from Provins to the Loire. Near Senlis. according to a 15th-century chronicler. who was opposed to Charles's decision. had made a fortnight's truce. Joan was now. This time only skirmishes took place. That same day she wrote to the duke of Burgundy. on August 28. After the ceremony she knelt before Charles. the idol of the French. calling him her king for the first time. wrote to reassure the citizens of Reims on August 5. then in possession of Paris. In fact. Joan. the French and English armies again confronted each other. adjuring him to make peace with the king and to withdraw his garrisons from the royal fortresses. much to the delight of Joan and the commanders. a move that implied abandoning any plan to attack Paris. on August 14. Beauvais. neither side daring to start a battle. and other towns north of Paris surrendered to the king. English troops prevented the royal army from crossing the Seine at Bray. saying that the duke of Burgundy. a four months' truce for all the territory north of the Seine was concluded with the Burgundians.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 the altar. and for a month the army paraded through Champagne and the Île-de-France. Soon afterward. The loyal towns that would thus have been left to the enemy's mercy expressed some alarm. on August 6. who hoped that Charles would attack Paris. Ambitions for Paris Charles VII left Reims on July 20. Senlis. 62 . though Joan carried her standard up to the enemy's earthworks and openly challenged them.
At Gien. Though the next day she and Alençon sought to renew the assault. she continued to encourage the soldiers until she had to abandon the attack. Late in December 1429 Charles issued letters ennobling Joan. the town was taken. which they reached on September 22. The supplies arrived too late. directed between the gates of Saint-Honoré and Saint-Denis. short of munitions. who was spending the winter in towns along the Loire. Charles arrived on September 7. when Alençon was planning a campaign in Normandy. they were ordered by Charles's council to retreat. Joan following him. but La Trémoille and other courtiers dissuaded him. Joan went with the king to Bourges. The Parisians could be in no doubt of Joan's presence among the besiegers. he asked the king to let Joan rejoin him. with only a few men. and her brothers. Further Struggle Charles VII retired to the Loire. she stood forward on the earthworks. she thought it essential to take Paris.7 Joan of Arc 7 Joan. Early in 1430 the duke of Burgundy began to 63 . Wounded. calling on them to surrender their city to the king of France. and an attack was launched on September 8. Joan then rejoined the king. Later. her parents. and after a month they had to withdraw. was becoming more and more impatient. the army was disbanded. She and Alençon were at Saint-Denis on the northern outskirts of Paris on August 26. Joan's army then laid siege to La Charité-sur-Loire. Alençon and the other captains went home. however. In October she was sent against Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier. and the Parisians began to organize their defenses. they appealed to neighbouring towns for help. through her courageous assault. only Joan remained with the king.
In telling the people of Reims of Joan's capture. May 23. and it was no doubt her presence that prompted the citizens there to declare themselves for Charles VII. accompanied only by her brother Pierre. and Louis I de Bourbon. and a small troop of men-at-arms. Hurrying on. her squire Jean d'Aulon. with her brother Pierre and Jean d'Aulon. she was unhorsed and could not remount.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 threaten Brie and Champagne. and Execution On her way back Joan heard that John of Luxembourg. Trial. a relative of the king. Capture. the captain of a Burgundian company. The next afternoon. Remaining until the last to protect the rear guard while they crossed the Oise River. she led a sortie and twice repelled the Burgundians but was eventually outflanked by English reinforcements and compelled to retreat. preferring to return to her "good friends" in Compiègne. There she found Renaud de Chartres. With them she went on to Soissons. She gave herself up and. comte de Vendôme. She arrived at Melun in the middle of April. and in late March or early April Joan left the king and set out to their aid. but Joan refused to accompany them. The inhabitants of Reims became alarmed. When the duke moved up to attack Compiègne. where the duke of Burgundy came to see her. and Joan wrote in March to assure them of the king's concern and to promise that she would come to their defense. archbishop of Reims. Renaud and Vendôme therefore decided to return south of the Marne and Seine rivers. Renaud de Chartres accused her of rejecting all counsel and acting 64 . Joan was at Compiègne by May 14. 1430. the townsfolk determined to resist. had laid siege to Compiègne. she entered Compiègne under cover of darkness. where the townspeople refused them entry. was taken to Margny.
to John of Luxembourg. according to the criteria for orthodoxy laid down by many theologians of the period. she was in the bishop's hands. a town adhering to the duke of Burgundy. though she was treated kindly. which was occupied by the earl of Warwick. that the Maid be handed over in return for a payment of 10. 65 . as arbiter in matters concerning the faith. falling unconscious into the moat. made no attempts to save her. She was not seriously hurt. When she tried to escape in order to return to Compiègne. The next day the theology faculty of the University of Paris.7 Joan of Arc 7 willfully. Though her offenses against the Lancastrian monarchy were common knowledge. and on July 14 the Bishop of Beauvais presented himself before the duke of Burgundy asking. and when she had recovered. which had taken the English side. 1431. and by Jan. Charles. she was taken to Arras. News of her capture had reached Paris on May 25. Joan was moved to a tower in the castle of Bouvreuil. The trial was fixed to take place at Rouen. Pierre Cauchon. in whose diocese she had been seized. Her desire to escape became so great that she jumped from the top of a tower. insisted that she be tried as a heretic. to the same effect. he sent her to one of his more distant castles. The duke passed on the demand to John of Luxembourg. on his own behalf and in the name of the English king. she became more and more distressed at the predicament of Compiègne. Joan was brought to trial before a church court because the theologists at the University of Paris. who was working toward a truce with the duke of Burgundy. There. Her beliefs were not strictly orthodox. The university wrote also.000 francs. the English commander at Rouen. requested the duke of Burgundy to turn her over for judgment either to the chief inquisitor or to the bishop of Beauvais. 3. John of Luxembourg sent Joan and Jean d'Aulon to his castle in Vermandois.
Further. statements taken in Lorraine and elsewhere were read before the Bishop and his assessors. her trial might serve to discredit Charles VII by demonstrating that he owed his coronation to a witch. but it was refused on account of the gravity of the crimes with which she was charged. but she always refused to reveal the things she had said to Charles. On every occasion she was required to swear anew to tell the truth. and she threatened its hierarchy through her claim that she communicated directly with God by means of visions or voices. 1431. Guards were then assigned to remain always inside the cell with her. and apart from two points she admitted its accuracy. 13. Between February 21 and March 24 she was interrogated nearly a dozen times. The Trial Beginning Jan. bishop of Beauvais. but Joan insisted that she was morally free to attempt escape.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 She was no friend of the church militant on Earth (which perceived itself as in spiritual combat with the forces of evil). Her two judges were to be Cauchon. but she always made it clear that she would not necessarily divulge everything to her judges since they were enemies of King Charles. and Jean Lemaître. they were to provide the framework for Joan's interrogation. Joan asked for permission to attend mass beforehand. and she was chained to a wooden block and sometimes put in irons. Summoned to appear before her judges on February 21. Cauchon forbade her to leave her prison. The report of this preliminary questioning was read to her on March 24. the viceinquisitor of France. or at least a heretic. including attempted suicide in having jumped into the moat. 66 . She was ordered to swear to tell the truth and did so swear.
" They became more insistent on May 9. obedience to the court that was trying her was inevitably made a test of such submission. saying she knew well that the church militant could not err. Perhaps the most serious charge was of preferring what she believed to be the direct commands of God to those of the church. and the 70 charges were reduced to 12. professed to be assured of salvation. who exhorted her to submit to the church. But they continued to badger her. Meanwhile. These were based mainly on the contention that her whole attitude and behaviour showed blasphemous presumption: in particular. notably on the question of her submission to the church. thereby identifying herself with the novel and suspect cult of the Name of Jesus. endorsed her letters with the names of Jesus and Mary. She did her best to avoid this trap. begged to be allowed to go to confession and receive Holy Communion and to be buried in consecrated ground.7 Joan of Arc 7 When the trial proper began a day or so later. The trial continued. but it was to God and to her saints that she held herself answerable for her words and actions. Joan fell sick in prison and was attended by two doctors. On March 31 she was questioned again on several points about which she had been evasive. She received a visit on April 18 from Cauchon and his assistants. and wore men's clothing. that she claimed for her pronouncements the authority of divine revelation. it took two days for Joan to answer the 70 charges that had been drawn up against her. prophesied the future. Joan. In her position. which were sent for consideration to many eminent theologians in both Rouen and Paris. threatening her with torture if 67 . receiving only her constant response "I am relying on our Lord. I hold to what I have already said. who was seriously ill and obviously thought she was dying.
could carry out the death sentence of a condemned heretic. Only they. where her sentence was to be read out. She was presented with a form of abjuration. She answered that even if they tortured her to death she would not reply differently. Joan was informed on May 23 of the decision of the University of Paris that if she persisted in her errors she would be turned over to the secular authorities." She was 68 . provoking Joan to interrupt him because she thought he had no right to attack the king. First she was made to listen to a sermon by one of the theologians in which he violently attacked Charles VII. a "good Christian. she asked that all the evidence on her words and deeds be sent to Rome. under God. she would be answerable. which must already have been prepared. In face of this commonsense fortitude her interrogators. by a majority of 10 to three. She hesitated in signing it. and not the church. Abjuration. Relapse. and began to read out the sentence abandoning her to the secular power. But her judges ignored her appeal to the Pope. Hearing this dreadful pronouncement. eventually doing so on condition that it was "pleasing to our Lord. and Execution Apparently nothing further could be done. After the sermon was ended. decided on May 12 that torture would be useless. to whom." and should confine his strictures to her.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 she did not clarify certain points. Joan was taken out of prison for the first time in four months on May 24 and conducted to the cemetery of the church of Saint-Ouen. adding that in any case she would afterward maintain that any statement she might make had been extorted from her by force. Joan quailed and declared she would do all that the church required of her.
and on May 29 the judges and 39 assessors agreed unanimously that she must be handed over to the secular officials. In any case. The vice-inquisitor had ordered Joan to put on women's clothes. and lit the pyre.7 Joan of Arc 7 then condemned to perpetual imprisonment or. These admissions were taken to signify relapse. According to the rehabilitation proceedings of 1456. Joan received permission. 69 . A Dominican consoled Joan. the judges required her to return to her former prison. led her to the stake. preferring men's clothes. unprecedented for a relapsed heretic. she said she had made the change of her own free will. who asked him to hold high a crucifix for her to see and to shout out the assurances of salvation so loudly that she should hear him above the roar of the flames. as some maintain. Catherine and St. few witnesses of her death seem to have doubted her salvation. to incarceration in a place habitually used as a prison. Accompanied by two Dominicans. There she endured one more sermon. They then pressed other questions. and they agreed that she died a faithful Christian. A few days later the English king and the University of Paris formally published the news of Joan's execution. and she obeyed. to make her confession and receive Communion. The executioner seized her. to which she answered that the voices of St. The next morning. when the judges and others visited her and found her again in male attire. to the English and their French collaborators—was read out in the presence of her judges and a great crowd. and the sentence abandoning her to the secular arm—that is. To the last she maintained that her voices were sent of God and had not deceived her. she was then led to the Place du Vieux-Marché. Margaret had censured her "treason" in making an abjuration. But two or three days later.
MIRA BAI (b. Mira Bai was a Rajput princess. An image of Krishna given to her during childhood by a holy man began a lifetime of devotion to Krishna. whom she worshipped as her Divine Lover. Finally. receiving sadhus (holy men) and pilgrims from throughout India and composing songs of devotion. probably of battle wounds. younger brother of the ruler of Merta. At least two attempts made on her life are alluded to in her poems. Joan was canonized by Pope Benedict XV on May 16. and her religious pursuits did not fit the established pattern for a Rajput princess and widow. India—d. crown prince of Mewar. She spent most of her days in her private temple dedicated to Krishna. the only child of Ratan Singh. Vikram Singh. Once a poisonous snake was sent to her in a basket of flowers. Two years later the cardinal legate Guillaume d'Estouteville made a much more thorough investigation. Mira Bai was married in 1516 to Bhoj Raj.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Almost 20 years afterward. Gujarat) he Hindu mystic and poet Mira Bai wrote lyrical songs of devotion to the god Krishna that are still widely popular in northern India in the 21st century. on his entry into Rouen in 1450. Her royal education included music and religion as well as instruction in politics and government. Her husband died in 1521. on the order of Pope Calixtus III following a petition from the d'Arc family. Mira Bai was something of a rebel. 1920. proceedings were instituted in 1455–56 that revoked and annulled the sentence of 1431. Kudaki. Dwarka. 1547?. and thereafter she was the victim of much persecution and intrigue at the hands of her brother-inlaw when he ascended the throne. but when she 70 T . 1450?. Charles VII ordered an inquiry into the trial. and by his successor.
she asked permission to spend the night at the temple of Ranchorji (Krishna) and the next morning was found to have disappeared. 26. Medina del Campo. Their rule effected the permanent union of Spain and the beginning of an overseas empire in the "New World. Reluctant. Mira Bai left Mewar and returned to Merta. sent a delegation of Brahmans to bring her back to Mewar. she miraculously merged with the image of Ranchorji. Madrigal de las Altas Torres. ISABELLA I (b. April 22. she set out on a series of pilgrimages. Finally. but finding that her unconventional behaviour was not acceptable there either.7 Mira Bai 7 opened it. she found an image of Krishna." led by Christopher Columbus under Isabella's sponsorship. eventually settling in Dwarka. The immense popularity and charm of her lyrics lies in their use of everyday images and in the sweetness of emotions easily understood by the people of India. Nov. Castile—d. or a woman for her beloved. Queen Isabella I ruled Castile (1474–1504) and Aragon (1479–1504). In 1546 Udai Singh. but whether she actually died that night or slipped away to spend the rest of her years wandering in disguise is not known. Spain) ogether with her husband. 71 T . who had succeeded Vikram Singh as rana. Mira Bai belonged to a strong tradition of bhakti (devotional) poets in medieval India who expressed their love of God through the analogy of human relations—a mother's love for her child. Ferdinand II of Aragon (Ferdinand V of Castile). 1504. 1451. a friend for a friend. on another occasion she was given a cup of poison but drank it without any harm. According to popular belief.
1468). king of Portugal. She was brought to court when she was 13 in order to be under the king's eye. was sidestepped. the rebellious magnates naturally turned to Isabella. Despite the fact that she had a younger brother. and the fruit of her wisdom was recognition as his heiress by Henry IV at the agreement known as the Accord of Toros de Guisando (Sept. Alfonso. the French duc de Guiènne. play the role thus designed for her. and that her early years were spent quietly with her mother at Arévalo. Between the Portuguese and Aragonese candidates. and France each put forward a marriage candidate. The prospect of an Aragonese consort led to the development of an anti-Aragonese party that put forward the claims of a rival heiress. Isabella was soon drawn into Castilian politics. 72 . Isabella and her future marriage became a matter of increasing diplomatic activity at home and abroad. and without Henry's approval she married Ferdinand in October 1469 in the palace of Juan de Vivero. She did not.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Early Life Isabella was the daughter of John II of Castile and his second wife. As heiress of Castile. her half brother became king as Henry IV. A third suitor. but when the latter died in July 1468. duque de Albuquerque. Isabella of Portugal. known as la Beltraneja by those who believed that her true father was Beltrán de la Cueva. 19. Henry seems to have wanted his half sister to marry Afonso V. no doubt assisted in her decision by her small group of councillors. Aragon. Henry's daughter Joan. came down in favour of Ferdinand of Aragon. at Valladolid. Three years after her birth. however. At first the opposition to Henry IV gathered around Alfonso. she herself. The king encouraged this group by going back on the accord of 1468 on the grounds that Isabella had shown disobedience to the crown in marrying Ferdinand without the royal consent. Portugal.
for whom he sought the hand of the duc de Guiènne. the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon came together in the persons of their rulers. the long-threatened war of succession broke out at once when the king died in 1474. but it was long before this personal union would lead to effective political unification. Spain emerged as a united country. 1479). 24. She was supported by an important group of Castilian nobles. They were supported by Afonso V of Portugal. Ferdinand made Isabella his heir in Aragon and openly declared the advantages his subjects would derive from the union with Castile. Although Isabella and Henry were to some extent reconciled. The first four years of Isabella's reign were thus occupied by a civil war. in his first will (1475). and the admiral (an Enríquez). The opposing faction. The two sovereigns were certainly united in aiming to end the long process of Reconquista by taking over the kingdom of Granada—the last Muslim stronghold in Spain. a former supporter. Reign When Henry died Isabella was in Segovia. Upon the death of John II of Aragon in the same year.7 Isabella I 7 He now rejected Isabella's claim to the throne and preferred that of Joan. which put forward the counterclaims of Joan. the master of Calatrava (an influential military order). including Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza. who hastened to invade Castile and there betrothed himself to Joan. which ended in defeat for her Castilian opponents and for the Portuguese king (Feb. who was related to Ferdinand's mother. But each kingdom continued to be governed according to its own institutions. Indeed. included the archbishop of Toledo. which was secured for her claim. the constable of Castile (a Velasco). 73 . and the powerful young Marqués de Villena.
others were novel. not the least of which was the relationship between the newly discovered "Indians" and the crown of Castile. she ordered some of those he had brought back as slaves to be released. In 1491 she and Ferdinand set up a forward headquarters at Santa Fe. The queen 74 . however. close to their ultimate objective. Isabella took a close interest in the conduct of the war and seems to have been responsible for improved methods of supply and for the establishment of a military hospital. annexed to the crown of Castile. The New World that was explored as a result of that decision was. Isabella and her councillors must receive credit for making the decision to approve the momentous voyage. While she was at Santa Fe. The queen and her advisers hardly needed Columbus to remind them of the opportunity now offered for the spreading of Christianity. 2. Yet the unexpected discoveries quickly brought fresh problems to Isabella. and there they stayed until Granada fell on Jan.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 In the end. The queen and her councillors were more ready to recognize the rights of the Indians than was Columbus. Columbus visited her there to enlist support for the voyage that was to result in the European settlement of America. with papal confirmation. and it strained the finances of Castile. the conquest (which began in 1482) proved difficult and drawn out. another event with which the queen was to become personally associated was in the making. Although the story of her offering to pledge her jewels to help finance the expedition cannot be accepted. and Columbus secured only limited financial support from her. Although some of the features of the campaign were medieval (such as the order of battle). 1492. The terms on which the expedition was to set out to discover a new route to the Indies were drawn up on April 17. in accordance with existing practice in regard to such previous Atlantic discoveries as the Canary Islands. 1492.
7 Isabella I 7 was still concerned with these problems when she died in 1504. At the same time display was matched with religious feeling. the Inquisition had been set up in Andalusia. his place at the queen's side was taken by Cisneros. Yet. her fair or chestnut hair. in 1492. however meritorious the expulsion may have seemed at the time in order to achieve greater religious and political unity. she must have made a striking figure. the loss of this valuable element in Spanish society was a serious mistake. But. Her choice of spiritual advisers brought to the fore such different and remarkable men as Hernando de Talavera and Cardinal Cisneros. which had manifested itself frequently in the late Middle Ages in Castile. A policy of reforming the Spanish churches had begun early in the 15th century. Hallmarks of Her Reign It is difficult to disentangle Isabella's personal responsibility for the achievements of her reign from those of Ferdinand. and her jewels and magnificent dresses. in 1480. she played a large part in establishing the court as a centre of influence. The expulsion in 1492 of those Jews who refused conversion was the logical result of the establishment of the Inquisition. Meanwhile. When. judged by its economic consequences alone. With her blue eyes. but the movement gathered momentum only under Isabella and Talavera. Talavera became archbishop of Granada. undoubtedly. The monarchs were interested in the reform of the secular clergy and still 75 . for whom the monarchs secured the crucial position of archbishop of Toledo in 1495. There is little doubt that this represented the culmination of a long and popular movement against nonChristians and doubtful converts.
Isabella was almost as interested in education as she was in religion." Spanish: "la Católica") was intensely pious and orthodox in her beliefs. This was particularly true when she thought the pope was making bad appointments to Spanish benefices or in any way encroaching on the customary rights of the crown over the Spanish churches. In seeking to control appointments to Castilian sees. many of the outstanding literary works of her reign. and part of her extensive collection of pictures survives. Naturally. Isabella was not simply inspired by national sentiments. whom she set up as the head of a new palace school for the sons of the nobility. and nuns. At court she encouraged such notable scholars as Pietro Martire d'Anghiera. she successfully rejected the suggestion that the pope's nephew should become archbishop of Sevilla. such as Antonio de Nebrija's Gramática Castellana (1492. Isabella took a particular interest in the reform of the Poor Clares.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 more in the orders of monks. "Castilian Grammar"). 76 . For example. for the vacant see of Cuenca in 1478 she rejected the Italian cardinal appointed by the pope. she could be both imperious and pertinacious in her dealings with the papacy. friars. were dedicated to her. Isabella was remarkably effective in achieving her objective. she acquired proficiency in Latin. She also sought candidates of high standards. She was also the patron of Spanish and Flemish artists. Although Isabella (who was known by the epithet "the Catholic. Subsequently. who four years later accepted her alternative Spanish candidate. judged by her choices of men such as Talavera and Cisneros. an order of Franciscan nuns. the rulers and Cisneros together had gone far toward achieving their goals. Although when she died there was still much to be done. After she reached the age of 30.
However. thus giving the crown control over their vast property and patronage. Throughout her long reign. the main work of the orders had been done. queen of Portugal. Because she left no memoirs. her will is in many ways the most reliable picture of her. With 77 . and by 1499 he had acquired the grand masterships of Alcántara and Santiago. and a process that envisaged their ultimate absorption into the lands of the crown was logical and sensible. extended their authority over the military orders of Alcántara. In 1487 Ferdinand became grand master of Calatrava. her daughter Joan. Instead. and of her grandchild Miguel (1500). became the heiress of Castile.7 Isabella I 7 Later Years The last decade of her reign took place against a background of family sorrows brought about by the deaths of her only son and heir. in childbirth (1498). of her daughter Isabella. who might have brought about a personal union between Spain and Portugal. this offered little comfort to the queen because by 1501 Joan had already shown signs of the mental imbalance that would later earn her the title of "the Mad. Good sense and statesmanship were equally reflected in Isabella's will and codicil. acting on her initiative. Juan (1497). Isabella also strove to strengthen royal authority at the expense of the Cortes (Spanish parliament) and the towns. These orders had been exploited for too long by the nobility and were the subject of intense rivalry among those who sought to be elected master of one or other of them. Calatrava. In it she sums up her aspirations and her awareness of how much she and Ferdinand had been unable to do." One of the achievements of Isabella's last decade was undoubtedly the success with which she and Ferdinand. and Santiago. wife of Philip I and mother of the Holy Roman emperor Charles V. With the capture of Granada.
it is also clear that Isabella gave to her successors an exceptional document. She was the originator of the Carmelite Reform. Spain—d. Within two years her health collapsed. 4. and author of spiritual classics. Despite her father's opposition. Teresa was canonized in 1622 and elevated to doctor of the church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. Oct. she stopped praying. the first woman to be so honoured. of just rule for the Indians of the New World. TERESA OF ÁVILA (b. In 1558 Teresa began to consider the restoration of Carmelite life to its original observance of austerity. feast day October 15) he Spanish nun called Teresa of Ávila or Teresa of Jesus was one of the great mystics and religious women of the Roman Catholic church. during which time she developed a love for prayer. probably in 1535. Alba de Tormes. and of reform in the church at home. she underwent a religious awakening. and a policy of expansion into Muslim North Africa. however. She continued for 15 years in a state divided between a worldly and a divine spirit. she lost her mother in 1529. until. March 28. which restored and emphasized the austerity and contemplative character of primitive Carmelite life. Spaniards do not misjudge this remarkable woman. It assures scholars that in allotting to Isabella the foremost place among their rulers. which 78 T . 1582. After her recovery. If the overall impression is inevitably piecemeal. the maintenance of control over the Strait of Gibraltar. canonized 1622. 1515. she joined the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation at Ávila. Born Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumadaentered. in 1555. Ávila.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 prudence she comments on the basis of her political program—the unity of the states of the Iberian Peninsula. and she was an invalid for three years.
she met a young Carmelite priest. A year later Juan opened the first monastery of the Primitive Rule at Duruelo. In the same year. who knew and admired Teresa. A storm of hostility came from municipal and religious personages. while she was at the Sevilla (Seville) convent. a solution was effected whereby the Carmelites of the Primitive Rule 79 . In 1575. the Calced (or "Shod") Carmelites. Her reform required utter withdrawal so that the nuns could meditate on divine law and. her attempts failed. In 1562. Teresa spent the rest of her life establishing and nurturing 16 more convents throughout Spain. and the observants of the Mitigated Rule. In 1579. Joseph's) of the Carmelite Reform. a jurisdictional dispute erupted between the friars of the restored Primitive Rule. through a prayerful life of penance. but she staunchly insisted on poverty and subsistence only through public alms. Spain. Although she had foreseen the trouble and endeavoured to prevent it.7 Teresa of Ávila 7 had relaxed in the 14th and 15th centuries. John Baptist Rossi. while at Medina del Campo. went to Ávila in 1567 and approved the reform. known as the Discalced (or "Unshod") Carmelites. Spain. the poet and mystic). ordered her to retire to a convent in Castile and to cease founding additional convents. she opened the first convent (St. especially because the convent existed without endowment. to whom she had been misrepresented. Despite frail health and great difficulties. with Pope Pius IV's authorization. John of the Cross. Juan de Yepes (later St. exercise what she termed "our vocation of reparation" for the sins of mankind. largely through the efforts of King Philip II of Spain. Juan was subsequently imprisoned at Toledo in 1577. the Carmelite prior general from Rome. The Carmelite general. who she realized could initiate the Carmelite Reform for men. directing Teresa to found more convents and to establish monasteries.
458. Eng. and Conceptions on the Love of God. Nov. Her writings on the progress of the Christian soul toward God are recognized masterpieces: The W of Perfection (1583). MARY I (b. 18. while the Book of the Foundations (1610) describes the establishment of her convents. Her Life of the Mother Teresa of Jesus (1611) is autobiographical. was the first queen to rule England (1553–58) in her own right. 1558. was then directed to resume the reform. confirmed in 1580 by a rescript of Pope Gregory XIII. A studious and bright girl. and her spiritual writings are among the most widely read. she made exhausting missions and was fatally stricken en route to Ávila from Burgos. her cousin Charles V (Charles I of Spain). Of her poems. also called Mary Tudor. he presently jilted her and concluded a 80 . 1516. being fruitlessly proposed in marriage to this or that potentate desired as an ally. ay Spiritual Relations. 31 are extant. she was educated by her mother and a governess of ducal rank. Mary was commanded by him to come to Spain with a huge cash dowry. Mary as a child was a pawn in England's bitter rivalry with more powerful nations. Teresa. Exclamations of the Soul to God (1588). Teresa's ascetic doctrine has been accepted as the classical exposition of the contemplative life. Betrothed at last to the Holy Roman emperor. In journeys that covered hundreds of miles. Greenwich. The Interior Castle (1588). London) M ary I.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 were given independent jurisdiction. 17. She was known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants in a vain attempt to restore Roman Catholicism in England. This demand ignored. broken in health. Feb.—d. of her letters. The daughter of King Henry VIII and the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. near London.
She refused to do so until her cousin.7 Mary I 7 more advantageous match. She became godmother to Prince Edward. Elizabeth (the future queen). though. her union with Henry was incestuous. claiming that since Catherine had been his deceased brother's wife. Anne's hatred pursued Mary so relentlessly that she feared execution. 81 . persuaded her to give in. however. despite great danger. Mary's life was radically disrupted. the third queen. She then held court at Ludlow Castle while new betrothal plans were made. the emperor Charles. his son by Jane Seymour. they corresponded secretly. In 1534 Henry broke with Rome and established the Church of England. The allegation of incest. however. As early as the 1520s Henry had planned to divorce Catherine in order to marry Anne Boleyn. the new queen. Henry was now reconciled to her and gave her a household befitting her position and again made plans for her betrothal. made Mary a bastard. although the lack of official documents suggests she was never formally invested. by her father's new marriage to Anne Boleyn. Nor would she enter a convent when ordered to do so. but having her mother's courage and all her father's stubbornness. Mary never saw her mother again. and forced her to act as lady-in-waiting to the infant Elizabeth. in effect. stripped her of her title of princess. an action she was to regret deeply. After Anne fell under Henry's displeasure. bore the king a daughter. even after the divorce was legalized in England. The pope. In 1525 she was named princess of Wales by her father. he offered to pardon Mary if she would acknowledge him as head of the Church of England and admit the "incestuous illegality" of his marriage to her mother. she would not admit to the illegitimacy of her birth. refused to recognize Henry's right to divorce Catherine. Anne Boleyn. forbade Mary access to her parents.
Mary. however. as Lady Jane Grey had seized the throne and was recognized as queen for a few days. The country. however. a man of royal blood. she was granted succession to the throne after Edward and any other legitimate children who might be born to Henry. continued to celebrate mass in the old form in her private chapel and was once again in danger of losing her head. unable to adapt herself to novel circumstances. she was a popular figure. made English rather than Latin compulsory for church services. she was forceful. Upon the death of Edward in 1553. and hearty like her father but. and lacking self-interest. in contrast to him. the son of the emperor Charles V and 11 years her junior. considered Mary the rightful ruler. however.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Mary was now the most important European princess. and within some days she made a triumphal entry into London. She was. Those English noblemen who had acquired wealth and lands when Henry VIII confiscated the Catholic 82 . with a fine contralto singing voice and great linguistic ability. Mary fled to Norfolk. Insensible to the need of caution for a newly crowned queen. disliked cruel punishments and the signing of death warrants. Mary was granted permission to return to court. she was determined to marry Philip II of Spain. sincere. Edward VI succeeded his father in 1547 and. A woman of 37 now. however. swayed by religious fervour and overzealous advisers. not able to free herself of the epithet of bastard. although still considered illegitimate. and her movements were severely restricted. bluff. and in 1544. Although plain. earl of Devon. though most of her advisers advocated her cousin Courtenay. When Henry married Catherine Howard. Mary longed to bring her people back to the church of Rome. To achieve this end. Husband after husband proposed for her failed to reach the altar.
An unpopular. and revived the laws against heresy. She died on Nov. 17. a Protestant insurrection broke out under the leadership of Sir Thomas Wyatt. 1558. was hated. When in 1554 it became clear that she would marry Philip. and Mary's desire to restore Roman Catholicism as the state religion made them her enemies. Wyatt was defeated and executed. queen consort of Henry II of France (reigned 1547–59) and subsequently regent of France (1560–74). April 13. restored the Catholic creed. lost Calais. Parliament. in which Spain was England's ally. Jan. unsuccessful war with France. also at odds with her. 5. some 300 being burned at the stake. Three of her sons were kings of France: Francis II. her Spanish husband distrusted and slandered. Alarmed by Wyatt's rapid advance toward London. CATHERINE DE MÉDICIS (b. 83 . she was further depressed by a series of false pregnancies." she retorted.7 Mary I 7 monasteries had a vested interest in retaining them. 1519. England's last toehold in Europe. Charles IX. and Mary married Philip. and Henry III. 1589. France) O ne of the most influential personalities of the Catholic-Huguenot wars was Catherine de Médicis. and heretics were relentlessly executed. Still childless. sick. Florence [Italy]—d. Blois. and grief stricken. Mary made a magnificent speech rousing citizens by the thousands to fight for her. in London. and she herself blamed for the vicious slaughter. was offended by her discourtesy to their delegates pleading against the Spanish marriage: "My marriage is my own affair. now known as Bloody Mary. and with her died all that she did. For three years rebel bodies dangled from gibbets. Thenceforward the queen.
trained. duke of Urbino. a Bourbon princess related to many of the French nobility. Catherine lived privately though she was appointed regent in 1552 during Henry's absence at the siege of Metz. Her ability and eloquence were acclaimed after the Spanish victory of Saint-Quentin in Picardy in 1557. Thus occupied. Orphaned within days. and gay. who inherited the French crown from his father. as well as discreet. Francis I. to Henry. through changing circumstances. It is essential to understand this in order to discern the coherence of her career. and disciplined by nuns in Florence and Rome and married in 1533 by her uncle. Catherine was greatly esteemed at the dazzling court of Francis I. a traumatic bereavement from which it is doubtful that she ever 84 . possibly the origin of her perpetual fear of Spain.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Early Life Catherine (Italian: Caterina) was the daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici. Political Crises Catherine's first great political crisis came in July 1559 upon the accidental death of Henry II. which remained. she bore him 10 children. duc d'Orléans. Catherine's marriage was not unsuccessful and. Of the chateaus she designed herself—including the Tuileries—Chenonceaux was her unfinished masterpiece. the touchstone of her judgments. courageous. Artistic. from which she derived both her political attitudes and her passion for building. She herself supervised their education. and extraverted. energetic. In spite of Henry's abiding attachment to his mistress Diane de Poitiers. after 10 anxious years. of whom 4 boys and 3 girls survived. and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne. Catherine was highly educated. in April 1547. Pope Clement VII.
with the support of the distinguished chancellor Michel de L 'Hospital. politically. power was retained by the Guise brothers. Under her son. which distinguished heresy from sedition. In 1561. 5. with Antoine de Bourbon. the maintenance of peace. an instance of tumultuous petitioning by the Huguenot gentry. thereby detaching faith from allegiance. Her merciful Edict of Amboise (March 1560) was followed in May by that of Romorantin. and the enforcement of limited toleration. whose royal authority the Guises had monopolized. Her essentially moderate influence was first perceptible during the Conspiracy of Amboise (March 1560). supported by Spain and the papacy. Catherine succeeded in obtaining the regency for Charles IX. It is also necessary to understand this political struggle of the Catholic crown with its own ultramontane extremists and to perceive its fluctuations in changing circumstances. the most important of Catherine's life. Catherine's second great political crisis came with the premature death on Dec. king of Navarre and first prince of the blood. 1560. sought to dominate the crown and extinguish its independence in the commingled interests of European Catholicism and personal aggrandizement. Francis II. in order to realize the fundamental consistency of Catherine's career. of Francis II. Thus began her lifelong struggle— explicit in her correspondence—with these extremists who. primarily against Guisard persecution in the name of the king. as lieutenant general. to whom the Protestants vainly looked for leadership. They witnessed the first three civil wars and her desperate struggle against the Catholic extremists for the independence of the crown.7 Catherine de Médicis 7 recovered. she began by trying to 85 . Civil Wars The 10 years from 1560 to 1570 were.
to seek to strengthen peaceful relations between the crown and Spain and to negotiate for Charles's marriage to Elizabeth of Austria. conducted him on a marathon itinerary round France. from April 1564 to January 1566. public order. Eucharist controversy. Unlike the proposals of Poissy. because the Catholic crown might protect its Protestant subjects in law but could not defend them in arms. politically. Religious reconciliation was the conveners' purpose of the Colloquy of Poissy (September–November 1561). During the period 1564–68. This rejection was one basic element in the outbreak of civil war in 1562. for complex reasons. Possibly Catherine's most concrete achievement was the Edict of January 1562. which followed the failure of reconciliation.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 propitiate the leaders of both religious factions. Its principal purpose was to execute the edict and. through a meeting at Bayonne in June 1565. to withstand the cardinal Lorraine. Thenceforth the problem of religion was one of power. to effect reforms and economies by unassailably traditional methods. and to settle the religious conflict. She quickly terminated the second (September 1567–March 1568) with the Peace of Longjumeau. in which—as she had predicted—Catherine fell. and administration. an attenuated version of the Edict of January. But she was unable to 86 . Catherine ended the first civil war in March 1563 by the Edict of Amboise. the edict was law. by which they hoped to resolve the basic. who largely provoked the second and third civil wars. This afforded the Calvinists licensed coexistence with specific safeguards. into the clutches of the extremists. In August 1563 she declared the king of age in the Parlement of Rouen and. Catherine appointed a mixed commission of moderates that devised two formulas of consummate ambiguity. which the Protestants accepted and the Catholics rejected. statesman of the Guises. Catherine was unable. a renewal of Amboise.
7 Catherine de Médicis 7 avert its revocation (August 1568). First. Bartholomew's Day The issue of war or peace in the Netherlands was closely linked with the Massacre of St. duc d'Anjou. The Massacre of St. which Catherine inevitably resisted. he and a number of his principal lieutenants. resulting in the familiar myth of the wicked Italian queen. The complexity of Catherine's position during these years cannot be briefly explained. There are two principal reasons for this. Bartholomew's Day in Paris on Aug. For the next two years Catherine's policy was one of peace and general reconciliation. but frequently also of her previous. failing him. career. To some extent she was eclipsed by Louis of Nassau and a group of Flemish exiles and youthful Protestants who surrounded the king and urged him to make war upon Spain in the Netherlands. She was not primarily responsible for the more far-reaching Treaty of Saint-Germain (August 1570). This she envisaged in terms of the marriage of her daughter Marguerite to the young Protestant leader. and alliance with England through the marriage of her son Henry. his younger brother François. The second reason for the traditional 87 . Upon this occasion. or. 1572. which heralded the third civil war. duc d'Alençon. which have therefore fashioned the interpretation not only of her subsequent. the king assumed the responsibility by a declaration of August 26 in the Parlement of Paris. were killed. Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV of France). 23–24. but she succeeded in disgracing the Guises. Catherine traditionally has been blamed for these events. and "the crown" has been taken to mean Catherine. following an abortive attempt against the life of the admiral Gaspard de Coligny. after some hesitation and inconsistency. to Queen Elizabeth. together with several thousand Huguenots.
for the regeneration of France.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 inculpation of Catherine is the work of the pamphleteers and the polemical nature of the historiography of the event. Last Years After the Massacre of St. she assumed the regency with the support of the Parlement until the return from Poland of Henry III in August. For these reasons Catherine neither sought to dominate Henry nor to rule in his place but rather suffered him to exploit her and strove with unremitting pains to supply his deficiencies. Catherine was more concerned with the election of Anjou to the throne of Poland (May 1573) than the prosecution of the fourth civil war. but. Upon the death of Charles IX a year later. Until the death of Alençon in 1584. knowing his weakness of character and his previous subjection to the Catholics. After the Treaty of Joinville (December 1584) between the Guises and Spain. which again threatened to involve France in hostilities with Spain. at Henry's bidding. for which she longed. but not without simultaneous misgivings. This and the subsequent royal declaration of August 26 are both explained by the danger of the situation—after the unsuccessful assault upon Coligny—in which the infuriated Huguenots allegedly threatened the court with extinction and the kingdom with war. as a member of the court—the royal family and the council—Catherine was among those who appear to have authorized not the massacre itself but the death of the admiral and his principal followers. Catherine placed high hopes in her favourite. Bartholomew's Day. 88 . Henry. much of her attention was devoted to restraining his dangerous ambitions. It is impossible to establish the origin of the assault upon Coligny.
to commit the king to making war against the Huguenots. Having failed with the Guises. Sept. often called the Elizabethan Age. courage. by the Treaty of Nemours (July 1585). ELIZABETH I (b. The adulation bestowed upon her both in her lifetime and in the ensuing centuries was not altogether a spontaneous effusion. her ultimate achievement was to have saved the kingdom just long enough to ensure the succession of the Bourbon Henry IV. returned to this dual threat. Eng. the crown turned to Navarre. brilliantly executed campaign in which the queen fashioned herself as 89 . March 24. But after three months of continuous effort. despite the heroic efforts of Catherine's old age. But there was nothing to which Navarre could safely commit himself. 1533. though gravely ill. it was the result of a carefully crafted. near London. the Protestant leader who. in order to avert a public breach between the crown and the Guises. 1603.—d. had an interest in the preservation of the throne. France was sinking into chaos when she died at Blois eight months before the murder of Henry III. Richmond. and majestic self-display inspired ardent expressions of loyalty and helped unify the nation against foreign enemies. Thus. Surrey) E lizabeth I was queen of England (1558–1603) during a period. by whom the royal authority was restored. commerce. Although her small kingdom was threatened by grave internal divisions. In July 1586 Catherine undertook the arduous journey to see him at Saint-Brice near Cognac. as heir presumptive. and the arts. when England asserted itself vigorously as a major European power in politics. she was obliged. Greenwich. Elizabeth's blend of shrewdness. Nevertheless. 7.7 Catherine de Médicis 7 Catherine.
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 This rare full-length portrait of Elizabeth I. by Flemish artist Steven van der Meulen. gives a distinct sense of the queen's strength and majesty. AFP/ Getty Images 90 .
When in 1537 Henry's third wife. Edward. Elizabeth receded still further into relative obscurity. Rarely has the collective life of a whole era been given so distinctively personal a stamp. thus making their daughter Elizabeth illegitimate. who had borne him a daughter. Anne Boleyn. the birth of a second daughter was a bitter disappointment that dangerously weakened the new queen's position. her father had her mother beheaded on charges of adultery and treason. gave birth to a son. Before Elizabeth reached her third birthday. Since the king ardently hoped that Anne Boleyn would give birth to the male heir regarded as the key to stable dynastic succession. Jane Seymour. This political symbolism. at Henry's instigation. Henry had defied the pope and broken England from the authority of the Roman Catholic church in order to dissolve his marriage with his first wife. Childhood Elizabeth was the daughter of the Tudor king Henry VIII and his second wife.7 Elizabeth I 7 the glittering symbol of the nation's destiny. Mary. she tenaciously upheld her authority to make critical decisions and to set the central policies of both state and church. an act of Parliament declared his marriage with Anne Boleyn invalid from the beginning. Moreover. While she did not wield the absolute power of which Renaissance rulers dreamed. as Roman Catholics had all along claimed her to be. Despite his capacity for monstrous cruelty. Catherine of Aragon. for the queen was by no means a mere figurehead. had more substance than usual. but she was not neglected. common to monarchies. Henry VIII treated all his children with what contemporaries regarded as 91 . The latter half of the 16th century in England is justly called the Elizabethan Age.
Elizabeth was present at ceremonial occasions and was declared third in line to the throne. she became fluent in French and Italian. the king's sixth and last wife.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 affection. and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up. of whom the best known is the Cambridge humanist Roger Ascham. Her guardian. Edward Seymour. the dowager queen Catherine Parr. profited from the loving attention of her stepmother. Handsome. almost immediately married Thomas Seymour. attainments of which she was proud and which were in later years to serve her well in the conduct of diplomacy. for it shaped the future course of the nation. Seymour began to scheme against his powerful older brother. ambitious. Under a series of distinguished tutors. Position Under Edward VI and Mary With her father's death in 1547 and the accession to the throne of her frail 10-year-old brother Edward. history. and moral philosophy. Elizabeth's life took a perilous turn. Elizabeth received the rigorous education normally reserved for male heirs. "Her mind has no womanly weakness. rhetoric. the quick-witted and intellectually serious princess also studied theology. Her association with the Reformation is critically important. but it does not appear to have been a personal passion. "her perseverance is equal to that of a man. imbibing the tenets of English Protestantism in its formative period. consisting of a course of studies centring on classical languages. Thus steeped in the secular learning of the Renaissance. protector of 92 . the lord high admiral. She spent much of the time with her half brother Edward and. Catherine Parr. from her 10th year onward." In addition to Greek and Latin. and discontented." Ascham wrote with the unselfconscious sexism of the age.
7 Elizabeth I 7 the realm during Edward VI's minority. she inevitably became the focus and the obvious beneficiary of plots to overthrow the government and restore Protestantism. she conformed outwardly to official Catholic observance. shortly after the death of Catherine Parr. In a charged atmosphere of treasonous rebellion and inquisitorial repression. as her sister demanded. with its burning of Protestants and its military disasters. This attempt. In January 1549. Arrested and sent to the Tower of London after Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion in January 1554. by force if necessary. after extensive interrogation and spying had revealed no conclusive evidence of treason on her part. Under humiliating close questioning and in some danger. Elizabeth was extraordinarily circumspect and poised. to the Roman Catholic faith. Elizabeth had 93 . she betrayed no emotion. aroused bitter Protestant opposition. Thomas Seymour was arrested for treason and accused of plotting to marry Elizabeth in order to rule the kingdom. Elizabeth narrowly escaped her mother's fate. Repeated interrogations of Elizabeth and her servants led to the charge that even when his wife was alive Seymour had on several occasions behaved in a flirtatious and overly familiar manner toward the young princess. Elizabeth's life was in grave danger. along with her unpopular marriage to the ardently Catholic king Philip II of Spain. self-control. When she was told that Seymour had been beheaded. a religious zealot set on returning England. and political acumen became even greater after the death of the Protestant Edward in 1553 and the accession of Elizabeth's older half sister Mary. The need for circumspection. she was released from the Tower and placed in close custody for a year at Woodstock. Two months later. though she was never far from suspicious scrutiny. The difficulty of her situation eased somewhat. For though. Throughout the unhappy years of Mary's childless reign.
She reduced the size of the Privy Council. to the Reformation. she carefully balanced the need for substantial administrative and judicial continuity with the desire for change. The queen began at once to form her government and issue proclamations. Elizabeth exclaimed confidently that he did so out of gladness. she briskly dismissed them with the words. cautiously but decisively. When the abbot and monks of Westminster Abbey came to greet her in broad daylight with candles in their hands. Accession At the death of Mary on Nov. Her entry into London and the great coronation procession that followed were masterpieces of political courtship. The first weeks of her reign were not entirely given over to symbolic gestures and public ceremonial. she began a restructuring of the enormous royal household. and other signs of public jubilation. patriotic demonstrations. when a girl in an allegorical pageant presented her with a Bible in English translation—banned under Mary's reign—Elizabeth kissed the book. "Away with those torches! We can see well enough." Spectators were thus assured that under Elizabeth England had returned. bonfires.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 continued to protest her innocence. 17. Elizabeth came to the throne amid bells. held it up reverently. affirm her unwavering loyalty. in part to purge some of its Catholic members and in part to make it more efficient as an advisory body. and 94 . 1558. Elizabeth's smallest gestures were scrutinized for signs of the policies and tone of the new regime: When an old man in the crowd turned his back on the new queen and wept. It was a sustained lesson in survival through self-discipline and the tactful manipulation of appearances. and proclaim her pious abhorrence of heresy. and then laid it on her breast.
the cult she established around this persona was a gradual creation that unfolded over many years. but the body politic was timeless and perfect. This she managed in large part through her cultivation of the role of the Virgin Queen wedded to her kingdom.7 Elizabeth I 7 she assembled a core of experienced and trustworthy advisers. that while men were naturally endowed with authority. moreover. including William Cecil. such as the biblical Deborah. Francis Walsingham. women were temperamentally. and morally unfit to govern. Apologists for the queen countered that there had always been significant exceptions. Nicholas Bacon. the prophetess who had judged Israel. At that 95 . the queen's whole being was profoundly altered: her mortal "body natural" was wedded to an immortal "body politic. elaborated a mystical legal theory known as "the king's two bodies." When she ascended the throne." Her physical body was subject to the imperfections of all human beings (including those specific to womankind). Elizabeth made it immediately clear that she intended to rule in more than name only and that she would not subordinate her judgment to that of any one individual or faction. Chief among these was Cecil (afterward Lord Burghley). but its roots may be glimpsed at least as early as 1555. Crown lawyers. Hence in theory the queen's gender was no threat to the stability and glory of the nation. intellectually. The Woman Ruler in a Patriarchal World Custom and teaching had reinforced a widespread conviction. and Nicholas Throckmorton. whom Elizabeth appointed her principal secretary of state on the morning of her accession and who was to serve her (first in this capacity and after 1571 as lord treasurer) with remarkable sagacity and skill for 40 years. according to this theory.
Erik XIV. As master of the horse and a member of the Privy Council. for if she died childless. who hoped to renew the link between Catholic Spain and England. most assiduously by her principal favourite. at one moment seeming on the brink of acceptance. When in September 1560 96 . the granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Margaret. England. François. even years. Henry. Leicester was constantly in attendance on the queen. Robert Dudley. the usually cautious and impassive Elizabeth burst into tears. who displayed toward him all the signs of an ardent romantic attachment. Important suitors eagerly came forward: Philip II of Spain. and others. earl of Leicester. Queen Mary had proposed to marry her sister to the staunchly Catholic duke of Savoy. duke d'Anjou and later king of France. the Tudor line would come to an end. Many scholars think it unlikely that Elizabeth ever seriously intended to marry any of these aspirants to her hand. The queen's marriage was critical not only for the question of succession but also for the tangled web of international diplomacy. speculation about a suitable match immediately intensified. was sorely in need of the major alliances that an advantageous marriage could forge. Queen of Scots.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 time. king of Sweden. The nearest heir was the Catholic Mary. isolated and militarily weak. at the next veering away toward vows of perpetual virginity. for the dangers always outweighed the possible benefits. duke d'Alençon. Other matches were proposed and summarily rejected. But in this vulnerable period of her life there were obvious reasons for Elizabeth to bide her time and keep her options open. Elizabeth was courted by English suitors as well. Archduke Charles of Austria. but she skillfully played one off against another and kept the marriage negotiations going for months. declaring that she had no wish for any husband. When she herself became queen.
for she was skilled at manipulating factions. A powerful nobleman would be led to believe that he possessed unique influence over the queen. her apparent inclination to marry the suitor of the moment—often convinced even close advisers. faced with the real possibility of a contested succession and a civil war.7 Elizabeth I 7 Leicester's wife. only to discover that a hated rival had been led to a comparable belief. This skill extended beyond marriage negotiations and became one of the hallmarks of her regime. often rose to a feverish pitch. the favourite seemed poised to marry his royal mistress—so at least widespread rumours had it—but. for Leicester had many enemies at court and an unsavory reputation in the country at large. Elizabeth's performances—her displays of infatuation. so that the level of intrigue and anxiety. she zealously retained her power to make the final decision in all crucial affairs of state. though the queen's behaviour toward him continued to generate scandalous gossip. the bestowal of such valuable perquisites 97 . public honours. Though she patiently received petitions and listened to anxious advice. Far from trying to allay the anxiety. Unsolicited advice could at times be dangerous: when in 1579 a pamphlet was published vehemently denouncing the queen's proposed marriage to the Catholic duke d'Alençon. the queen seemed to augment and use it. the decisive step was never taken. and. always high in royal courts. Elizabeth's resistance to a marriage she herself seemed to desire may have been politically motivated. its author John Stubbs and his publisher William Page were arrested and had their right hands chopped off. Probably at the core of Elizabeth's decision to remain single was an unwillingness to compromise her power. died in a suspicious fall. Amy Robsart. But in October 1562 the queen nearly died of smallpox. even rival factions were likely to have countenanced the marriage. Royal favour—apparent intimacies.
while the Act of Uniformity established a slightly revised version of the second Edwardian prayer book as the official order of worship. along with a 98 . A similar blend of charm and imperiousness characterized the queen's relations with Parliament. still worse. revived the antipapal statutes of Henry VIII and declared the queen supreme governor of the church. Many of the nobles and gentry. likening herself to the spouse or the mother of her kingdom.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 as land grants and monopolies—would give way to royal aloofness or. were more than cooperative with the queen. began over the years to wear thin. But under the strain of the marriage-andsuccession question. to royal anger. absence from Sunday church service was punishable by a fine. on which she had to depend for revenue. the celebratory tone. The Act of Supremacy. which masked serious policy differences. she transformed the language of politics into the language of love. temporal officers. royal commissioners sought to ensure doctrinal and liturgical conformity. Many sessions of Parliament. Whenever possible. particularly in the early years of her rule. Religious Questions and the Fate of Mary. and men proceeding to university degrees were required to swear an oath to the royal supremacy or lose their positions. they had the rhetorical air of celebrations. often acrimonious negotiations between crown and commons. passed by Parliament and approved in 1559. Elizabeth had a rare gift for combining calculated displays of intransigence with equally calculated displays of graciousness and. a prudent willingness to concede. and the sessions involved complicated. Queen of Scots Elizabeth restored England to Protestantism. on rare occasions. Priests.
who had been driven from her own kingdom in 1568 and had taken refuge in England. a problem greatly exacerbated by Mary's restless ambition and penchant for conspiracy. known as the Ridolfi Plot. more prisoner than guest. but at the same time she firmly rejected the advice of Parliament and many 99 . Elizabeth judged that it was too dangerous to let Mary leave the country. who pressed for a drastic reform of the church hierarchy and church courts. of the woman whom the Roman Catholic church regarded as the rightful queen of England posed a serious political and diplomatic problem for Elizabeth. Queen of Scots. and a vigorous searching out and persecution of recusants. Both threats were linked at least indirectly to Mary. This policy was consistent with her own survival strategy. remained loyal to the old faith. provided that she could obtain public uniformity and obedience. as well as threats. and propaganda. and her personal dislike of evangelical fervour. If Elizabeth's religious settlement was threatened by Protestant dissidents. In 1569 a rebellion of feudal aristocrats and their followers in the staunchly Catholic north of England was put down by savage military force. while in 1571 the queen's informers and spies uncovered an international conspiracy against her life.7 Elizabeth I 7 majority of the common people. pressure. she was willing to let the private beliefs of the heart remain hidden. to secure an outward observance of the religious settlement. Yet she shunned the demands of militant Protestants. but all the key positions in the government and church were held by Protestants who employed patronage. a purging of residual Catholic elements in the prayer book and ritual. The presence. Elizabeth had no interest in probing the inward convictions of her subjects. her deep conservatism. it was equally threatened by the recalcitrance and opposition of English Catholics.
and violence was not only an internal. But she was very reluctant to become involved. in 1585. Tension and official persecution of recusants increased in the wake of the daring clandestine missionary activities of English Jesuits. trained on the Continent and smuggled back to England. In 1570 Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth and absolved her subjects from any oath of allegiance that they might have taken to her. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Protestants (Huguenots) in France. malevolent. political intrigue.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 of her councillors that Mary should be executed. to send a small expeditionary force to the Netherlands. was assassinated. even rebellion undertaken in the name of Protestantism. Government spies under the direction of Sir Francis Walsingham had by this time discovered Mary 100 . she agreed first to provide some limited funds and then. The immediate effect was to make life more difficult for English Catholics. Elizabeth herself showed few signs of concern—throughout her life she was a person of remarkable personal courage—but the anxiety of the ruling elite was intense. who were the objects of a suspicion that greatly intensified in 1572 after word reached England of the St. English concern. after vacillations that drove her councillors to despair. Fears of an assassination attempt against Elizabeth increased after Pope Gregory XIII proclaimed in 1580 that it would be no sin to rid the world of such a miserable heretic. The alarming increase in religious tension. and in part because she detested expenditures. and pathetic. Elizabeth was under great pressure to become more involved in the continental struggle between Roman Catholics and Protestants. in particular to aid the rebels fighting the Spanish armies in the Netherlands. So a captive. Mary remained. Eventually. in part because she detested rebellion. In 1584 Europe's other major Protestant leader. at once ominous. William of Orange.
had begun to assemble an enormous fleet that would sail to the Netherlands. For three months the queen hesitated and then with every sign of extreme reluctance signed the death warrant. in one of the most famous naval encounters of history. Philip II. Always reluctant to spend money. But by the mid-1580s word reached London that the Spanish king. Elizabeth responded with an impressive show of grief and rage.7 Elizabeth I 7 to be thoroughly implicated in plots against the queen's life. and then proceed to an invasion and conquest of Protestant England. The Queen's Image Elizabeth possessed a vast repertory of fantastically elaborate dresses and rich jewels. 8. the wretched queen of Scots. Her passion for dress 101 . led by Sir Francis Drake and others. defeated the enemy fleet. which then was all but destroyed by terrible storms. When in July 1588 the Armada reached English waters. It is impossible to know how many people believed Elizabeth's professions of grief. For years Elizabeth had cannily played a complex diplomatic game with the rival interests of France and Spain. the queen's ships. State-sanctioned privateering raids. When Walsingham's men in 1586 uncovered the Babington Plot. was doomed. well-armed fighting ships. the queen had nonetheless authorized sufficient funds during her reign to maintain a fleet of maneuverable. her secret correspondence intercepted and her involvement clearly proved. 1587. Mary had been beheaded. join forces with a waiting Spanish army led by the duke of Parma. When the news was brought to her that on Feb. Parliament petitioned that the sentence be carried out without delay. on Spanish shipping and ports alternated with conciliatory gestures and peace talks. Mary was tried and sentenced to death. another conspiracy to murder Elizabeth.
celebrated her in a variety of mythological guises—as Diana. and then made a desperate. He was tried for treason and executed on Feb. including poets like Edmund Spenser and painters like Nicholas Hilliard. and her appearances in public were dazzling displays of wealth and magnificence. Her more astute advisers—among them Lord Burghley's son. and to receive the extravagant compliments of her admirers. but she was. in addition to adopting these fanciful roles. appropriated to herself some of the veneration that pious Englishmen had directed to the Virgin Mary. but also her country's political. earl of Tyrone. Essex returned from Ireland against the queen's orders.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 was bound up with political calculation and an acute selfconsciousness about her image. Charges of corruption and greed led to widespread popular hatred of many of the queen's favourites. the goddess of justice. A series of disastrous military attempts to subjugate the Irish culminated in a crisis of authority with her last great favourite. the chaste goddess of the moon. Elizabeth continued to make brilliant speeches. to exercise her authority. the proud earl of Essex. 1601. Gloriana. Sir Robert Cecil. Astraea. She suffered from bouts of melancholy and ill health and showed signs of increasing debility. insulted her in her presence. "a lady surprised by time. Artists. Bad harvests. Robert Devereux. foolhardy attempt to raise an insurrection. and unemployment caused hardship and a loss of public morale. She tried to control the royal portraits that circulated widely in England and abroad. Nevertheless the last decade of Elizabeth's reign began to reveal a severe strain in her ability to control not only her own image. 25." and her long reign was drawing to a close. who had undertaken to defeat rebel forces led by Hugh O'Neill. and economic forces. who had succeeded his 102 . religious. persistent inflation. as Sir Walter Raleigh remarked. the queen of the fairies—and Elizabeth.
the first 103 T . a follower of the revolutionary Baroque painter Caravaggio. Kingdom of Naples) he Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi was the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi. During that event Artemisia was forced to give evidence under torture.7 Elizabeth I 7 father as her principal counselor—secretly entered into correspondence with the likeliest claimant to the throne. and national pride. c. Artemisia painted at first in a style indistinguishable from her father's somewhat lyrical interpretation of Caravaggio's example. Elizabeth died quietly. and. regal magnificence. 1593. 1652/53. July 8. Orazio Gentileschi in 1612 brought him to trial. Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. and in 1616 she joined Florence's Academy of Design. an accomplished work long attributed to her father. when he did not fulfill his promise to marry her. Rome. Naples. A pupil of her father and of his friend the landscape painter Agostino Tassi. Having reportedly indicated James as her successor. 1620). Her first known work is Susanna and the Elders (1610). and that image has endured to the present. Shortly after the trial she married a Florentine." Long before her death she had transformed herself into a powerful image of female authority. ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI (b. She herself was an important second-generation proponent of Caravaggio's dramatic realism. 1612–13. But in a very few years the English began to express nostalgia for the rule of "Good Queen Bess. She was raped by Tassi. James VI of Scotland. She also painted two versions of a scene already essayed by Caravaggio (but never attempted by her father). Papal States [Italy]—d. The nation enthusiastically welcomed its new king.
oil on canvas by Artemisia Gentileschi. Dressed in a Gold Embroidered Elaborate Costume. 17th century. In a private collection 104 . Three-Quarter Length Seated.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Portrait of a Lady.
and in 1638 she arrived in London. she specialized in history painting rather than still life and portraiture. Although many extant contemporary sources such as paintings. she stayed on in London for at least several more years. OKUNI (fl. They collaborated on the ceiling paintings of the Great Hall in the Queen's House in Greenwich. About 1630 she moved to Naples. she settled in Naples. In Florence she was associated with the Medici court and painted an Allegory of Inclination (c. While in Florence she began to develop her own distinct style. 1616) for the series of frescoes honouring the life of Michelangelo in the Casa Buonarotti. T 105 . Very little is known about her life for certain. she painted many portraits and quickly surpassed her father's fame. After Orazio's death in 1639. and she continued to employ the tenebrism made popular by Caravaggio long after her father had abandoned that style. Unlike many other women artists of the 17th century. and diaries have shed light on Okuni's life. 17th century) he Japanese dancer Okuni is credited with founding the popular Japanese art form known as Kabuki. probably in 1640 or 1641.7 Artemisia Gentileschi 7 woman to do so. drawings. the accuracy of such primary sources has been difficult to establish. Her colours are more brilliant than her father's. According to her biographer Baldinucci (who appended her life to that of her father). Artemisia Gentileschi was in Rome for a time and also in Venice. where she painted several versions of the story of David and Bathsheba. but little is known of the final years of her life. Later. where she worked alongside her father for King Charles I.
deliberate movements.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Okuni was also called Izumo no Okuni (Okuni of Izumo) because she is said to have been an attendant at the Grand Shrine of Izumo. The company's lusty and unrestrained dance dramas soon became known throughout Japan—the style acquiring the name Okuni Kabuki—and other troupes of female dancers were formed. and the themes of their dramas and dances were taken from everyday life. the oldest Shintō shrine in Japan. According to some accounts. Okuni dressed as a young man while she performed certain dances. It was so popular that she arranged a variety of other similar events. The performance was a strong departure from the older. In 1652 their involvement was also banned by the shogun for moral reasons. The popularity of onna ("women's") Kabuki remained high until women's participation was officially banned in 1629 by the shogun (military ruler) Tokugawa Iemitsu. in which the actors engaged in slow. boys and young men performed the female roles while dressed as women. who thought that the sensuality of the dances had a deleterious effect on public morality. Not only were the dances considered suggestive. 106 . She formed a troupe of female dancers who in 1603 gave a highly popular performance of dances and light sketches on a makeshift stage set up in the dry bed of the Kamo River in Kyōto. Okuni's company and the newer groups normally had the patronage of the nobility. traditional Noh drama style. as in Elizabethan theatre. but their appeal was directed toward ordinary townspeople. It is possible that she was a temple dancer or even a prostitute. Older male dancers subsequently took over these roles. (The ban on women's performing Kabuki lasted until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.) For a time. but the dancers themselves earned extra money by means of prostitution.
The 107 . became queen-elect before the age of six. One of the wittiest and most learned women of her age. CHRISTINA (b. Rome [Italy] C hristina was the queen of Sweden (1644–54) who stunned all of Europe by abdicating her throne. Stockholm.7 Okuni 7 Ariyoshi Sawako's work of fiction Izumo no Okuni (1969. his only heir. An assiduous politician. and scholars to her court. She subsequently attempted. to gain the crowns of Naples and of Poland. musicians. 1689. 1626. Oxenstierna himself instructed her in politics and first admitted her to council meetings when she was 14. Dec. Kabuki Dancer) is an imagined biography of Okuni that provides an enlightened look at 16th. By his orders she was educated as a prince. Christina was able to keep the bitter class rivalries that broke out after the Thirty Years' War from lapsing into civil war but was unable to solve the desperate financial problems caused by the long years of fighting. without success. Christina (Swedish: Kristina) was the daughter of King Gustav II Adolf and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg.—d. Swed. with the learned theologian Johannes Matthiae as her tutor. Christina. Highly cultured and passionately interested in learning. Her brilliance and strong will were evident even in her childhood. 8. she rose at five in the morning to read and invited eminent foreign writers. After her father died in the Battle of Lützen. Christina is best remembered for her lavish sponsorship of the arts and her influence on European culture. Five regents headed by the chancellor Axel Oxenstierna governed the country.and 17th-century Japanese culture. April 19.
Missing the activity of ruling. who opposed public displays of piety. She pleaded that she was ill and that the burden of ruling was too heavy for a woman. nevertheless. are unclear and still disputed. and mining also made great strides. her secret conversion to Roman Catholicism. Christina's abdication after 10 years of rule shocked and confused the Christian world. however. In December 1655 Pope Alexander VII received Christina in splendour at Rome. extravagant. created a sensation in Rome. and intent on a luxurious court in a country that could not support it and did not want it. For her wit and learning. too free in giving away crown lands. The real reasons. manufactures. intending to become queen of Naples and to leave the throne to a French prince at her death. beneficent. It saw the first Swedish newspaper (1645) and the first countrywide school ordinance. and new privileges were given to the towns. and her discomfort (after spending most of her life in the company of men) with her own femininity. He was.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 French philosopher René Descartes himself taught her philosophy and died at her court. she entered into negotiations with the French chief minister. the day of her abdication. 108 . This scheme collapsed in 1657. however. when he was crowned on June 6. by her manners and personality. and. she was. soon disillusioned with his famous convert. science and literature were encouraged. and with the duke di Modena to seize Naples (then under the Spanish crown). however. 1654. all Europe called her the Minerva of the North. Trade. Christina left Sweden immediately. Although she was far from beautiful (short and pockmarked. She chose her cousin Charles X Gustav as her successor. Among those that are often cited are her aversion to marriage. with a humped right shoulder). Cardinal Mazarin. Christina. Her reign was.
Christina's extraordinary taste in the arts has influenced European culture since her time. who had abdicated the throne of Poland. alleging that he had betrayed her plans to the Holy See. a view sustained by her letters. the friend of four popes. In 1681. beyond insisting on her royal authority. leader of a group of cardinals active in church politics. Christina lived to become one of the most influential figures of her time. having secured a trustworthy administrator for her lands in Sweden. In spite of this scandal. With him. On the second journey. she. prudent man. and a munificent patroness of the arts. Her palace. insisting for years on the pursuance of the Christian war against the Turks. Always extravagant. a clever. who pushed this war to its victorious conclusion. She visited Sweden in 1660 and in 1667. stopped her pension at her own urgent request in order to add it to the war treasury. that of her second cousin John II Casimir Vasa. nor did the pope welcome her return to Rome. but her failure seemed to please her since this meant that she could return to her beloved Rome. Her refusal to give reasons for this action. Christina at last became financially secure. There she had formed a strong friendship with Cardinal Decio Azzolino. she had Pope Clement IX's support in an attempt to gain another crown. she had financial difficulties most of her life: the revenues due from Sweden came slowly or not at all. It was generally believed in Rome that he was her lover. While staying at the palace of Fontainebleau. too. which were decoded in the 19th century. charming. on the Lungara in Rome). the Riario (now the Corsini. shocked the French court. while staying in Hamburg. Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi. contained the 109 . she ordered the summary execution of her equerry.7 Christina 7 during a visit by Christina to France. became active in church politics. Pope Innocent XI.
too. and Arcangelo Corelli. Peter's Basilica in Rome. the first public opera house in Rome. 1780. who became her choirmaster. and medallions. considered her his saviour when she commissioned the art historian Filippo Baldinucci to write his biography while he was being discredited in 1680. Her enormous collection of books and manuscripts is now in the Vatican library. This contest with Prussia was followed by two more. May 13. It became the meeting place of men of letters and musicians. as well as other notable paintings. and as protectress of the Jews in Rome. She was renowned. Austria—d. challenging her inheritance of the Habsburg lands. archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740–80). which further checked Austrian power. her friend. the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48) erupted. still exists in Rome. for her charities. The Arcadia Academy (Accademia dell'Arcadia) for philosophy and literature. which she founded. for her militant protection of personal freedoms. and it was she who recognized the genius of and sponsored the composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Vienna) key figure in the power politics of 18th-century Europe. Vienna. Her tomb is in St. The sculptor and architect Giovanni Bernini. was the wife and empress of the Holy Roman emperor Francis I (reigned 1745–65) and mother of the Holy Roman emperor Joseph II (reigned 1765–90). Nov. It was at her instigation that the Tordinona. 1717. Maria Theresa. the Seven Years' War (1756–63) and the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778– 79). MARIA THERESA (b. who directed her orchestra. sculpture. Upon her accession. 110 A .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 greatest collection of paintings of the Venetian school ever assembled. was opened. Christina died in 1689. 29.
to promulgate the so-called Pragmatic Sanction. Her refusal to negotiate with Frederick II (later the Great) of Prussia. gave her a European 111 . (Since nearly every major European nation coveted some part of the Habsburg domains. eventually recognized by most powers.7 Maria Theresa 7 Early Life Maria Theresa (German: Maria Theresia) was the eldest daughter of the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI and Elizabeth of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. their consent to the Pragmatic Sanction must be taken as nothing more than an act of convenience. ending with an appeal for a mass levy of troops. The death of an only son prompted Charles. whereby female issue was entitled to succeed to the domains of the Habsburgs. 1740. Because of French objections to the union of Lorraine with the Habsburg lands. War of the Austrian Succession On Oct. Her successful appearance before the refractory Hungarian Estates. In 1736 she married Francis Stephen of Lorraine. Charles VI died.) Maria Theresa thus became a pawn on Europe's political chessboard. appalled the senescent councillors of her late father. its capital beset by unrest. and the war of succession he had striven so hard to forestall broke out before the end of the year. The naive courage with which Maria Theresa assumed her heritage (and made her husband co-regent) astounded Europe's chancelleries. of whom 10 survived to adulthood. the only living prince of his line. her most prosperous province. The marriage was a love match. and 16 children were born to the couple. a royal act. Charles left the Habsburg state at the lowest point of its prestige. 20. who had invaded Silesia. its coffers empty. Francis Stephen had to exchange his ancestral duchy for the right of succession to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
she hit on the notion of a "God-pleasing equality. Upon the death of Charles Albert (1745). who dominated those assemblies. Maria Theresa was mortified. Only many years later did peasant riots in famine-stricken Bohemia. cause her to limit the use of forced labour. When the elector Charles Albert of Bavaria—one of the princes who had joined Frederick in assaulting Habsburg territories—was elected emperor. Francis. "The peasantry must be able to sustain itself as well as pay taxes ." she wrote. guided all of Maria Theresa's reforms. that dignity. Maria Theresa accepted the plans of Count Friedrich Wilhelm Haugwitz—the first in a succession of remarkable men of intellect she was to draw into her council. had in practice been hereditary in her family for 300 years. rather than doctrinaire humanitarianism. An enlarged central administration— from which the judiciary was separated in 1749—and a repeatedly reorganized treasury required knowledgeable 112 . which the law denied to women. In the face of the opposition of many noblemen. Domestic Reforms Realizing the need for a sizable standing army and in order to maintain one. she secured for her husband. . as well as the reported cruelty of Hungarian magnates. she managed to reduce drastically (except in Hungary) the powers of the various dominions' estates. . In the further process of abolishing tax exemptions held by the great landowners. which had held the monarchy's purse strings since time immemorial. little more than titular by then. the imperial crown.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 reputation for diplomatic skill." Yet she did not question the justice of the manorial lord's claim on the labour of his hereditary subjects. considerations. Practical. if not always fiscal. .
nonetheless. She approved drastic changes that her physician. and their training was. to whose Society she herself was devoted. In a famous "reversal of alliances" (1756) she threw over England. fired her determination to recover Silesia. carried through at the universities (such as the introduction of textbooks. a newcomer to European rivalries. their ancient foe. (She was the last of the Catholic monarchs to close its establishments. to her mind. indeed. and allied herself with France.) Deeply pious. she had entered into a treaty with Russia. Moreover.7 Maria Theresa 7 civil servants and judges. the sole purpose of higher education. who on his father's 113 . As late as 1779 she single-handedly frustrated another full-scale war with Prussia. the linking of the medical school of the University of Vienna with the embryonic public health service. She paid but scant attention to the global ramifications of the ensuing Seven Years' War. toward subordinating the church to the authority of the state. strictly observant. to destroy Prussia. When its end sealed the loss of Silesia and left the monarchy with a mountain of debts. she became a champion of peace. the Dutchman Gerhard van Swieten. Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz. and intolerant to the point of bigotry. she was moving. Foreign Relations Neither the peace of 1745 (by which Austria ceded Silesia to Prussia) nor the peace of 1748 (which ended Maria Theresa's war with the rest of her enemies) ended her efforts to modernize the army. and the sovereign's right to veto the election of deans by the faculties) even as he took them out of the hands of the Jesuits. Joseph II. the old ally and "banker" of the Habsburgs. risked by her selfopinionated firstborn. The dazzling ideas of her new chancellor.
Her special affection belonged to Maria Christina. and a kind of poor law—these were but some of the innovations in which she herself took a hand. Three of her daughters. 114 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 demise had become co-regent in the Habsburg dominions (and been elected emperor). and dire warnings of the future. who was allowed to marry for love and on whom Maria Theresa showered vast gifts of money. the settlement of the empty spaces of Hungary. her zeal for activity nowise impaired. she came to feel that it was incumbent on the state to control the intellectual life of its subjects. with her common sense doing service for the book learning she lacked. it was she. the drafting of a penal code to supplant the tangle of local systems. with practical advice. A new public-debt policy. on the other hand. to her dying day she bombarded one of these. too. Late Years Although Maria Theresa pedantically supervised her children's upbringing and education. lived up to her hopes. and his sudden death in 1765 plunged her into prolonged grief. she was to experience many disappointments in connection with them. She emerged from it. Though Francis had not been a faithful husband. Maria Theresa never wavered in her love. and France—again and again irritated their mother with their strong will or their follies. moral exhortations. It was she who institutionalized government censorship. married off to unprepossessing Bourbons—in Parma. who launched plans for compulsory primary education. though difficult as a child. In step with the enforced retreat of the church from secular affairs. Queen Marie-Antoinette of France. only Leopold of Tuscany (later Emperor Leopold II). Naples. Of her sons.
Stettin. supported by Kaunitz. Poland]—d. near St. His flirting with the "new philosophy" of the Enlightenment frightened her. 1796. 6 [Nov. When Joseph. Russia) 115 . she was one of the most capable rulers of her house and. "the most human of the Habsburgs. 1729. She died in November 1780. Prussia [now Szczecin.7 Maria Theresa 7 But it was the running conflict with her son Joseph that clouded the years of her widowhood most. according to one historian. Grown enormously stout and in poor health. Maria Theresa gave a measure of unity. 17]. her enlisting the help of Louis XV's mistress. She was still trying to hold off the approach of the new age. whose palace owed its reconstruction to her initiative." CATHERINE II (b. A princess of engaging naturalness. she loudly bewailed the immorality of the action. in order to obtain the French alliance. she spent more and more of her time in suburban Schönbrunn. There were threats of abdication on both his part and hers. his admiration of Frederick the Great offended her. Tsarskoye Selo [now Pushkin]. her own pragmatic reforms had smoothed the road to the enlightened despotism that was to mark the reign of her son and successor. the accusation of "lachrymose hypocrisy" raised in foreign courts during the Polish affair distressed her. Joseph II. New Style]. and his foreign enterprises filled her with trepidation. Nov. prude though she was. To the Habsburg monarchy. pressured her into agreeing to share in the (first) partition of Poland in 1772. Mme de Pompadour. April 21 [May 2. a dynastic agglomeration of disparate lands. Petersburg. And while she had shrugged off ridicule on such occasions as her setting up a public morals squad (the "chastity commission" of popular parlance) or. Ironically.
who would not have become empress if her husband had been at all normal. grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the throne of Russia as the grand duke Peter. who led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe. a fanatical worshipper of Frederick II of Prussia. better known as Catherine the Great (Russian: Yekaterina Velikaya). rebellious. flexibility of character. perhaps impotent. Christian August von Anhalt-Zerbst. most seriously. the following 18 years were filled with deception and humiliation for her. Devoted to much pleasure and luxury and greatly desirous of giving her court the brilliancy of a European court. carrying on the work begun by Peter the Great. but she was related through her mother to the dukes of Holstein. was a German-born empress of Russia (1762–96). assumed the title of Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna. 116 . the empress Elizabeth. At age 14 she was chosen to be the wife of Karl Ulrich. the foe of the empress Elizabeth. was clearheaded and ambitious. whose 20-year reign greatly stabilized the monarchy. adding the Crimea and much of Poland. Elizabeth prepared the way for Catherine. Russia at the time was ruled by Peter the Great's daughter. Catherine. by contrast.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 C atherine II. and love of Russia gained her much support. and married her young cousin the following year. duke of Holstein-Gottorp. In 1744 Catherine arrived in Russia. The marriage was a complete failure. Her intelligence. obstinate. With her ministers she reorganized the administration and law of the Russian Empire and extended Russian territory. He was extremely neurotic. Early Life and Experience Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst was the daughter of an obscure German prince. and. nearly alcoholic.
a lively intelligence. and regarded with suspicion while at court. he also prepared to rid himself of his wife. Catherine possessed considerable charm. since Peter was incapable of ruling. but she found comfort in reading extensively and in preparing herself for her future role as sovereign. She had the support of the army. was engaged in the Seven Years' War against Prussia. ended Russia's participation in the war and concluded an alliance with Frederick II of Prussia. was ambition. On June 28 (July 9. The empress Elizabeth died on Dec. while Russia. was fathered by her husband. She was also supported by the "enlightened" elements of aristocratic society. Her true passion. especially the regiments at St. Discrediting himself endlessly by his foolish actions. allied with Austria and France. she led the regiments that had rallied to her cause into St. she saw quite early the possibility of eliminating him and governing Russia herself. Peter. bored. her lover. 5. New Style). it was committed by her supporters. New Style). not even the heir apparent Paul.7 Catherine II 7 She was humiliated. 1762. Although a woman of little beauty. He made no attempt to hide his hatred of Russia and his love of his native Germany. Petersburg) were allied with her as well. Peter III abdicated and was assassinated eight days later. none of her three children. now emperor. and extraordinary energy. Petersburg and had herself proclaimed empress and autocrat in the Kazan Cathedral. Shortly after Elizabeth's death. 25. 1761 (Jan. 1762. she had at least three lovers. if her hints are to be believed. and 117 . Although Catherine probably did not order the murder of Peter. During her husband's lifetime alone. Petersburg. where Grigory Orlov. however. since she was known for her liberal opinions and admired as one of the most cultivated persons in Russia. The court and public opinion in both capitals (Moscow and St. was stationed. Catherine had only to strike.
she was above all a ruler. as well as with the country's traditional allies. which was empty when Elizabeth died. Since her coup d'etat and Peter's suspicious death demanded both discretion and stability in her dealings with other nations. creating a court to rival Versailles. 118 . Her most pressing practical problem. France and Austria. however. Russia's old enemy. and developing a national culture that would be more than an imitation of French models. losing what little power had been left to it by the reforms of Peter the Great. she was crowned with great ceremony in Moscow. the ancient capital of the tsars. even if she could have given her full attention to them. Her projects obviously were too numerous to carry out. The Russian clergy was reduced to a group of state-paid functionaries. as king of Poland.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 public opinion held her responsible. Since her early days in Russia she had dreamed of establishing a reign of order and justice. Early Years as Empress Despite Catherine's personal weaknesses. this she did in 1762 by secularizing the property of the clergy. Truly dedicated to her adopted country. In 1764 she resolved the problem of Poland. Stanisław Poniatowski. and began a reign that was to span 34 years as empress of Russia under the title of Catherine II. by installing one of her old lovers. In September 1762. a weak man entirely devoted to her. of spreading education. she continued to preserve friendly relations with Prussia. was to replenish the state treasury. who owned one-third of the land and serfs in Russia. she intended to make Russia a prosperous and powerful state. a kingdom lacking definite boundaries and coveted by three neighbouring powers.
along with the hardships imposed by the war. incited the greatest uprising of Russian history prior to the revolution of 1917. Catherine seized the pretext of war with Turkey in 1768 to change her policy. Catherine's Instruction to the Commission was a draft of a constitution and a code of laws. At that point. a terrible plague broke out in Moscow. a former officer of the Don Cossacks. she saw very quickly that the reforms advocated by Montesquieu or Jean-Jacques Rousseau. however. did not at all correspond to the realities of an anarchic and backward Russia. emphasis would be placed above all on national grandeur. henceforth. A disciple of the English and French liberal philosophers. the Ottoman Empire had been the traditional enemy of Russia. Although the naval victory at Çeşme in 1770 brought military glory to the empress. Frustrated in her attempts at reform.7 Catherine II 7 Her attempts at reform. which were difficult enough to put into practice in Europe. 119 . The debates went on for months and came to nothing. the war fired the patriotism and zeal of Catherine's subjects. inevitably. it created a climate of disaffection and popular agitation. Turkey had not yet been defeated and continued fighting. It was considered too liberal for publication in France and remained a dead letter in Russia. In 1773 Yemelyan Pugachov. pretending to be the dead emperor Peter III. First. were less than satisfying. Russia encountered unforeseen difficulties. Since the reign of Peter the Great. In 1767 she convened a commission composed of delegates from all the provinces and from all social classes (except the serfs) for the purpose of ascertaining the true wishes of her people and framing a constitution. and in June 1774 Pugachov's Cossack troops prepared to march on Moscow. the movement spread rapidly through the vast southeastern provinces. Starting in the Ural region.
was based. She imposed serfdom on the Ukrainians who had until then been free. their forced labour financed the immense expenditures required for her ever-growing economic. Catherine turned her attention to organizing and strengthening a system that she herself had condemned as inhuman. Catherine saw very quickly that emancipation of the serfs would never be tolerated by the owners. and cultural projects. at least. who had enjoyed a certain autonomy. 95 percent of the Russian people did not in any way benefit directly from the achievements of Catherine's reign.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 At this point. but the terror and chaos he inspired were not soon forgotten. the condition of the serf was worse than it had been before Catherine's rule. Thus. and the fortune of a noble was evaluated not in lands but in the "souls" he owned. she must tighten their bonds. and who would throw the country into disorder once they lost their own means of support. Defeated and captured. military. whom she depended upon for support. The serf was the property of the master. which was 95 percent agricultural. Before her accession to power. and that. the war with Turkey ended in a Russian victory. By distributing the so-called crown lands to her favourites and ministers. At the end of her reign. however. on whom the economy of Russia. Pugachov was beheaded in 1775. and. Catherine now realized that for her the people were more to be feared than pitied. rather than freeing them. Catherine had planned to emancipate the serfs. there was scarcely a free peasant left in Russia. In these undertakings. she worsened the lot of the peasants. Reconciling herself to an unavoidable evil without much difficulty. she proved herself to be a good administrator and 120 . and Catherine sent her crack troops to crush the rebellion. Rather. because of more systematized control. When confronted with the realities of power.
121 . Ordinarily. As minister he had unlimited powers. whose intelligence and abilities were equalled only by his ambition. He was to be the only one of Catherine's favourites to play an extensive political role. Grigory Potemkin. the year of Russia's defeat of Turkey. an experienced diplomat with a knowledge of Russia that Catherine had not yet acquired and as audacious as Catherine was methodical. Influence of Potemkin In 1774. In Potemkin she found an extraordinary man whom she could love and respect and with whom she could share her power. the empress did not mix business and pleasure.7 Catherine II 7 could claim that the blood and sweat of the people had not been wasted. and the ambitious minister expressed his respect for his sovereign through complete devotion to her interests. The annexation of the Crimea from the Turks in 1783 was Potemkin's work. became Catherine's lover. Potemkin must be given part of the credit for the somewhat extravagant splendour of Catherine's reign. and he understood the effect it produced on the people. even after the end of their liaison. He had a conception of grandeur that escaped the rather pedestrian German princess. which lasted only two years. and a brilliant career began for this official of the minor nobility. A great dreamer. Through that annexation and the acquisition of the territories of the Crimean Khanate. who had distinguished himself in the war. Potemkin was treated as an equal by the empress up to the time of his death in 1791. They complemented and understood each other. her ministers were almost always selected for their abilities. he was avid for territories to conquer and provinces to populate.
felt seriously threatened by the French Revolution. condemned to death. the country did not become involved in a European war. Yet. N. the empress crossed the country to take possession of her new provinces. Ironically. Russia held the north shore of the Black Sea and was in a position to threaten the existence of the Ottoman Empire and to establish a foothold in the Mediterranean." because Catherine and her court traveled partly by water.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 which extended from the Caucasus Mountains to the Bug River in southwestern Russia. and innumerable diplomats came to honour her and to enjoy the splendours of what became known as "Cleopatra's fleet." In 1790 the writer A. the sentiments Radishchev expressed were very similar to 122 . and renounced the alliance with Prussia and England. Radishchev. In a festive Arabian Nights atmosphere. who were alarmed by Russian ambitions. then pardoned and exiled. Catherine also sought to renew the alliance with Austria. the king of Poland. Catherine's glorification reached its climax in a voyage to the Crimea arranged by Potemkin in 1787. She dedicated new towns bearing her name and announced that she ultimately intended to proceed to Constantinople. during Catherine's reign. who attempted to publish a work openly critical of the abuses of serfdom. the emperor of Austria." had no intention of relinquishing her own privileges: "I am an aristocrat. Effects of the French Revolution Catherine. like all the crowned heads of Europe. it is my profession. Turkey's neighbour and enemy. although a "friend of the Enlightenment. The divine right of royalty and the aristocracy was being questioned. and Catherine. because the empress scrupulously adhered to the territorial agreements she had concluded with several western European nations. was tried.
she figured in the Western imagination as the incarnation of the immense. One of Catherine's principal glories is to have been a woman who. yet forbidding country she ruled. Catherine's last years were darkened by the execution of Louis XVI. became synonymous with a decisive epoch in the development of her country.000 square miles. Prussia. and regard her as a source of national pride. Assessment Russians. just as Elizabeth I of England and Queen Victoria gave their names to periods of history. her grandson Alexander was too young yet to rule. Catherine sent in troops and the next year annexed most of the western Ukraine.7 Catherine II 7 Catherine's Instruction of 1767. that she had no suitable successor. began agitating for a liberal constitution. She considered her son Paul an incompetent and unbalanced man. the German. moreover. backward. At the end of Catherine's reign. encouraged by the example of France. Non-Russian opinion of Catherine is less favourable. the usurper and profligate. In 1792. continue to admire Catherine. Catherine wiped Poland off the map of Europe by dividing it between Russia. Because Russia under her rule grew strong enough to threaten the other great powers. and Austria in 1795. while Prussia helped itself to large territories of western Poland. and the spread of radical ideas. Next. and the Russian rulers' ancient dream of access to the Bosporus Strait (connecting the 123 . and because she was in fact a harsh and unscrupulous ruler. the advance of the revolutionary armies. under the pretext of forestalling the threat of revolution. Russia had expanded westward and southward over an area of more than 200. After the national uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in 1794. The empress realized. Poland. even Soviet Russians.
the official favourite changed at least a dozen times. trade expanded and communications developed. to which the greatest minds of Europe were drawn. she invested funds in many projects. who were only. An uninhibited spender. whom she wished to succeed her.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Black Sea with the Aegean) had become an attainable goal. Alexander. particularly the eldest. In her friendships she was loyal and generous and usually showed mercy toward her enemies. she dreamed endlessly of the joys of a shared love. On the other hand. As commodities were plentiful. She did not love her son Paul. but her position isolated her. and extremely domineering. At the end of her reign Catherine claimed that she had reorganized 29 provinces under her administrative reform plan. she adored her grandsons. After the end of her liaison with Potemkin. have won her a distinguished place in history. pretentious. who perhaps was her morganatic husband. Yet it cannot be denied that she was also egotistical. whose throne she occupied. Catherine's critics acknowledge her energy and administrative ability but point out that the achievements of her reign were as much due to her associates and to the unaided. She had young lovers up to the time of her unexpected death from a stroke at the age of 67. Her private life was admittedly not exemplary. old ones were expanded and renovated. as one of them himself said. "kept girls. above all a woman of action. More than a hundred new towns were built. And when they judge Catherine the woman. she chose handsome and insignificant young men. they treat her severely. capable of being ruthless when her own interest 124 . together with the glory of military victories and the fame of a brilliant court." Although in reality devoted to power above all else. the legitimate heir. These achievements. historical development of Russian society as to the merits of the empress.
encouraged the sciences. in the style of various artists whose work she admired. because of her T 125 . Her interests and enthusiasms ranged from construction projects to lawmaking and the collection of art objects. she herself wrote. As she grew older she also became extremely vain: there was some excuse. she touched on everything. was a noted portraitist who worked chiefly in pastels. established literary reviews.P. Her great opportunity came in 1779 when she was summoned to Versailles to paint a portrait of Queen Marie-Antoinette. Louis Vigée. and in subsequent years VigéeLebrun painted more than 20 portraits of Marie-Antoinette in a great variety of poses and costumes. ELISABETH VIGÉE-LEBRUN (b. A friend of Voltaire and Denis Diderot. In 1783. Her father and first teacher. 1755. April 16. as the most distinguished minds of Europe heaped flatteries on her that even she ultimately found exaggerated.7 Catherine II 7 or that of the state was at stake. Paris. France—d. J. Paris) he French painter Marie-Louise-Elisabeth VigéeLebrun (also spelled LeBrun or Le Brun) was one of the most successful women artists (unusually so for her time) and was particularly noted for her portraits of women. In 1776 she married an art dealer. not always happily but always passionately. She was a woman of elemental energy and intellectual curiosity. March 30. Lebrun. The two women became friends. desiring to create as well as to control. she carried on an extensive correspondence with most of the important personages of her time. She was a patron of literature and a promoter of Russian culture. and founded schools. She also painted a great number of self-portraits. 1842.B.
Paris. Naples. trans. Marie-Antoinette-Josèphe-Jeanne d'Autriche-Lorraine (Austria-Lorraine). France) M arie-Antoinette was the queen consort of King Louis XVI of France (1774–93). she left France and for 12 years lived abroad. born Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna von Österreich-Lothringen. The 11th daughter of the Holy Roman emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa. traveling to Rome. soon left for London.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 friendship with the queen. she painted 900 pictures. where she painted portraits of the court and of Lord Byron. In 1801 she returned to Paris but. MARIE-ANTOINETTE (b. Eng. Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun). During her career. Vigée-Lebrun was grudgingly accepted into the Royal Academy. Vienna. and her memoirs. Nov. including some 600 portraits and about 200 landscapes. where she continued to paint until her death. Petersburg. "Reminiscences of My Life". Later she went to Switzerland (and painted a portrait of Mme de Staël) and then again (c. and Moscow. Austria—d. 2. and sensitivity of presentation. 1755. according to her own account. Imprudent and an enemy of reform. On the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789. Vienna. She was one of the most technically fluent portraitists of her era. 1793. Vigée-Lebrun was a woman of much wit and charm. 1810) to Paris. St. charm. Oct. 16. she helped provoke the popular unrest that led to the French Revolution and to the overthrow of the monarchy in August 1792. Souvenirs de ma vie (1835–37. grandson of France's King 126 . and her pictures are notable for freshness. painting portraits and playing a leading role in society. Berlin. was married in 1770 to the dauphin Louis. disliking Parisian social life under Napoleon. provide a lively account of her life and times.
MarieAntoinette proved to be stronger and more decisive than her husband. The timid. Her extravagant court expenditures contributed— though to a minor degree—to the huge debt incurred by the French state in the 1770s and '80s. the queen failed to convince Louis to take refuge with his army at Metz. In August–September. During these crises. she became the main target of the popular agitators. in which the queen was unjustly accused of having formed an immoral relationship with a cardinal. After a crowd stormed the Bastille on July 14. Six months later Marie-Antoinette opened secret communications with the comte de Mirabeau. Marie-Antoinette had withdrawn into the companionship of a small circle of court favourites.7 Marie-Antoinette 7 Louis XV. a prominent 127 . uninspiring Louis proved to be an inattentive husband. however. 1789. by the time he ascended the throne in 1774. Louis XVI's inability to consummate their marriage and the queen's resultant childlessness in the 1770s inspired rivals—including the king's own brothers. The scandal discredited the monarchy and encouraged the nobles to oppose vigorously (1787–88) all the financial reforms advocated by the king's ministers. as in those to come. who attributed to her the celebrated and callous remark on being told that the people had no bread: "Let them eat cake!" ("Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!"). As a result. In October 1789 popular pressure compelled the royal family to return from Versailles to Paris. she successfully prodded him to resist the attempts of the Revolutionary National Assembly to abolish feudalism and restrict the royal prerogative. These vilifications culminated in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace (1785– 86). where they became hostages of the Revolutionary movement. who stood to inherit the throne if she did not produce a legitimate heir—to circulate slanderous reports of her alleged extramarital affairs.
Nevertheless. 128 . 1792. Eng. 14.—d. They arranged for the king and queen to escape from Paris on the night of June 20. Marie-Antoinette's continuing intrigues with the Austrians further enraged the French. After France declared war on Austria in April 1792. Barnave persuaded the king to accept publicly the new constitution (September 1791). She was brought before the Revolutionary tribunal on Oct. Marie-Antoinette spent the remainder of her life in Parisian prisons. April 27. Leopold avoided acceding to her demands. 10. but the queen undermined Barnave's position by privately urging her brother.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 member of the National Assembly who hoped to restore the authority of the crown. her mistrust of Mirabeau prevented the king from following his advice. Louis XVI was executed on orders from the National Convention in January 1793. London) T he English writer Mary Wollstonecraft was a passionate advocate of educational and social equality for women. 1759. After Mirabeau died in April 1791. leader of the constitutional monarchist faction in the Assembly. Sept. the Holy Roman emperor Leopold II. 1797. 10. Popular hatred of the queen provided impetus to the insurrection that overthrew the monarchy on Aug. she turned for assistance to a group of émigrés. 1793. Marie-Antoinette then attempted to shore up the rapidly deteriorating position of the crown by opening secret negotiations with Antoine Barnave. and in August the queen was put in solitary confinement in the Conciergerie. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (b. London. and was guillotined two days later. to conduct a counterrevolutionary crusade against France. but Revolutionary forces apprehended the royal couple at Varennes (June 25) and escorted them back to Paris.
who published several of her works. Hulton Archive/Getty Images 129 .7 Mary Wollstonecraft 7 The daughter of a farmer. experiences that inspired her views in Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787). including the novel Mary: A Fiction (1788). Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman created quite a stir in its day. Her mature work on a woman's place in society is A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). fueling the fight for women's rights and inspiring feminists everywhere. In 1788 she began working as a translator for the London publisher James Johnson. which calls for women and men to be educated equally. Wollstonecraft taught school and worked as a governess.
would benefit all society. Thomas Holcroft. distraught over the breakdown of her relationship with Imlay. The marriage was happy but brief. 1797. where she lived with an American. Other early feminists had made similar pleas for improved education for women. they were married. Such change. The publication of Vindication caused considerable controversy but failed to bring about any immediate reforms. or. but Wollstonecraft's work was unique in suggesting that the betterment of women's status be effected through such political change as the radical reform of national educational systems. she attempted suicide. Fanny. The following year. Thomas Paine. She posited that an educational system that allowed girls the same advantages as boys would result in women who would be not only exceptional wives and mothers but also capable workers in many professions. Mary being pregnant. William Blake. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin died 11 days after the birth of her second daughter. one of the great Romantic novels. Captain Gilbert Imlay. (This daughter would later marry Percy Bysshe Shelley and write Frankenstein. Wollstonecraft returned to London to work again for Johnson and joined the influential radical group that gathered at his home. it argued that the educational system of her time deliberately trained women to be frivolous and incapable. however.) Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is one of the trailblazing works of feminism. after 1793. and. and on March 29. From the 1840s. In 1796 she began a liaison with Godwin. Published in 1792. Mary. The Modern Prometheus. William Wordsworth. which included William Godwin. members of the incipient American and European women's movements resurrected 130 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 In 1792 Wollstonecraft left England to observe the French Revolution in Paris. In the spring of 1794 she gave birth to a daughter. she concluded.
epitomized the European culture of her time. With the renewed interest in women's rights in the later 20th century. history. Her most important literary contribution was as a theorist of Romanticism. Suzanne Curchod. and conversationalist. Her mother. Paris) G ermaine de Staël. Early Life and Family She was born Anne-Louise-Germaine Necker. France—d. assembled by Janet Todd. and even a number of poems. As Madame de Staël. assisted her husband's 131 . in an edition edited by Pamela Clemit and Gina Luria Walker). she also gained fame by maintaining a salon for leading intellectuals. 1766. 1817. July 14. autobiographical memoirs. the daughter of Swiss parents. Her writings include novels. The life of Mary Wollstonecraft has been the subject of several biographies. moral and political essays. April 22. the French-Swiss woman of letters. Her father was Jacques Necker. she again became the subject of several books. was published in 2003. Paris. beginning with her husband's Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1798. literary criticism.7 Mary Wollstonecraft 7 some of the book's principles. political propagandist. the Genevan banker who became finance minister to King Louis XVI. The Collected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft. plays. It was a particular influence on American women's rights pioneers such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Margaret Fuller. the daughter of a French-Swiss pastor. in Paris. Those written in the 19th century tended to emphasize the scandalous aspects of her life and not her work. reissued 2001. bridging the history of ideas from Neoclassicism to Romanticism. GERMAINE DE STAËL (b.
her marriage began to be considered. Political Views Before she was 21. Favouring the French Revolution. she adopted political views based on the English parliamentary monarchy. 1790). Rousseau (1788. the elected body that abolished the monarchy.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 career by establishing a brilliant literary and political salon in Paris. but she disliked the idea of living in England. Germaine de Staël had written a romantic drama. and Albertine (b. But it was her Lettres sur les ouvrages et le caractère de J.-J. Baron Erik de Staël-Holstein. The young Germaine Necker early gained a reputation for lively wit. Under the Convention. Sophie. Rousseau) that made her known. There were. an admirer of Montesquieu. she was to be seen in her mother's salon. who was allegedly fathered by Benjamin Constant. 1792). ou les sentiments secrets (1786). She was married in 1786 to the Swedish ambassador in Paris. When she was 16. and even taking part in. William Pitt the Younger was regarded as a possible husband. three children: Auguste (b. Albert (b. and a tragedy inspired by Nicholas Rowe. 1796). she acquired a reputation for Jacobinism. Protected by her husband's diplomatic status. if not for beauty. the conversation with that lively intellectual curiosity that was to remain her most attractive quality. when she retreated to 132 . Letters on the Works and the Character of J. There is in her thought an unusual and irreconcilable mixture of Rousseau's enthusiasm and Montesquieu's rationalism. listening to.-J. the moderate Girondin faction corresponded best to her ideas. It was a marriage of convenience and ended in 1797 in formal separation. however. While still a child. Under the influence of her father. she was in no danger in Paris until 1793. Jane Gray (1790). who edited his mother's complete works.
which became one of the important documents of European Romanticism. Since 1789 she had been the mistress of Louis de Narbonne. the brothers August Wilhelm and Friedrich von Schlegel.7 Germaine de Staël 7 Coppet. one of Louis XVI's last ministers. Her fluctuating liaison with Constant started in 1794 and lasted 14 years. the family residence near Geneva.. A brilliant period of her career then began. above all. She stayed at Juniper Hall. at the end of the Terror in 1794. But it was her new lover. the author and politician. who were among the most influential German Romanticists. There she met Fanny Burney (later Mme d'Arblay). She returned to France. but their friendship was cut short because Mme de Staël's politics and morals were considered undesirable by good society in England. where she joined him in 1793. Switz. He took refuge in England in 1792. Literary Theories At about the beginning of 1800 the literary and political character of Mme de Staël's thought became defined. via Coppet. a mansion that had been rented since 1792 by French émigrés. She read the elderly Swiss critic Karl Viktor von Bonstetten. Her 133 . notably De l'influence des passions sur le bonheur des individus et des nations (1796. and. She began to study the new ideas that were being developed particularly in Germany. the German philologist Wilhelm von Humboldt. Benjamin Constant. who influenced her most directly in favour of German culture. although after 1806 her affections found little response. A Treatise on the Influence of the Passions upon the Happiness of Individuals and of Nations). near Mickleham in Surrey. and she published several political and literary essays. Her salon flourished. It was here that she gained fame by establishing a meeting place for some of the leading intellectuals of western Europe.
Her guide in Germany. her frequent companion and counselor. already established as the shrine of J. her Dix Années d'exil (Ten Years' Exile). and in 1804 she began what she called. is rich in new ideas and new perspectives—new. was a young Englishman. Delphine (1802) and Corinne (1807). the zeitgeist. Her two novels. to some extent illustrate her literary theories. of the nation in which it is conceived. in a work published posthumously in 1821. culminating in a visit to Weimar. This complex work. although her personal taste remained strongly classical. who was to become. however. though not perfect. With Constant and his friends she formed the nucleus of a liberal resistance that so embarrassed Napoleon that in 1803 he had her banished to a distance of 40 miles (64 km) from Paris. The journey was 134 . From December 1803 to April 1804 she made a journey through Germany. In Berlin she met August Wilhelm von Schlegel. Thenceforward Coppet was her headquarters. von Goethe and Friedrich von Schiller.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 literary importance emerged in De la littérature considérée dans ses rapports avec les institutions sociales (1800. A Treatise of Ancient and Modern Literature and The Influence of Literature upon Society). after 1804. W. at least to France. is that a work must express the moral and historical reality. The fundamental theory. Banishment from Paris She was also an important political figure and was regarded by contemporary Europe as the personal enemy of Napoleon. while the latter shows the clash between Nordic and southern mentalities. Henry Crabb Robinson. who was studying at Jena. which was to be restated and developed in the positivism of Hippolyte Taine. the former being strongly sociological in outlook. She also maintained that the Nordic and classical ideals were basically opposed and supported the Nordic.
She was received with enthusiasm. in England. a young Swiss officer. Germany). in June 1813. "John" Rocca. Her guide in England was Sir James Mackintosh. literature and art. accompanied by Schlegel and Simonde de Sismondi. a De l'Angleterre: (the material for it can be found in the Considérations sur la Révolution française [1818. Mme de Staël returned to Paris but was deeply disillusioned: the fall of 135 . fled from Napoleon's Europe. but never wrote. While Corinne can be considered the result of her Italian journey. His death affected her deeply. and Sweden. Finland. Its only fault is the distorted picture it gives. and religion in which she made known to her contemporaries the Germany of the Sturm und Drang movement (1770–1780). On the Bourbon Restoration in 1814. but in 1805 she set out for Italy. arrived. philosophy and morals. the fruits of her visit to Germany are contained in her most important work.000 copies) was seized and destroyed. in 1811. after visiting Russia. whom she had always greatly admired.7 Germaine de Staël 7 interrupted in 1804 by news of the death of her father. the violently nationalistic aspect of German Romanticism. Napoleon took it for an anti-French work. persecuted by the police. for example. This is a serious study of German manners. Considerations on the Principal Events of the French Revolution]. Meanwhile Mme de Staël. She collected documents for. in May 1812 she went to Austria and. Returning in June 1805. De l'Allemagne (1810. and the French edition of 1810 (10. the Genevan economist who was her guide on the journey. It was finally published in England in 1813. Having married. which represents a return to Necker's ideas and holds up the English political system as a model for France). ignoring. she spent the next seven years of her exile from Paris for the most part at Coppet. the Scottish publicist. although reproached by such liberals as Lord Byron for being more anti-Napoleonic than liberal and by the Tories for being too liberal.
but the value of her critical and historical work is undeniable. A strong friendship developed between the two writers. In 1816 she returned to spend the summer at Coppet. the events and tendencies of her time gave her an unusual position: it may be said that she helped the dawning 19th century to take stock of itself. Her involvement in. she held her salon throughout the winter and part of the spring. Austen created the comedy of manners of middle-class life in the 136 T . JANE AUSTEN (b. Eng. Assessment Germaine de Staël's purely literary importance is far exceeded by her importance in the history of ideas. After Byron's departure she went to Paris for the winter. July 18. she had a clear vision of wider issues and of the achievements of civilization. Steventon. During the Hundred Days she escaped to Coppet and in September 1815 set out again for Italy. She died in Paris in July of that year. Hampshire) he English writer Jane Austen was the first writer to give the novel its distinctly modern character through her treatment of ordinary people in everyday life. 16. Though poorly received by the returned émigrés and suspected by the government. Hampshire. 1817. Dec. but after April 1817 she was an invalid. Mme de Staël's health was declining. Winchester. and understanding of. 1775.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Napoleon had been followed by foreign occupation and had in no way reestablished liberty in France.—d. Her novels and plays are now largely forgotten. where she was joined by Byron. Though careless of detail. in flight from England after his unhappy matrimonial experience.
was a woman of ready wit. with occasional visits to Bath and to London— that she was to use in the settings. Mansfield Park (1814). Cassandra (née Leigh). Cassandra. and the country town. and other prose that show Austen engaged in the parody of existing literary forms. Moreover. Her earliest-known writings date from about 1787. Life Jane Austen was born in the Hampshire village of Steventon. Emma (1815). and Volume the Third. Pride and Prejudice (1813). was rector. famed for her impromptu verses and stories. It was this world—of the minor landed gentry and the country clergy. Sense and Sensibility (1811). and between then and 1793 she wrote a large body of material that has survived in three manuscript notebooks: Volume the First.7 Jane Austen 7 England of her time in her novels. the Reverend George Austen. notably sentimental fiction. Her closest companion throughout her life was her elder sister. the neighbourhood. short novels. Jane Austen's lively and affectionate family circle provided a stimulating context for her writing. her experience was carried far beyond Steventon rectory by an extensive network of relationships by blood and friendship. who also remained unmarried. His wife. Volume the Second. and subject matter of her novels. verses. in the village. She was the second daughter and seventh child in a family of eight: six boys and two girls. where her father. These contain plays. The great family amusement was acting. 1817). characters. Her passage to a more serious view of life from the exuberant high spirits and extravagances of her earliest writings is evident in Lady 137 . and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (published posthumously. Their father was a scholar who encouraged the love of learning in his children.
was written about 1798 or 1799. But Jane Austen's own novels provide indisputable evidence that their author understood the experience of love and of love disappointed. but the offer was declined. a short novel-in-letters written about 1793–94 (and not published until 1871). the last of the early novels. then called "First Impressions. Up to this time the tenor of life at Steventon rectory had been propitious for Jane Austen's growth as a novelist. there is some point in attempting to establish the facts of these relationships. although it was advertised. but. There are also a number of mutually contradictory stories connecting her with someone with whom she fell in love but who died very soon after. but the next morning changed her mind. In 1802 it seems likely that Jane agreed to marry Harris Bigg-Wither." after its heroines. more "masculine. the evidence is unsatisfactory and incomplete. He took it for immediate publication. in effect. was begun about 1795 as a novel-in-letters called "Elinor and Marianne. Unfortunately.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Susan. Sense and Sensibility." In 1797 her father wrote to offer it to a London publisher for publication. The earliest of her novels. 138 . Cassandra was a jealous guardian of her sister's private life. Between October 1796 and August 1797 Austen completed the first version of Pride and Prejudice. destroying many and cutting up others. Northanger Abbey." In 1803 the manuscript of "Susan" was sold to the publisher Richard Crosby for £10. the 21-year-old heir of a Hampshire family." talents. unaccountably it never appeared. This portrait of a woman bent on the exercise of her own powerful mind and personality to the point of social self-destruction is. and after Jane's death she censored the surviving letters. Since Austen's novels are so deeply concerned with love and marriage. a study of frustration and of woman's fate in a society that has no use for a woman's stronger. probably under the title "Susan.
London. Both of the leading reviews. and she began to prepare Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice for publication. The prospect of settling at Chawton had already given Jane Austen a renewed sense of purpose. and in January 1805 her father died in Bath. like Emma. She was encouraged by her brother Henry. Anne Lefroy. which was finished in 1813 and published in 1814. Persuasion (written August 1815–August 1816) 139 . within his Hampshire estate. Two years later Thomas Egerton agreed to publish Sense and Sensibility. which came out. and. which appeared in December 1815. when George Austen. Pride and Prejudice seems to have been the fashionable novel of its season. Clifton. and later that year there were second editions of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Between January 1814 and March 1815. in 1811 Austen had begun Mansfield Park. died suddenly. who acted as go-between with her publishers. she wrote Emma. Eventually. In 1804 Jane began The W atsons but soon abandoned it. in November 1811. She was probably also prompted by her need for money. Southampton. published. anonymously. Egerton had published Pride and Prejudice in January 1813. retired to Bath with his wife and daughters. finally. however. where the three women lived from 1805 to 1809. Also in 1804 her dearest friend. in Bath. Meanwhile. Jane's brother Edward was able to provide his mother and sisters with a large cottage in the village of Chawton.7 Jane Austen 7 This stable environment ended in 1801. the Critical Review and the Quarterly Review. welcomed its blend of instruction and amusement. Mrs. By then she was an established (though anonymous) author. Warwickshire. In 1816 there was a second edition of Mansfield Park. For eight years Jane had to put up with a succession of temporary lodgings or visits to relatives. not far from Steventon. in 1809. John Murray. by Lord Byron's publisher. then aged 70.
she was busy writing. Early in 1816. no understanding that a miniaturist (as she maintained that she was and as she was 140 . Until August 1816 she was occupied with Persuasion. Emma. She had the satisfaction of seeing her work in print and well reviewed and of knowing that the novels were widely read. Her authorship was announced to the world at large by her brother Henry. and she looked again at the manuscript of "Susan" (Northanger Abbey). The years after 1811 seem to have been the most rewarding of her life. The reviewers praised the novels for their morality and entertainment. she set down the burlesque Plan of a Novel. at the onset of her fatal illness. This novel remained unfinished owing to Austen's declining health. admired the character drawing. but in April she made her will. but the symptoms make possible a modern clinical assessment that she was suffering from Addison's disease. They were so much enjoyed by the Prince Regent (later George IV) that he had a set in each of his residences. In January 1817 she began Sanditon. and welcomed the homely realism as a refreshing change from the romantic melodrama then in vogue. at a discreet royal command. According to Hints from V arious Quarters (first published in 1871). Her condition fluctuated. who supervised the publication of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. was "respectfully dedicated" to him. with Northanger Abbey. in December 1817. She died on July 18. a robust and selfmocking satire on health resorts and invalidism. and six days later she was buried in Winchester Cathedral. She supposed that she was suffering from bile. There was no recognition at the time that regency England had lost its keenest observer and sharpest analyst. and in May she was taken to Winchester to be under the care of an expert surgeon.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 was published posthumously. For the last 18 months of her life.
He deserts her for an heiress. Marianne is the heroine of "sensibility"— i. Scott's and Whately's essays provided the foundation for serious criticism of Jane Austen: their insights were appropriated by critics throughout the 19th century.e." or prudence and discretion. Colonel Brandon. Together. After her death. 141 . By contrast. leaving her to learn a dose of "sense" in a wholly unromantic marriage with a staid and settled bachelor. is the guiding light of "sense. She becomes infatuated with the attractive John Willoughby. Elinor. where he hailed this "nameless author" as a masterful exponent of "the modern novel" in the new realist tradition. no grasp of Jane Austen as a historian of the emergence of regency society into the modern world..7 Jane Austen 7 then seen). could be seriously concerned with the nature of society and the quality of its culture. During her lifetime there had been a solitary response in any way adequate to the nature of her achievement: Sir Walter Scott's review of Emma in the Quarterly Review for March 1816. there was for long only one significant essay. who seems to be a romantic lover but is in reality an unscrupulous fortune hunter. of openness and enthusiasm. the review of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion in the Quarterly for January 1821 by the theologian Richard Whately. Edward Ferrars. whose constancy toward her lover. Marianne's older sister. a "merely domestic" novelist. who is 20 years her senior. Novels Jane Austen's three early novels form a distinct group in which a strong element of literary satire accompanies the comic depiction of character and society. is rewarded by her marriage to him after some distressing vicissitudes. Sense and Sensibility tells the story of the impoverished Dashwood sisters.
she reverses the convention of "first impressions. is a self-effacing and unregarded cousin cared for by the Bertram family in their country house. after that family's disastrous involvement with the meretricious and loose-living Crawfords. Fanny emerges as a true heroine whose moral strength eventually wins her complete acceptance in the Bertram family and marriage to Edmund Bertram himself. Her mentor and guide is the self-assured and gently ironic Henry Tilney. while Elizabeth is equally fired both by the "pride" of self-respect and by "prejudice" against Darcy's snobbery. the daughter of a country gentleman. the literary satire. her husband-to-be. Mansfield Park is the most serious of Austen's novels. In the three novels of Jane Austen's maturity. is more subdued and is subordinated to the comedy of character and society. Northanger Abbey combines a satire on conventional novels of polite society with one on Gothic tales of terror. 142 . the unspoiled daughter of a country parson." "Pride" of rank and fortune and "prejudice" against Elizabeth's inferiority of family hold Darcy aloof. and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Ultimately. they come together in love and self-understanding. though still present. where she learns not to interpret the world through her reading of Gothic thrillers. Catherine Morland. Fanny Price. a rich and aristocratic landowner. is the innocent abroad who gains worldly wisdom: first in the fashionable society of Bath and then at Northanger Abbey itself. The heroine. Although Austen shows them intrigued by each other. In its tone and discussion of religion and religious duty. The intelligent and high-spirited Elizabeth was Jane Austen's own favourite among all her heroines and is one of the most engaging in English literature.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Pride and Prejudice describes the clash between Elizabeth Bennet.
Her repeated fable of a young woman's voyage to self-discovery on the passage through love to marriage focuses upon easily recognizable aspects of life. Northanger Abbey. a wealthy.7 Jane Austen 7 Of all Austen's novels. It is this concentration upon character and personality and upon the tensions between her heroines and 143 . Persuasion tells the story of a second chance. he is an eligible suitor acceptable to Anne's snobbish father and his circle. Assessment Although the birth of the English novel is to be seen in the first half of the 18th century in the work of Daniel Defoe. self-satisfied young woman who indulges herself with meddlesome and unsuccessful attempts at matchmaking among her friends and neighbours. In her six novels—Sense and Sensibility. a neighbouring squire who had been her mentor and friend. Emma is the most consistently comic in tone. After a series of humiliating errors. the reawakening of love between Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth. whom seven years earlier she had been persuaded not to marry. and Henry Fielding. Anne discovers the continuing strength of her love for him. Mansfield Park. Now Wentworth returns from the Napoleonic Wars with prize money and the social acceptability of naval rank. pretty. It centres on Emma Woodhouse. revealing the possibilities of "domestic" literature. a chastened Emma finds her destiny in marriage to the mature and protective George Knightley. it is with Jane Austen that the novel takes on its distinctively modern character in the realistic treatment of unremarkable people in the unremarkable situations of everyday life. Samuel Richardson. and Persuasion— Austen created the comedy of manners of middle-class life in the England of her time. Emma. Pride and Prejudice.
together with the wit. Fort Manuel. c. In Hidatsa.]—d." Alternatively. Modern critics remain fascinated by the commanding structure and organization of the novels. 1788. Dec. 1812?. her shrewd. and the satisfaction to be found in stories so skillfully told. N.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 their society that relates her novels more closely to the modern world than to the traditions of the 18th century.D. Sacagawea (pronounced with a hard g) translates into "Bird Woman. historians disagree on the dates of her birth and death and even on her name. and timelessness of her prose style. Sacajawea means "Boat Launcher" in Shoshone. amused sympathy.. she was purchased by French Canadian 144 . 20. Sacagawea was about 12 years old when a Hidatsa raiding party captured her near the Missouri River's headwaters about 1800. by the triumphs of technique that enable the writer to lay bare the tragicomedy of existence in stories of which the events and settings are apparently so ordinary and so circumscribed. Dakota Territory) A cting as an interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–06). from the Mandan-Hidatsa villages in the Dakotas to the Pacific Northwest.S. Others favor Sakakawea. SACAGAWEA (b. Separating fact from legend in Sacagawea's life is difficult. near the Continental Divide at the present-day IdahoMontana border [U. realism. The Lewis and Clark journals generally support the Hidatsa derivation. in novels so beautifully constructed. Enslaved and taken to their Knife River earth-lodge villages near presentday Bismarck. that helps to explain her continuing appeal for readers of all kinds. This modernity. the Shoshone Indian woman Sacagawea traveled thousands of wilderness miles. on the Missouri River. A Lemhi Shoshone woman.
books. instruments. the explorers agreed that the pregnant Sacagawea should also accompany them. On May 14. On Feb.S. They resided in one of the Hidatsa villages. Charbonneau nearly capsized the white pirogue (boat) in which Sacagawea was riding." or "Bird Woman's River." after her. she gave birth to a son. Remaining calm. When explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived at the Mandan-Hidatsa villages and built Fort Mandan to spend the winter of 1804–05. 11. MPI/ moccasins and clothing. making on their westward expedition. Paxson shows Shoshone guide Sacagawea as she be a significant asset in might have appeared while traveling numerous ways: searching with the explorers Lewis and Clark for edible plants. and other indispensable valuables that otherwise would have been lost. the expedition ascended the Missouri. medicine. as Hulton Archive/Getty Images 145 . they hired Charbonneau as an interpreter to accompany them to the Pacific Ocean. Metaharta. Departing on April 7. she retrieved important papers. 1805.7 Sacagawea 7 fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau and became one of his plural wives about 1804. During the next week Lewis and Clark named a tributary of Montana's Mussellshell River "Sah-ca-gah-weah. She proved to This drawing by E. Jean Baptiste. Because he did not speak Sacagawea's language and because the expedition party needed to communicate with the Shoshones to acquire horses to cross the mountains.
Sacagawea was not the guide for the expedition. Shortly after the birth of a daughter named Lisette. who had earlier offered to provide him with an education. a woman and child accompanying a party of men indicated peaceful intentions. Clark became the legal guardian of Lisette and Jean 146 . near present-day Mobridge. She and Clark were fond of each other and performed numerous acts of kindness for one another. nonetheless." The Charbonneau family disengaged from the expedition party upon their return to the Mandan-Hidatsa villages. Charbonneau eventually received $409. Upon arriving at the Pacific coast. she was able to voice her opinion about where the expedition should spend the winter and was granted her request to visit the ocean to see a beached whale. 1806. eventually securing Charbonneau a position as an interpreter. S. On July 25. but romance between them occurred only in latter-day fiction. The family traveled to St. so he offered to assist them. Clark named Pompey's Tower (now Pompey's Pillar) on the Yellowstone after her son. she recognized landmarks in southwestern Montana and informed Clark that Bozeman Pass was the best route between the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers on their return journey.16 and 320 acres (130 hectares) for his services. By mid-August the expedition encountered a band of Shoshones led by Sacagawea's brother Cameahwait. Clark wanted to do more for their family. whom Clark fondly called his "little dancing boy. Louis in 1809 to baptize their son and left him in the care of Clark.D. Pomp.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 well as allaying suspicions of approaching Native American tribes through her presence. a woman identified only as Charbonneau's wife (but believed to be Sacagawea) died at the end of 1812 at Fort Manuel. as some have erroneously portrayed her. The reunion of sister and brother had a positive effect on Lewis and Clark's negotiations for the horses and guide that enabled them to cross the Rocky Mountains.
12.Y. Louis.S. a hotel clerk. Ulster county. stamps. rejoined the Shoshones. 1832. traveled throughout Europe before returning to enter the fur trade. 1884. monuments. Nov. 1866. President Bill Clinton granted her a posthumous decoration as an honorary sergeant in the regular army. on May 16. SOJOURNER TRUTH (b. Some biographers and oral traditions contend that it was another of Charbonneau's wives who died in 1812 and that Sacagawea went to live among the Comanches. and place names. These accounts can likely be attributed to other Shoshone women who shared similar experiences as Sacagawea. started another family. Battle Creek.—d. He scouted for explorers and helped guide the Mormon Battalion to California before becoming an alcalde. 1883.) he eloquent African American evangelist and reformer Sojourner Truth applied her religious fervour to the abolitionist and women's rights movements. and died on Wyoming's Wind River Reservation on April 9. Her first 147 T . Jean Baptiste. he died en route near Danner.. Sacagawea has been memorialized with statues. c. Sacagawea's son. Isabella was the daughter of slaves and spent her childhood as an abused chattel of several masters. In 2000 her likeness appeared on a gold-tinted dollar coin struck by the U. 1797. U. In 2001 U. and a gold miner.S. 26.S. Charbonneau died on Aug. 1843. Mint. N. Lured to the Montana goldfields following the Civil War. Mich.7 Sacagawea 7 Baptiste and listed Sacagawea as deceased in a list he compiled in the 1820s. Ore.. she was buried in the Old Catholic Cathedral Cemetery in St. Little is known of Lisette's whereabouts prior to her death on June 16.
(Her legal name was Isabella Van Wagener. and encouraged by other women leaders. she was introduced to abolitionism at a utopian community in Northampton.) With the help of Quaker friends. who had been sold illegally into slavery in the South. in churches. Encountering the women's rights movement in the early 1850s. She supported herself by selling copies of her book. and thereafter spoke in behalf of the movement throughout the state. she waged a court battle in which she recovered her small son.. who set her free. Mass. she found refuge with Isaac Van Wagener. About 1829 she went to New York City with her two youngest children. Obeying a supernatural call to "travel up and down the land. notably Lucretia Mott. she joined his Retrenchment Society and eventually his household. she continued to appear before suffrage gatherings for the rest of her life. In New York City she became associated with Elijah Pierson. Working and preaching in the streets. and debated at camp meetings. Since childhood Isabella had had visions and heard voices. In 1843 she left New York City and took the name Sojourner Truth. which she had dictated to Olive Gilbert. The Narrative of Sojourner Truth. In 1850 she traveled throughout the Midwest." she sang. exhorting her listeners to accept the biblical message of God's goodness and the brotherhood of man. which she used from then on.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 language was Dutch. a zealous missionary. where her reputation for personal magnetism preceded her and drew heavy crowds. Sometime in the 1850s 148 . supporting herself through domestic employment. and on village streets. Just before New York state abolished slavery in 1827. Between 1810 and 1827 she bore at least five children to a fellow slave named Thomas. In the same year. which she attributed to God. preached.
Hampden. N. DOROTHEA DIX (b. she accepted an appointment with the National Freedmen's Relief Association counseling former slaves.) he American educator. when a young clergyman T 149 . But her Calvinist beliefs enjoined her from inactivity. Mich. and humanitarian Dorothea Dix led the fight for the welfare of the mentally ill.C. employing a curriculum of her own devising that stressed the natural sciences and the responsibilities of ethical living.7 Sojourner Truth 7 Sojourner Truth settled in Battle Creek. After nearly two years in England Dix returned to Boston. Thus in 1841. she gathered supplies for black volunteer regiments and in 1864 went to Washington. July 17. where until the mid-1830s periods of intensive teaching were interrupted by periods of ill health. As late as the 1870s she encouraged the migration of freedmen to Kansas and Missouri. U. where she remained until her death. Trenton. She eventually abandoned teaching and left Boston.—d. In 1821 she opened a school for girls in Boston. 1887. where she helped integrate streetcars and was received at the White House by President Abraham Lincoln. At the beginning of the American Civil War. still a semi-invalid. Mass.. and her efforts led to widespread reforms in the United States and abroad. D. particularly in matters of resettlement.S. and found to her amazement that she had inherited a sum of money sufficient to support her comfortably for life. In 1875 she retired to her home in Battle Creek. District of Maine. Mass. The same year. Dorothea Lynde Dix left her unhappy home at age 12 to live and study in Boston with her grandmother. social reformer. By age 14 she was teaching in a school for young girls in Worcester. [now in Maine].. 1802.J. April 4.
and determination were effective in helping to pass a bill for the enlargement of the Worcester Insane Asylum. After the war she returned to her work with hospitals. enlargement. she fostered the reorganization. In January 1843 she submitted to the Massachusetts legislature a detailed report of her thoroughly documented findings. and restaffing—with well-trained. She carried on her work even while on a convalescent tour of Europe in 1854–56. Where new institutions were not required. Her dignity. where she prevailed upon Pope Pius IX to inspect personally the atrocious conditions she had discovered. observing similar conditions in each institution she examined. She was ill-suited to administration. intelligent personnel— of already existing hospitals. They were left unclothed. Profoundly shocked. who were incarcerated with criminals. and had great difficulty with the post. notably in Italy. without heat or sanitary facilities. states and in Canada to establish state hospitals for the mentally ill. compassion. Dix traveled for nearly two years throughout the state. some were chained to the walls and flogged. it was in a hospital that she had founded. Dix then moved on to Rhode Island and later New York. however. In 1845 Dix published Remarks on Prisons and Prison Discipline in the United States to advocate reforms in the treatment of ordinary prisoners.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 asked her to begin a Sunday school class in the East Cambridge House of Correction in Massachusetts. irrespective of age or sex. 150 . In the prison she first observed the inhumane treatment of insane and mentally disturbed persons. In 1861 she was appointed superintendent of army nurses for Civil War service. she accepted the challenge. In the next 40 years Dix inspired legislators in 15 U.S. Her unflagging efforts directly effected the building of 32 institutions in the United States. in darkness. When she died.
Soon after. The fees were low. Thornton. the Rev. Mrs. Their upbringing was aided by an aunt. the food unattractive. Yorkshire. the author of Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). by Charlotte) and Wuthering Heights (1847. Naomi Brocklehurst in the novel. and for more than five years the Brontë children learned 151 . The Brontë sisters' father was Patrick Brontë (1777– 1861). was also a writer. Irish-born. In 1824 Charlotte and Emily. 1855. were English writers whose works—notably Jane Eyre (1847. Eng. 1848. together with their elder sisters before their deaths. by Emily)—are considered classics of English literature. Lancashire. and their six small children to Haworth amid the Yorkshire moors in 1820. Patrick Branwell. Haworth. William Carus Wilson. has been accepted as the counterpart of Mr. leaving the father to care for the remaining three girls—Charlotte. and the principal. Haworth. 1816. July 30.— d. Elizabeth Branwell. an Anglican clergyman. and Anne— and a boy.7 Charlotte and Emily Brontë 7 CHARLOTTE AND EMILY BRONTË (Respectively. under the thin disguise of Lowood. who left her native Cornwall and took up residence with the family at Haworth. Eng. 1818. Brontë and the two eldest children (Maria and Elizabeth) died. 19. b.—d. having been awarded a rectorship there. After serving in several parishes. he moved with his wife. Yorkshire. Thornton. b. Charlotte and Emily returned home in June 1825. and the discipline harsh. Yorkshire) C harlotte Brontë and Emily Brontë. Charlotte condemned the school (perhaps exaggeratedly) long years afterward in Jane Eyre. Dec. March 31. Emily. April 21. near Kirkby Lonsdale. Maria Branwell Brontë. he had changed his name from the more commonplace Brunty. Yorkshire. Anne. Their youngest sister. attended Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge. but her works are little known.
and has provided much of the current knowledge of her life. was to start on his career as an artist. with its inevitable restrictions. She fell into ill health and melancholia and in the summer of 1838 terminated her engagement. which their aunt had agreed to finance. weak willed. It is at this point that their paths diverged somewhat. and his social charm had engendered high hopes for him. her friend's brother. near Huddersfield. and it became necessary to supplement the family resources. his good classical scholarship.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 and played there. In 1839 Charlotte declined a proposal from the Rev. The work. writing and telling romantic tales for one another and inventing imaginative games played out at home or on the desolate moors. moreover. her correspondence with one of her friends. and in February 1842 Charlotte and Emily went to Brussels as 152 . Branwell. He went from job to job and took refuge in alcohol and opium. continued until her death. and some months later one from another young clergyman. She wished to improve her family's position. In 1832 she came home to teach her sisters but in 1835 returned to Roe Head as a teacher. Branwell's talents for writing and painting. and intemperate. was uncongenial to Charlotte. Ellen Nussey. At the same time Charlotte's ambition to make the practical best of her talents and the need to pay Branwell's debts urged her to spend some months as governess with the Whites at Upperwood House. Rawdon. Meanwhile his sisters had planned to open a school together. and this was the only outlet that was offered to her unsatisfied energies. Henry Nussey. where she stayed a year and made some lasting friendships. Charlotte Brontë's Life In 1831 Charlotte was sent to Miss Wooler's school at Roe Head. but he was fundamentally unstable.
their brother. The talent displayed by both brought them to the notice of Constantin Héger. Emily. Rischgitz/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 153 . The nature Proving that (left to right) Anne. and Charlotte Brontë were not the only talented ones in the family. She stayed there during 1843 but was lonely and depressed. a fine teacher and a man of unusual perception. After a brief trip home upon the death of her aunt.7 Charlotte and Emily Brontë 7 pupils to improve their qualifications in French and acquire some German. Branwell. Her friends had left Brussels. Charlotte returned to Brussels as a pupil-teacher. and Madame Héger appears to have become jealous of her. painted the women's portrait in 1834.
the pseudonyms were assumed to preserve secrecy and avoid the special treatment that they believed reviewers accorded to women. he suggested that they were open to misapprehension. His was the most interesting mind she had yet met. and Anne. Nevertheless. Elder and Company. but no pupils were attracted to distant Haworth. who had gone there for an eye operation. His strong and eccentric personality appealed both to her sense of humour and to her affections. became aware of the resources of her own nature. and gathered material that served her. and this led to the publication of a joint volume of Poems by Currer. It received few reviews and only two copies were sold. In 1844 Charlotte attempted to start a school that she had long envisaged in the parsonage itself. begun in August 1846 in Manchester. In the autumn of 1845 Charlotte came across some poems by Emily. she stopped writing and applied herself. however.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 of Charlotte's attachment to Héger and the degree to which she understood herself have been much discussed. When Smith. She received a strict literary training. and they were already trying to place the three novels they had written. Charlotte failed to place The Professor: A Tale but had. in silence. Charlotte's experiences at Brussels were crucial for her development. Ellis and Acton Bell (1846). declining The Professor. She offered him an innocent but ardent devotion. a way had opened to them. or Charlotte. declared themselves willing to 154 . in various shapes. nearly finished Jane Eyre: An Autobiography. The letters she wrote to him after her return may well be called love letters. as her father's failing sight precluded his being left alone. Emily. The book was issued at their own expense. However they are interpreted. Prospectuses were issued. for all her novels. where she was staying with her father. and he had perceived and evoked her latent talents. but he tried to repress her emotions. to disciplining her feelings. When. however.
and Anne in May 1849. Mrs. They spent their honeymoon in Ireland and then returned to Haworth. Charlotte's Works Charlotte's first novel. Jane Eyre was accepted. she completed and submitted it at once. and she died in 1855. Her father's curate. She began another book. Branwell died in September 1848. The months that followed were tragic ones. In the following years Charlotte went three times to London as the guest of her publisher. and it appeared in October. Arthur Bell Nicholls (1817–1906). but she was happy to be loved for herself and to take up her duties as his wife. 16. Elder and Company. Charlotte completed Shirley: A Tale in the empty parsonage. but they were married on June 29. there she met the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray and sat for her portrait by George Richmond. in 1851. 1847). was accompanied by exhausting sickness. this time from James Taylor. Emma. 1857). Her pregnancy. 1854. Villette came out in January 1853. Meanwhile. He did not share his wife's intellectual life. Emily in December. in Haworth church. Elizabeth Gaskell. of which some pages remain. in Manchester and entertained her at Haworth. The Professor (published posthumously.7 Charlotte and Emily Brontë 7 consider a three-volume novel with more action and excitement in it. an Irishman. she had declined a third offer of marriage. was her fourth suitor. published less than eight weeks later (on Oct. She stayed in 1851 with the writer Harriet Martineau and also visited her future biographer. a member of Smith. shows her sober reaction from the indulgences of 155 . however. where her husband had pledged himself to continue as curate to her father. It took some months to win her father's consent. far greater than that of the books that her sisters published the same year. and had an immediate success.
its success was the fiery conviction with which it presented a thinking. The book's narrator and main character. but. and Charlotte's elevated rhetorical passages do not much appeal to modern taste. is an orphan and is governess to the ward of Mr. it is based on Charlotte's experiences there. feeling woman. The novel is subtitled An Autobiography and is written in the first person. There are melodramatic naïvetés in the story. Shirley 156 . with a reversal of sexes and roles. craving for love but able to renounce it at the call of impassioned selfrespect and moral conviction. and apparently episodic sections. however. are seen to be necessary to the full expression of Jane's character and the working out of the threefold moral theme of love. suffers hardship. but she maintains her hold on the reader. When Jane learns. Told in the first person by an English tutor in Brussels. Setting aside Maria Edgworth and Sir Walter Scott as national novelists. except in Jane Eyre's impressions of Lowood. and the Cinderella theme may well come from Samuel Richardson's Pamela. Jane leaves him. Rochester. Personal experience is fused with suggestions from widely different sources. and finds work as a village schoolmistress. the Byronic and enigmatic employer with whom she falls in love. independence. the autobiography is not Charlotte's. Though there is plenty of satire and dry. Charlotte avoided melodrama and coincidences and widened her scope. like the return to Gateshead Hall. In her novel Shirley. Jane seeks him out and marries him. and forgiveness. but on the wedding morning it comes out that Rochester is already married and keeps his mad and depraved wife in the attics of his mansion. The action is carefully motivated. direct phrasing in Jane Eyre. Her love is reciprocated.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 her girlhood. that Rochester has been maimed and blinded while trying vainly to rescue his wife from the burning house that she herself had set afire. Jane Eyre.
near Halifax. Emily returned permanently to Haworth. Against this background she set the ardent heart. deprived of its object. In 1838 Emily spent six exhausting months as a teacher in Miss Patchett's school at Law Hill. In February 1842 she and Emily went to Brussels to learn foreign languages and school management at the Pension Héger. when Charlotte secured a teaching position at Miss Wooler's school at Roe Head. Emily accompanied her as a pupil but suffered from homesickness and remained only three months. when her aunt died. The influence of Charlotte's novels was much more immediate than that of Wuthering Heights. the characters and incidents are largely variants of the people and life at the Pension Héger. Her fruitful innovations were the presentation of a tale through the sensibility of a child or young woman. Her combination of romance and satiric realism had been the mode of nearly all the women novelists for a century. her lyricism. Although Emily pined for home and for the wild moorlands. Charlotte planned to keep a school for girls at Haworth.7 Charlotte and Emily Brontë 7 is the first regional novel in English. it seems that in Brussels she was better appreciated than Charlotte. church and chapel. contrasted with the woman happily fulfilled in love. however. and then resigned. disused in Shirley. and the picture of love from a woman's standpoint. In Villette she recurred to the Brussels setting and the first-person narrative. and a sturdy but rather embittered feminism. full of shrewdly depicted local material—Yorkshire characters. the cloth workers and machine breakers of her father's early manhood. To keep the family together at home. Emily Brontë's Life In 1835. In October. 157 .
solidly imagined novel. It is distinguished from other novels of the period by its dramatic and poetic presentation. which was immediately and hugely successful. She died of tuberculosis in December 1848. Charlotte's discovery that all three sisters—Charlotte. She had been ill for some time. and its unusual structure. Ellis and Acton Bell. Wuthering Heights. calling it too savage. too animal-like. its abstention from all comment by the author. By midsummer of 1847 Emily's Wuthering Heights and Anne's Agnes Grey had been accepted for joint publication by J. Embittered by abuse and by the marriage of Cathy Earnshaw—who shares his stormy 158 . Only later did it come to be considered one of the finest novels in the English language. but now her breathing became difficult. critics were hostile. It recounts in the retrospective narrative of an onlooker. which in turn includes shorter narratives. did not fare well. and she suffered great pain. and Anne—had written verse led them to publish jointly a pseudonymous volume of verse. and clumsy in construction. she may well have spent a long time on this intense. Poems by Currer. Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë's work on Wuthering Heights cannot be dated. when published in December 1847.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 As recounted above. Emily. it contained 21 of Emily's poems. the impact of the waif Heathcliff on the two families of Earnshaw and Linton in a remote Yorkshire district at the end of the 18th century. Soon after the publication of her novel. but publication was delayed until the appearance of their sister Charlotte's Jane Eyre. Emily's health began to fail rapidly. Cautley Newby of London. and a consensus of later criticism has accepted the fact that Emily's verse alone reveals true poetic genius.
the marriage of the surviving heirs of Earnshaw and Linton restores peace. extending into the second generation. 1819. She and her husband. the longest in English 159 . like her. had nine children. Sharing the family's dry humour and Charlotte's violent imagination. Eng. Cathy's death in childbirth fails to set him free from his love-hate relationship with her.7 Charlotte and Emily Brontë 7 nature and whom he loves—to the gentle and prosperous Edgar Linton. Jan. Working. requiring no rich romantic similes or rhetorical patterns. 1901.—d. through whose marriages were descended many of the royal families of Europe. Prince Consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. By the end of her reign. Isle of Wight) V ictoria was queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837–1901) and empress of India (1876–1901). based on profound and primitive energies of love and hate. making no use of such coincidences as Charlotte relies on. and confining the superb dialogue to what is immediately relevant to the subject. She was the last monarch of the House of Hanover and gave her name to an era. the Victorian Age. near Cowes. within a confined scene and with a small group of characters. London. The book's sombre power and the elements of brutality in its characters puzzled and affronted some 19th-century opinion. she constructs an action. May 24. and the obsessive haunting persists until his death. Heathcliff plans a revenge on both families. Kensington Palace. VICTORIA (b. During her reign the English monarchy took on its modern ceremonial character. 22. which proceeds logically and economically. Emily diverges from her in making no use of the events of her own life and showing no preoccupation with her unmarried state or a governess's position. Osborne.
" This combination of earnestness and egotism marked Victoria as a child of the age that bears her name. rejected important Victorian values and developments. Most significantly. The queen. In 1818. daughter of the prince regent (later George IV). there was no surviving legitimate offspring of George III's 15 children. yet unwillingly and unwittingly she presided over the transformation of the sovereign's political role into a ceremonial one and thus preserved the English monarchy. and the simplicity of her royal character. duke of Kent. Lineage and Early Life On the death in 1817 of Princess Charlotte. Although she hated pregnancy and childbirth. His only child was christened Alexandrina Victoria. She resisted technological change even while mechanical and technological innovations reshaped the face of European civilization.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 history. she had restored both dignity and popularity to a tarnished crown: an achievement of character. the dukes of Clarence. as well as of longevity. fourth son of King George III. yet the 19th century in Britain was an age of reform. She will forever be noted for her high sense of duty. and was uncomfortable in the presence of children. The winner in the race to father the next ruler of Britain was Edward. Kent. three of his sons. and Cambridge. Victoria first learned of her future role as a young princess during a history lesson when she was 10 years old. Victoria reigned in a society that idealized both motherhood and the family. detested babies. however. Victoria was a queen determined to retain political power. Almost four decades later Victoria's governess recalled that the future queen reacted to the discovery by declaring. "I will be good. her transparent honesty. married to provide for the succession. After 160 . She had no interest in social issues. therefore.
Victoria. Victoria became third in the line of succession to the throne after the duke of York (died 1827) and the duke of Clarence (subsequently William IV). The urbane and sophisticated 161 . who lived at Claremont. Conroy was pensioned off. Even her beloved uncle Leopold was politely warned off discussions of English politics." principally at Kensington Palace. and when she ascended the throne in 1837. Surrey. Persuaded by Conroy that the royal dukes posed a threat to her daughter. exiled her mother to a distant set of apartments when they moved into Buckingham Palace. "Alone" at last. Victoria learned of the death of William IV. until he became king of the Belgians in 1831.7 Victoria 7 his death and George IV's accession in 1820. an adviser to her German-born mother. third son of George III. she who had never before had a room to herself. As such. near Esher. An important father figure to the orphaned princess was her uncle Leopold. she enjoyed her new-found freedom. Accession to the Throne On June 20. she did so alone. by her own account. in many ways an unfortunate one. the prime minister. "was brought up very simply. whose own children died in infancy. the duchess systematically isolated Victoria from her contemporaries and her father's family. She later came to feel that it was "the least sensible and satisfactory time in her whole life". 1837. the duchess of Kent. Victoria's childhood was made increasingly unhappy by the machinations of Sir John Conroy. but at the time it was exciting and enjoyable. Despite this treatment the strong-willed girl carried on. her mother's brother. the more so because of her romantic friendship with Lord Melbourne. and she became queen. Melbourne was a crucial influence on Victoria.
When Melbourne resigned in May 1839. and Peel therefore declined to take office. Victoria became an ardent Whig. Victoria proposed to her cousin on Oct. when it was discovered that the queen had been mistaken. The queen imperiously refused. he also encouraged her to ignore or minimize social problems and to attribute all discontent and unrest to the activities of a small group of agitators. "I was very young then. not without Melbourne's encouragement. Her constitutionally dangerous political partisanship contributed to the first two crises of her reign. was forced by Victoria to undergo a medical examination for suspected pregnancy. The Hastings affair began when Lady Flora Hastings." wrote the queen long afterward. The gossip. 15.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 prime minister fostered the new queen's self-confidence and enthusiasm for her role. stipulated that the Whig ladies of the bedchamber (household "ladies in waiting" to the queen) should be removed. 1839." Marriage to Albert Attracted by Albert's good looks and encouraged by her uncle Leopold. She described her impressions 162 . a maid of honour who was allied and connected to the Tories. which Melbourne rather weakly resumed. The enthusiasm of the populace over the coronation (June 28. both of which broke in 1839. the Conservative leader and Melbourne's apparent successor. Sir Robert Peel. 1838) swiftly dissipated. because of Melbourne. became the more damaging when later in the year Lady Flora died of a disease that had not been diagnosed by the examining physician. "and perhaps I should act differently if it was all to be done again. just five days after he had arrived at Windsor on a visit to the English court. Between the two phases of the Hastings case "the bedchamber crisis" intervened. Moreover.
1857. 1850. and so extremely handsome . the princess royal (the "Vicky" of the Letters). 1843. afterward duke of Edinburgh and duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. broad in the shoulders and a fine waist." They were married on Feb.7 Victoria 7 of him in the journal she kept throughout her life: "Albert really is quite charming. Victoria. Prince Arthur (duke of Connaught). 10. however. which usually occurred during and after pregnancy. Victoria. ." as she called it. Prince Alfred. The concession became a 163 . The queen's first grandchild was born in 1859. and her first great-grandchild in 1879. 1848. a beautiful figure. Victoria never lost her early passion for Albert: "Without him everything loses its interest. At the beginning of their marriage the queen was insistent that her husband should have no share in the government of the country. . 1844. my heart is quite going. on Melbourne's repeated suggestion. The Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) was born in 1841. was never reconciled to the childbearing that accompanied her marital bliss—the "shadow-side of marriage." Despite conflicts produced by the queen's uncontrollable temper and recurrent fits of depression. 1846. the couple had a happy marriage. then to be present when the queen saw her ministers. and Princess Beatrice (Princess Henry of Battenberg). There were 37 greatgrandchildren alive at her death. afterward grand duchess of Hesse. Prince Leopold (duke of Albany). the prince was allowed to start seeing the dispatches. was born in 1840. Princess Louise (duchess of Argyll). Children quickly followed. Princess Helena (Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein). 1853. 1840. in 1858 she married the crown prince of Prussia and later became the mother of the emperor William II. Within six months. Then followed Princess Alice. the queen dressed entirely in articles of British manufacture.
and she took delight in the plain speech of John Brown. on the Isle of Wight. In their quest for privacy and intimacy Albert and Victoria adopted a way of life that mirrored that of their middleclass subjects. the Highland servant who stalked with Albert and became her personal attendant. it was. Both Victoria and Albert. The royal couple's withdrawal to Scotland and the Isle of Wight bore witness to a new sort of British monarchy. came to conclude that "we women are not made for governing. however." As one unwanted pregnancy followed another and as Victoria became increasingly dependent on her husband. and during her first pregnancy the prince received a "key to the secret boxes. once so enthusiastic about her role. and Balmoral Castle in Scotland between 1845 and 1855. differed from many in the middle class in 164 . however. "her permanent minister. Victoria." A visible sign of the prince's power and influence was the building of the royal residences of Osborne. Although Albert was interested in intellectual and scientific matters. She enjoyed the novels of Charles Dickens and patronized the circus and waxwork exhibitions. Victoria described Osborne as "our island home" and retreated there frequently. Victoria's tastes were closer to those of most of her people. She liked the simpler life of the Highlands. The following year Albert became effectively the queen's private secretary—according to himself. Albert assumed an ever-larger political role. at Balmoral that she was happiest." The Albertine Monarchy The prince came into his own to negotiate with Peel a compromise on the bedchamber question after the Melbourne government had been defeated in the general election of 1841.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 routine. admittedly on a grander scale.
Moreover. Victoria was not the prude that many claimed her to be. Although in 1846 she and Albert supported the repeal of the Corn Laws (protectionist legislation that kept the price of British grain artificially high) in order to relieve distress in famine-devastated Ireland.7 Victoria 7 their shared preference for nudes in painting and sculpture. Albert was determined that this personal intelligence should not be disregarded and that the queen should never become a mere figurehead who represented the will of the foreign minister. the foreign 165 . Victoria's delight in mingling with the Scottish poor at Balmoral did little to raise the level of her social awareness. moreover. The result was a clash with Lord Palmerston. Foreign Affairs By tradition the sovereign had a special part to play in foreign affairs and could conduct them alone with a secretary of state. they remained much more interested in and involved with the building of Osborne and foreign policy than in the tragedy of Ireland. a splendid. the Great Exhibition displayed Britain's wealth and technological achievements to a wondering world. gave her full support to the government's policy of repression of the Chartists (advocates of far-reaching political and social reform) and believed the workers in her realm to be contented and loyal. Housed in the architectural marvel of the Crystal Palace. Albert poured himself into the task of organizing the international trade show that became a symbol of the Victorian Age. For both the queen and the prince consort the highlight of their reign came in 1851. Victoria. they visited and were visited by other monarchs. Victoria and Albert had relatives throughout Europe and were to have more. with the opening of the Great Exhibition. greenhouseinspired glass building erected in Hyde Park.
dismissed him. He would serve twice as prime minister. "having once given her sanction to a measure. Albert's influence on the queen was lasting. On the eve of the Crimean War (1854–56) the royal pair encountered a wave of unpopularity. however. Within a few months the immensely popular Palmerston was back in office. The English monarchy too had changed. the prime minister. The queen personally superintended the committees of ladies who organized relief for the wounded and eagerly seconded the efforts of Florence Nightingale: she visited crippled soldiers in the hospitals and instituted the Victoria Cross for gallantry. Even after she conquered her depression. but there was a marked revival of royalist sentiment as the war wore on. With the death of Prince Albert on Dec. Even after Victoria insisted to Palmerston in 1850. Lord John Russell. in the expectation of royal intervention in ministry making at home. 1861. who could look back on a career of high office beginning before the royal couple was born. He had changed her personal habits and her political sympathies. From him she had received training in orderly ways of business. that it be not arbitrarily altered or modified by the minister. such as his encouragement of nationalist movements that threatened to dismember the Austrian Empire. in hard work. the Albertine monarchy came to an end. and in the establishment of a private (because royal) intelligence service abroad. Disraeli's Influence After Albert's death Victoria descended into deep depression. Finally." the foreign secretary continued to follow policies disapproved of by both Albert and Victoria. as home secretary. 14. she 166 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 secretary. after Palmerston expressed his approval of the coup d'état of Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III) in 1851 without consulting the queen.
often malicious. Behind all his calculated attacks on her affections there was a bond of mutual loneliness. "dead beat. Irish grievances. told the queen in 1868 that it would be "his delight and duty. the public grew increasingly impatient with its absent sovereign." Since the queen was only too ready to consider herself overworked. The contrast between Disraeli's lively. she remained determined to retain an effective political role and to behave as Albert would have ordained. Although Victoria resisted carrying out her ceremonial duties. the queen's former prime minister. On the other hand. Albert had not liked him. and make the lonely crown an easier burden. The queen had no patience with Gladstone's moralistic (and. Disraeli. however. to render the transaction of affairs as easy to your Majesty. Disraeli. a note of mystery and romanticism. Over the problem of Ireland their paths separated ever more widely.7 Victoria 7 remained in mourning and in partial retirement. His persistent and often tactless attempts to persuade her to resume her ceremonial duties especially enraged her. would never acknowledge that she was. as she put it. she believed. the return to good gossip. this approach was especially successful. or sympathy for. gossipy letters and Gladstone's 40 sides of foolscap is obvious. besides. William Gladstone. flatter her. It was despite. restore her self-confidence. After an initial period of respect and sympathy for the queen's grief. but he was able to enter into the queen's grief. 167 . tired easily. And there was no Albert to give her a neat précis. as possible. and. yet because of. Albert that Victoria succumbed to Benjamin Disraeli." perhaps because he never was himself. moreover. The queen (like the majority of her subjects) had little understanding of. She balked at performing the ceremonial functions expected of the monarch and withdrew to Balmoral and Osborne four months out of every year. hypocritical) approach to politics and foreign affairs.
The fact that Gladstone took the opposing view. The news of Gladstone's defeat in 1874 delighted the queen. you have it. she made but four visits to Ireland. she made no secret of her hostility toward Gladstone. and she remained in correspondence with Lord Beaconsfield (as Disraeli had become). The queen was ecstatic." The addition of "Empress of India" in 1876 to the royal title thrilled the queen even more. especially since he presented the canal as a personal gift to her: "It is just settled. Victoria's delight in Disraeli's premiership made further conflict with Gladstone inevitable. Despite her feelings about leading what she scornfully called a "Democratic Monarchy. She applauded his brilliant maneuvering. strengthened their pro-Turkish sympathies. who demanded that Britain enter the war against Russia. Victoria and Disraeli also agreed on their answer to the vexing "Eastern question"—what was to be done with the declining Turkish empire? Both held that Britain's best interests lay in supporting Turkey. She hoped he would retire. the "Sick Man" of Europe. which led to the British purchase of slightly less than half of the shares in the Suez Canal in 1875 (a move that prevented the canal from falling entirely under French control). Ma'am. however. The queen was entranced by his imperialism and by his assertive foreign policy. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878 Disraeli emerged triumphant: Russian influence in the Balkans was reduced.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 In all. When the Conservative Party was defeated in 1880. Disraeli had to restrain his bellicose sovereign. One of the bonds shared by Victoria and Disraeli was a romantic attachment to the East and the idea of empire. and Britain gained control of the strategically located island of Cyprus." Victoria did act as an important mediating influence 168 . of course. With the outbreak of a Russo-Turkish war in 1877.
medal ceremonies. Yet the queen was reluctant to accept her more limited role. in 1886 she sought to avoid a third Gladstone ministry by attempting to form an anti-Radical coalition.7 Victoria 7 between the two houses to bring about the compromise that resulted in the third parliamentary Reform Act in 1884. Many of the 169 . Her attempt failed. and she thought the idea of female suffrage anathema. remained outside her field of vision. nevertheless. and visits to military hospitals. with which her long reign ended. She never reconciled herself to the advance of democracy. The South African War (1899–1902) dominated her final years. Last Years In the Salisbury administration (1895–1902). with the mounting imperialism that she had so greatly enjoyed in Disraeli's day when he had made her empress of India. No longer was the monarchy normally necessary as cabinet maker. The sufferings of her soldiers in South Africa aroused the queen to a level of activity and public visibility that she had avoided for decades. either aloof from or in opposition to many of the important political. The sufferings of an individual worker could engage her sympathy. Victoria finally became the exemplar of a modern monarch. however. Victoria never acclimatized herself to the effects of the new electorate on party organization. the working class. Thus. and intellectual currents of the later Victorian period. She remained. through Joseph Chamberlain. With a demanding schedule of troop inspections. Victoria was eventually to find not only the sort of ministry with which she felt comfortable but one which lent a last ray of colour to her closing years by its alliance. social.
N. She slept with a photograph—over her head—taken of his head and shoulders as he lay dead. Oct. March 13. ANTHONY AND ELIZABETH CADY STANTON (Respectively..Y. U. To the very end Victoria remained a passionate and strongwilled woman. Feb. Mass. Rochester. Nov. Nobody knocked. Their work helped pave the way for the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) to the Constitution. N. a gentle scratching on the door was all that she permitted. New York.S. 26. Those who suffered her displeasure never forgot it. 15. she lived surrounded by mementos. b. Yielding to nobody else's comfort and keeping every anniversary. b.—d. When she died. busts.S. 1906. 12. 1820. Adams. Those nearest to her came completely under her spell. many irritated her. 1815. N.Y. nor did she. miniatures.—d. but the stupendous hard work that Albert had taught her went on—the meticulous examination of the boxes. giving women the right to vote.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 movements of the day passed the aged queen by.) S usan B. 170 . Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton led the women's rights movement and were crusaders for woman suffrage in the United States.. Johnstown. Every night at Windsor Albert's clothes were laid out on the bed. down which one tiptoed past Indian attendants to the presence. after a short and painless illness. SUSAN B. and souvenirs in chilly rooms at the end of drafty corridors. every morning fresh water was put in the basin in his room. photographs. she was buried beside Prince Albert in the mausoleum at Frogmore near Windsor.. U.Y. the regular signature of the papers. 1902. all from the Prince of Wales down stood in considerable awe.
During the early phase of the Civil War she helped 171 . She was a precocious child and learned to read and write at age three. and William Lloyd Garrison. The episode also pushed Anthony farther in the direction of women's rights advocacy. through her. In a short time she became known as one of the cause's most zealous. In 1839 she took a position in a Quaker seminary in New Rochelle. Anthony served from 1856 as chief New York agent of Garrison's American Anti-Slavery Society. N. N. serious advocates.Y.. Soon the temperance movement enlisted her sympathy. She was also a prime target of public and newspaper abuse. Wendell Phillips. now near Rochester. William Henry Channing.7 Susan B. of which Stanton became president. Parker Pillsbury. Anthony Susan Brownell Anthony was reared in the Quaker tradition in a home pervaded by a tone of independence and moral zeal. in 1826. After the family moved from Massachusetts to Battensville. While campaigning for a liberalization of New York's laws regarding married women's property rights. After teaching at a female academy in upstate New York (1846–49). an end attained in 1860. and finally a boarding school near Philadelphia. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 7 Susan B. she attended a district school. including Frederick Douglass. so did that of woman suffrage. she settled in her family home. The rebuff of Anthony's attempt to speak at a temperance meeting in Albany in 1852 prompted her to organize the Woman's New York State Temperance Society. after meeting Amelia Bloomer and. N.Y. a dogged and tireless worker whose personality contrasted sharply with that of her friend and coworker Stanton.Y. then a school set up by her father. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. There she met many leading abolitionists.
Library of Congress. Anthony (left) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. no.C. D.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Susan B. LC USZ 62 37938) 172 . (neg. Washington.
originally financed by the eccentric George Francis Train. She traveled constantly.C. she cast a vote in the 1872 presidential election in Rochester. in support of efforts in various states to win the franchise for women: California in 1871. In January 1869 she organized a woman suffrage convention in Washington. In 1868 Anthony became publisher. and although she refused to pay the fine the case was carried no further. and in 1866 she became corresponding secretary of the newly formed American Equal Rights Association. D. which urged the case for emancipation. She was arrested. of a new periodical. she represented the Working Women's Association of New York. Her exhausting speaking and organizing tour of Kansas in 1867 failed to win passage of a state enfranchisement law. N. which she had recently organized. and in May she and Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). at the National Labor Union convention. but the NWSA remained a large and powerful group and Anthony remained its principal leader and spokeswoman. In 1870 she relinquished her position at The Revolution and embarked on a series of lecture tours to pay off the paper's accumulated debts. and elsewhere. convicted (the judge's directed verdict of guilty had been written before the trial began). Colorado in 1877. often with Stanton. 173 . The same year.7 Susan B. As a test of the legality of the suffrage provision of the Fourteenth Amendment. Michigan in 1874.Y. and Stanton editor. A portion of the organization deserted later in the year to join Lucy Stone's more conservative American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1890. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 7 organize the Women's National Loyal League.. after lengthy discussions. and fined. After the war she campaigned unsuccessfully to have the language of the Fourteenth Amendment altered to allow for woman as well as "Negro" suffrage. The Revolution. the rival suffrage associations were merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
Various of her writings are collected in The Elizabeth Cady Stanton-Susan B. Anthony (1997). edited by Ann D. written with Stanton and Matilda J. While studying law in the office of her father. congressman and later a New York Supreme Court judge. Principal among Anthony's written works are the first four volumes of the six-volume History of Woman Suffrage. from which she graduated in 1832. and at Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary. Anthony Reader (1992). although the honour was somewhat mitigated by popular rejection of the coin because its size was so similar to that of the 25-cent coin. Oregon. 174 . Her principal lieutenant in later years was Carrie Chapman Catt.S. in 1905 were warmly received. In 1900. Daniel Cady. as were her trips to London in 1899 and Berlin in 1904 as head of the U. and The Selected Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady received a superior education at home. a U. By the 1890s Anthony had largely outlived the abuse and sarcasm that had attended her early efforts.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 and at Stanton's resignation in 1892 Anthony became president. passing it on to Catt. she retired from the presidency of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Gordon.S. at the Johnstown Academy. Her visits to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and to the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland. she became the first woman to be depicted on United States currency. With the issue of a new dollar coin in 1979. Gage. edited by Ellen Carol DuBois. and she emerged as a national heroine. at the age of 80. delegation to the international Council of Women (which she helped found in 1888).
the organizer and tactician. In 1840 she married Henry Brewster Stanton. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 7 she learned of the discriminatory laws under which women lived and determined to win equal rights for her sex. Stanton. In 1848 she and Mott issued a call for a women's rights convention to meet in Seneca Falls. She became a frequent speaker on the subject of women's rights and circulated petitions that helped secure passage by the New York legislature in 1848 of a bill granting married women's property rights. Mott. planning campaigns. Paulina Wright Davis's Una. because of their sex. In 1854 Stanton received an unprecedented invitation to 175 . including Amelia Bloomer's Lily. Together they remained active for 50 years after the first convention.Y. and Horace Greeley's New York Tribune.7 Susan B. that detailed the inferior status of women and that. and she was outraged at the denial of official recognition to several women delegates. Later that year they attended the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London. the better orator and writer. She wrote not only her own and many of Anthony's addresses but also countless letters and pamphlets. From 1851 she worked closely with Susan B.Y. She also introduced a resolution calling for woman suffrage that was adopted after considerable debate. in calling for extensive reforms. and in the streets. in lyceums. N. a lawyer and abolitionist (she insisted that the word obey be dropped from the wedding ceremony).. on July 19–20 and in Rochester. was perfectly complemented by Anthony. modeled on the Declaration of Independence. on subsequent days. effectively launched the American women's rights movement. notably Lucretia C. At the meeting Stanton introduced her Declaration of Sentiments. and addressing gatherings in conventions. Anthony. N. (where Stanton lived). as well as articles and essays for numerous periodicals. speaking before legislative bodies.
She was then elected president of the new National American Woman Suffrage Association and held that position until 1892. The movement to extend the franchise to African American men after the war. She continued to write fiery editorials until the paper's demise in 1870. which she and Anthony had founded. reemphasized the disenfranchisement of women.000 signatures on petitions calling for immediate emancipation. which gathered more than 300. During her presidency in 1852–53 of the short-lived Woman's State Temperance Society. Stanton again worked for abolitionism. In 1868 Stanton became coeditor (with Parker Pillsbury) of the newly established weekly The Revolution. she scandalized many of her most ardent supporters by suggesting that drunkenness be made sufficient cause for divorce. Stanton continued to write and lecture tirelessly. Stanton and Anthony made several exhausting speaking and organizing tours on behalf of woman suffrage. caused her bitterness and outrage.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 address the New York legislature. and led her and her colleagues to redouble their efforts for woman suffrage. Liberalized divorce laws continued to be one of her principal issues. when the organization merged with the rival American Woman Suffrage Association. During the Civil War. however. a newspaper devoted to women's rights. In 1878 she drafted a federal suffrage amendment that was introduced in every Congress 176 . She helped organize the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869 and was named its president. a post she retained until 1890. Her speech resulted in new legislation in 1860 granting married women the rights to their wages and to equal guardianship of their children. In 1863 she and Anthony organized the Women's National Loyal League. She was the principal author of the Declaration of Rights for Women presented at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876.
Florence [Italy]—d. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 7 thereafter until women were granted the right to vote in 1920. she experienced one of several "calls from God. 1910. and Latin at an early age. and literature. At the age of 16. 13. She also published The Woman's Bible. However. She excelled in mathematics and languages and was able to read and write French." She viewed her particular calling as reducing human suffering. Nursing seemed the suitable route to serve both God and humankind. German. Greek. guiding her through history. she preferred to read the great philosophers and to engage in serious political and social discourse with her father. despite having cared for sick relatives and tenants on the family estates. Eighty Y and More (1898). She was also a statistician and social reformer. Eng. As part of a liberal Unitarian family. With Susan B. Florence was a precocious child intellectually. May 12. Nightingale was eventually able to enroll at the Institution of Protestant Deaconesses 177 .) F lorence Nightingale is best known as the foundational philosopher of modern nursing. Her father took particular interest in her education. 1820. Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage she compiled the first three volumes of the six-volume History of Woman Suffrage. Aug. (1895–98). and an autobiography. philosophy. her attempts to seek nurse's training were thwarted by her family as an inappropriate activity for a woman of her stature. Florence found great comfort in her religious beliefs. 2 vol. London. ears FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE (b. Italian. Never satisfied with the traditional female skills of home management. Nursing in Peace and War Despite family reservations.7 Susan B.
the importance of patient observation. In 1853 Nightingale sought to break free from her family environment. British journalist William Howard Russell. not nursing expertise. and efficiency of the hospital. where she successfully displayed her skills as an administrator by improving nursing care. The status of the care of the wounded was reported to the London Times by the first modern war correspondent. was to shape her next move. The newspaper reports stated that soldiers were treated by an incompetent and ineffective medical establishment and that the most basic supplies were not available for care. The British and the French. in London.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 at Kaiserswerth in Germany for two weeks of training in July 1850 and again for three months in July 1851. She considered becoming the superintendent of nurses at King's College Hospital in London. Through social connections. However. working conditions. following a series of disputes over holy places in Jerusalem and Russian demands to exercise protection over the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman sultan. across the Bosporus from Constantinople (Istanbul). However. 178 . the British troop base and hospitals for the care of the sick and wounded soldiers were primarily established in Scutari (Üsküdar). The majority of the Crimean War was fought on the Crimean Peninsula in Russia. There she learned basic nursing skills. The British public raised an outcry over the treatment of the soldiers and demanded that the situation be drastically improved. sought to curb Russian expansion. In October 1853 the Turkish Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. After one year she began to realize that her services would be more valuable in an institution that would allow her to train nurses. she became the superintendent of the Institution for Sick Gentlewomen (governesses) in Distressed Circumstances. and the value of good hospital organization. politics. allies of Turkey.
1854. wrote to Nightingale requesting that she lead a group of nurses to Scutari. injured soldiers from the Battle of Balaklava and the Battle of Inkerman arrived and overwhelmed the facility. Their letters crossed in the mail. Sidney's wife. staff uncooperative. kept her party from the wards. Not welcomed by the medical officers. Archive/Getty Images 179 . asking that she be allowed to lead a private expedition. and overcrowding severe. Hulton assist with the laundry. 21. and Nightingale. Nightingale found conditions filthy. departing Oct. Nightingale bought equipment with Florence Nightingale began to funds provided by the revolutionize the practice of nursing London Times and while serving in a military hospital enlisted soldiers' wives to during the Crimean War. Few nurses had access to the cholera wards.7 Florence Nightingale 7 Sidney Herbert. supplies inadequate. who wanted to gain the confidence of army surgeons by waiting for official military orders for assistance." In order to care for the soldiers properly. secretary of state at war for the British government. Nightingale said it was the "Kingdom of Hell. and arriving in Scutari at the Barrack Hospital on November 5. Nightingale led an officially sanctioned party of 38 women. Five days after Nightingale's arrival in Scutari. but in the end their mutual requests were granted. it was necessary that adequate supplies be obtained. At the same time. Nightingale wrote to her friend Liz Herbert.
requiring such basic necessities as bathing. Her accomplishments in providing care and reducing the mortality rate to about 2 percent brought her fame in England through the press and the soldiers' letters. Nightingale herself wandered the wards at night. On March 30. Nightingale experienced a slow recovery. the Treaty of Paris ended the Crimean War. 1856. chronic pain. and adequate food. however. as no active treatment was available. Most important. In May 1855 Nightingale began the first of several excursions to the Crimea. frequently confining her to bed because of severe. Attention was given to psychological needs through assistance in writing letters to relatives and through providing educational and recreational activities. On her return to England. providing support to the patients. Nightingale established standards of care. as a reluctant heroine." She gained the respect of the soldiers and medical establishment alike. Homecoming and Legacy Although primarily remembered for her accomplishments during the Crimean War. 1856. she fell ill with "Crimean fever"—most likely brucellosis. which she probably contracted from drinking contaminated milk. 7.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 The wards were cleaned and basic care was provided by the nurses. The lingering effects of the disease were to last for 25 years. Nightingale's greatest achievements centred on attempts to create social reform in health care and nursing. this earned her the title of "Lady with the Lamp. Nightingale remained in Scutari until the hospitals were ready to close. shortly after arriving. returning to her home in Derbyshire on Aug. Nightingale was suffering the effects of both brucellosis and exhaustion. clean clothing and dressings. In September 1856 she met with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to discuss the need for reform 180 .
as a token of gratitude and respect for Nightingale. The school formalized secular nursing education. The result was marked reform in the military medical and purveyance systems. which opened in 1860. The model was taken worldwide by matrons (women supervisors of public health institutions). and a school for the education of midwives was established at King's College Hospital in 1862. A Royal Commission was established. which was aimed at improving the health of the poor and vulnerable. which provided direction on how to manage the sick.7 Florence Nightingale 7 of the British military establishment. which based its findings on the statistical data and analysis provided by Nightingale. Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not. Nightingale kept meticulous records regarding the running of the Barrack Hospital. which she developed to assess mortality—and her basic concepts regarding nursing remain applicable today. resulting in 181 . causes of illness and death. making nursing a viable and respectable option for women who desired employment outside of the home. Additional reforms were financed through the Nightingale Fund. Through private donations. Believing that the most important location for the care of the sick was in the home. In 1855. This volume has been in continuous publication worldwide since 1859. She used a substantial part of these monies to institute the Nightingale School of Nursing at St. and difficulties in purveyance. Thomas' Hospital in London. Nightingale improved the health of households through her most famous publication. £45. For these reasons she is considered the foundational philosopher of modern nursing. the Nightingale Fund was established.000 was raised by 1859 and put at Nightingale's disposal. she established training for district nursing. Nightingale's statistical models— such as the Coxcomb chart. the efficiency of the nursing and medical staffs. A second Royal Commission examined the health of India.
persistence. 1913. a nurse. Hampshire. On her death in 1910. and 182 . an elaborate secret network of safe houses organized for that purpose. London. leaving behind her husband. whence she led her sister and two children to freedom. About 1844 she married John Tubman. March 10. again based on Nightingale's statistical data. c. Araminta Ross later adopted her mother's first name. she was honoured with a memorial service at St. Md. Florence Nightingale was honoured in her lifetime by receiving the title of Lady of Grace of the Order of St. U. N. Auburn. 1820. In December 1850 she made her way to Baltimore. parents. Born into slavery.) H arriet Tubman was an American abolitionist who led hundreds of bondsmen to freedom in the North along the route of the Underground Railroad.. her family declined the offer of a state funeral and burial in Westminster Abbey. Harriet. Paul's Cathedral. and siblings.—d. she conducted upward of 300 fugitive slaves along the Underground Railroad to Canada.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 major environmental reform. HARRIET TUBMAN (b. Instead. over the next decade. East Wellow. That journey was the first of some 19 increasingly dangerous forays into Maryland in which. ingenuity.S. In 1849. a cook. Dorchester county. and a woodcutter. From early childhood she worked variously as a maid. at Nightingale's prior request. John of Jerusalem and by becoming the first woman to receive the Order of Merit. a field hand. on the strength of rumours that she was about to be sold. Md.Y. By her extraordinary courage. Tubman fled to Philadelphia. Her burial is in the family plot in St. a free black man. Margaret's Church..
183 . where she placed her aged parents (she had brought them out of Maryland in June 1857) and she lived thereafter. Tubman became the railroad's most famous conductor and was known as the "Moses of her people. Rewards offered by slaveholders for Tubman's capture eventually totaled $40. John Brown. For her wartime service Tubman was paid so little that she had to support herself by selling homemade baked goods. for Union forces in South Carolina.7 Harriet Tubman 7 iron discipline. New York. under the command of Colonel James Montgomery. Va. which she enforced upon her charges.000. The home later attracted the support of former abolitionist comrades and of the citizens of Auburn. a practice that eventuated in the Harriet Tubman Home for Indigent Aged Negroes. Abolitionists." It has been said that she never lost a fugitive she was leading to freedom. she served as a scout. Tubman spied on Confederate territory. Montgomery's troops were able to make carefully planned attacks. referred to her as "General" Tubman. For the Second Carolina Volunteers. From 1862 to 1865. however. About 1858 she bought a small farm near Auburn. When she returned with information about the locations of warehouses and ammunition. who consulted her about his own plans to organize an antislavery raid of a federal armoury in Harpers Ferry. as well as nurse and laundress. (now in West Virginia). and it continued in existence for some years after her death. celebrated her courage. a private bill providing for $20 monthly was passed by Congress. After the Civil War Tubman settled in Auburn and began taking in orphans and the elderly. In the late 1860s and again in the late 1890s she applied for a federal pension for her Civil War services. Some 30 years after her service.
and she was at first even barred from classroom demonstration. almost by fluke. Bristol. During the latter period. in 1835 and to Cincinnati. Soon after the move Blackwell's father died and left the family in poverty. Counterslip. and cultured family. All the leading schools rejected her application. in 1838. N. and in 1847 she began seeking admission to a medical school.—d.. Samuel Blackwell. but she was at length admitted. Blackwell undertook the study of medicine privately with sympathetic physicians. Soon after taking up residence in New York. Ky. her father. Her months there were extremely difficult. in North and South Carolina. however. Ohio. Born into a large. Financial reverses and the family's liberal social and religious views prompted them to immigrate to the United States in the summer of 1832. Townspeople and much of the male student body ostracized and harassed her. and in January 1849. She persevered. May 31. New York. Blackwell was well educated by private tutors. Eng. Hastings. she became the first woman in the United States to graduate from medical school and the first modern-day woman doctor of medicine. and. 1821. became active in abolitionist activities. in 1845–47. Later Elizabeth taught school in Henderson.J. 1910. prosperous. she and two sisters opened a private school. Gloucestershire. Feb. to Geneva Medical College (a forerunner of Hobart College) in Geneva.. 3.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 ELIZABETH BLACKWELL (b. T 184 . ranked first in her class. To help support them. The Blackwells moved to Jersey City. Sussex) he Anglo-American physician Elizabeth Blackwell is considered to be the first woman medical doctor in modern times.
Elizabeth Blackwell set very high standards for admission.7 Elizabeth Blackwell 7 In April of that year. in June. and by Dr. Marie E.In January 1859. Blackwell traveled to England to seek further training. where. Her private practice was very slow to develop. citizen. she became the first woman to have her name placed on the British medical register. having become a naturalized U. bore fruit in the opening of the Woman's Medical College at the infirmary. (later Sir) James Paget. she entered the midwives' course at La Maternité. At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. academic and clinical training. Zakrzewska. Bartholomew's Hospital under Dr. where she was refused posts in the city's hospitals and dispensaries and was even unable to rent private consulting quarters. In May 1857 the dispensary. Emily Blackwell. was incorporated as the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. In May she went on to Paris. she helped organize the Woman's Central Association of Relief and the U. during a year-long lecture tour of Great Britain. In October 1850 she returned to England and worked at St. In 1853 Blackwell opened a small dispensary in a slum district of New York City.S. which continued 185 . and in the meantime she wrote a series of lectures. and certification for the school. published in 1852 as The Laws of Life. developed in large part in consultation with Florence Nightingale in England. Within a few years she was joined by her younger sister. While there she contracted an infectious eye disease that left her blind in one eye and forced her to abandon hope of becoming a surgeon. In the summer of 1851 she returned to New York. greatly enlarged.S. In November 1868 a plan long in the perfecting. Sanitary Commission and worked mainly through the former to select and train nurses for war service. with Special Reference to the Physical Education of Girls. Dr.
) he Christian religious reformer Mary Baker Eddy founded the religious denomination known as Christian Science..—d. 3. grieved over the death of a favourite brother when she was 20. Among her other writings are The Religion of Health (1871). a 12-year-old son from her first marriage. lost both her mother and her fiancé within three weeks of each other. Her marriage in 1853 to Daniel Patterson eventually broke down. Mass. 186 T . Eddy was born to devout Congregationalists at a time when Puritan piety was a real. and Essays in Medical Sociology (1902). 1910. and in 1875 was appointed professor of gynecology at the London School of Medicine for Women. helped organize the National Health Society in 1871. though residual. her autobiographical Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women (1895). Chestnut Hill. near Concord. ending in divorce 20 years later after he deserted her. She retained the latter position until 1907. In 1869 Blackwell moved permanently to England. and. she herself occupied the chair of hygiene.H. Bow. and they met only a few times thereafter. in 1849.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 in operation for 31 years. In 1856 she was plunged into virtual invalidism after Patterson and her father conspired to separate her from her only child. MARY BAKER EDDY (b. July 16. She established a successful private practice. became a widow at 22 after only a half year of marriage to George Glover. when an injury forced her to retire. force in the religious life of New England. She would not see her son again for nearly 25 years. She struggled with serious illness from childhood. Counsel to Parents on the Moral Education of Their Children (1878). U. 1821. Dec. N.S. The Human Element in Sex (1884).
a pioneer in what would today be called suggestive therapeutics. and study of the Bible was the bedrock of her religious life. Though personally loyal to Quimby. Although she too believed in a benign God. She was especially influenced by ministers in the "New Light" tradition of Jonathan Edwards. She thus found herself confronting perhaps the most basic problem undermining Christian faith in her time. she hit on what some today would call the placebo effect. which emphasized the heart's outflowing response to God's majesty and love. she soon recognized that his healing method was based in 187 .7 Mary Baker Eddy 7 Eddy's understanding of her personal and physical misfortunes was greatly shaped by her Congregationalist upbringing. Her conviction that the cause of disease was rooted in the human mind and that it was in no sense God's will was confirmed by her contact from 1862 to 1865 with Phineas P. but. Eddy needed something more. as his own son affirmed. The degree of Quimby's influence on her has been controversial." But whereas most Protestants who rejected Calvinism gravitated toward belief in a benign God. Her proclivity for religion was evident early on. she continued to ask how the reality of a God of love could possibly be reconciled with the existence of a world filled with so much misery and pain. Losing faith in medical systems based on materialistic premises. The Process of "Discovery" Eddy's spiritual quest took an unusual direction during the 1850s with the new medical system of homeopathy. Yet as a teenager she also rebelled with others of her generation against the stark predestinarian Calvinism of what she called her father's "relentless theology. Quimby of Maine. her intensely religious preoccupations remained distinct from the essentially secular cast of Quimby's thought.
We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. one Christ. this Life being the sole reality of existence. 2. the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter. healing work. namely." she later wrote. rather than in the biblical Christianity to which she was so firmly bound. "included a glimpse of the great fact that I have since tried to make plain to others. we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life. I learned that mortal thought evolves a subjective state which it names matter. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. as she later recalled. she gained increasing conviction that she had made a spiritual discovery of overwhelming authority and power. and man in God's image and likeness. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts. she turned. the transforming effect of the experience is beyond dispute. Life in and of Spirit. which she regarded as spiritually inspired. Science and Health. "That short experience.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 mesmerism. efficacious Love. unfolding man's unity 188 . to a Gospel account of healing and experienced a moment of spiritual illumination and discovery that brought not only immediate recovery but a new direction to her life. 4." While the precise extent of her injuries is unclear. From 1866 on. We acknowledge His Son. The next nine years of scriptural study. or mental suggestion. As adherents of Truth. Injured in a severe fall shortly after Quimby's death in early 1866. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine. It was in this major work that Eddy eventually included the basic tenets of the church: 1. 3. and teaching climaxed in 1875 with the publication of her major work. thereby shutting out the true sense of Spirit.
and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ. Spirit. on whose support she had relied since their marriage in 189 . and the nothingness of matter. Work as Founder A promising move to Boston in 1882 began with a jolting setback: the death of her third husband. Eddy continued to refine her statement of Christian Science in the years to come. Mass. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life. even the allness of Soul. especially the life and work of Jesus Christ. and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death. Scientist. Life. the Way-shower. 6. For the rest of her life she continued to revise this "textbook" of Christian Science as the definitive statement of her teaching. and pure. Although the first edition of Science and Health contained the essential structure of her teachings. just. 5. to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. To "reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing" was the stated purpose of the Church of Christ..7 Mary Baker Eddy 7 with God through Christ Jesus. and to be merciful. and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus. And we solemnly promise to watch. in 1879. which she founded with 15 students in Lynn. In 1883 she added the words "with Key to the Scriptures" to the book's title to emphasize her contention that Science and Health did not stand alone but opened the way to the continuing power and truth of biblical revelation. Asa Gilbert Eddy. through Truth.
Eddy taught hundreds of students in the Massachusetts Metaphysical College. And she also preached intermittently at Christian Science church services. Her successes in the 1880s. for which she obtained a charter in 1881. while thoroughly Christian. eventually settling into a house. Eddy's writings repeatedly underscored the biblical basis of her teachings and the Christian demands of practicing it. Christian Science began to make an impact on American religious life. She also explicitly differentiated Christian Science from theosophy and spiritualism. In response to these challenges. Eddy moved to Concord.H. The demands on her were enormous during this period.. which were attracting a growing number of disaffected mainstream Protestants. Nonetheless. especially her conversions of mainstream Protestants. which she saw as engendering disease in the first place. both antecedents of 20th-century "New Age" movements. called Pleasant View. Boston was an intellectual centre where new ideas. exposed her to growing criticism from concerned Boston ministers. The fledgling Christian Science movement was further threatened by internal schism and the rivalry of various "mind-cure" groups that appropriated her terminology but sought healing not through divine help but through the powers of the human mind. with a small staff. offered a distinct alternative to both liberal and orthodox forms of Christianity. in 1889. During the next decade she gained both authority 190 . especially in religion. including numerous articles for a monthly magazine she founded in 1883. during her years in Boston from 1882 to 1889.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 1877. She continued to revise Science and Health and wrote a number of shorter works. N. Eddy contributed to the ferment in the religious life of New England. especially since she maintained that her teaching. traveled fast.
who severely criticized Eddy while speaking at points warmly of her teaching. made her the subject of mounting controversy. together with the practical challenge her teachings posed to conventional religion and medicine. by the hostility that fueled such attacks). She put Science and Health through its last major revisions. and its worldwide branches. There was also a highly misleading series that ran in McClure's Magazine for two years and an unsuccessful lawsuit against her (the so-called "Next Friends Suit" of 1907) that Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspaper orchestrated to question her mental competence. Eddy's death in 1910 did not end the controversy over her character or her contribution to Christian thought and practice. In 1895 she published the Manual of The Mother Church. Today's interest in women's studies. Last Years and Achievement Eddy's growing public stature as a religious leader. a slim book of bylaws that she continued to revise until her death and that she intended would govern the church in perpetuity. completed the formal structuring of her church by entrusting greater responsibilities to its Board of Directors. however. In 1892 she reorganized the church she had founded in 1879. The First Church of Christ. Scientist. Despite these personal attacks and occasional ill health (induced at least in part. and in 1908 founded The Christian Science Monitor. establishing over the next decade its present structure as The Mother Church. Eddy accomplished much during the last decade of her long life. as seen in a set of articles in 1902 and 1903 (published in book form in 1907 under the title Christian Science) by Mark Twain.7 Mary Baker Eddy 7 within the movement and public recognition outside it. an international newspaper of recognized excellence. 191 . she felt.
was a consort of the Xianfeng emperor (reigned 1850–61). Nov. Nov. 1908. many of which have involved undiagnosed and psychosomatic disorders. China—d. While she was not a feminist per se. 15. It is this tradition of spiritual healing that is perhaps the most controversial part of Eddy's legacy. and she did support some feminist causes such as women's suffrage and the right of women to hold property. but also the significance for religion of medically diagnosed conditions. Yet her aim was not to overturn traditional gender roles but to reinvigorate Christianity—to restore the role of spiritual healing in a living Christian faith. as she acknowledged. she acted outside of conventional gender roles by founding and leading a significant American denomination. hers was a life of protest against conventional assumptions both in religion and in medicine. mother of the Tongzhi emperor (reigned 1861–75). corrupt officials and maintaining authority over the 192 . These questions concern not only the medical evidence for spiritual healings. no single individual has focused more attention on this area of Christian experience. who is also known as the Empress Dowager. and feminists have often emphasized that her work had the effect of empowering women.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 is prompting a fresh look at her life and influence. While Eddy's character and the teachings of her church remain controversial. 29. Science is only beginning to grapple with some of the long-term questions raised by the church's practice of spiritual healing. CIXI (b. and a towering presence over the Chinese empire for almost half a century. adoptive mother of the Guangxu emperor (reigned 1875–1908). Beijing. Ruling through a clique of conservative. 1835. Indeed. Beijing) C ixi.
Roger Viollet/Getty Images 193 .7 Cixi 7 The Dowager Empress Cixi rose from being a lowly concubine to one of the most powerful women in Chinese history.
the government entered a temporary period of revitalization. Gong became the prince counsellor.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Manchu imperial house (Qing dynasty. The two empress dowagers continued to act as regents. she became one of the most powerful women in the history of China. as was the Nian Rebellion (1853–68) in the northern provinces. However. In 1889 Cixi nominally relinquished control over the government to retire to the magnificent summer palace she had rebuilt northwest of Beijing. Western-style arsenals were constructed. the former emperor's brother. Following Tongzhi's death. a few years after the shocking defeat of the Chinese forces 194 . Ci'an. Three years later. 1644–1911/12). the six-year-old boy became the Tongzhi emperor. an effort was made to end governmental corruption and to recruit men of talent. The great Taiping Rebellion (1850–64). after Gong Qinwang (Prince Gong). and state business was put in the hands of a regency council of eight elder officials. A few months later. Schools were created for the study of foreign languages. but in 1856 she bore his only son. she dismissed Prince Gong. was quelled. Cixi's three-year-old nephew (whom she had adopted) was named the new heir. Cixi became the sole holder of the office. and the first Chinese foreign service office was installed. Cixi's involvement in state affairs continued. On Xianfeng's death. in 1898. the regency was transferred to Cixi and Xianfeng's former senior consort. which had devastated South China. was victorious in a palace coup. a modern customs service was instituted. Cixi was one of the Xianfeng emperor's low-ranking concubines. Although the regency was terminated in 1873 after the Tongzhi emperor attained maturity. Internally. Under this triumviral rule (but largely under Prince Gong's leadership). but after Ci'an's sudden death in 1881.
she finally began to implement many of the innovations that had been reversed in 1898.—d. collected around Cixi. The day before Cixi died. Returning to Beijing in 1902.S. U. In 1900 the Boxer Rebellion reached its peak. Most historians believe that China's last chance for peaceful change thus ended. But conservative officials. France) T he American painter and printmaker Mary Cassatt.7 Cixi 7 in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95). Pa. 1844. who again used the military to institute a coup. Allegheny City [now part of Pittsburgh]. MARY CASSATT (b. Château de Beaufresne. who was part of the group of Impressionists working 195 . but that fact was not substantiated until 2008 when a report was issued by Chinese researchers and police officials confirming that the emperor had been deliberately poisoned with arsenic. although the Guangxu emperor no longer participated in the government. near Paris.. some 100 foreigners were killed. under the influence of a group of reformers. However. Guangxu's death was announced. and Cixi resumed the regency. The following year Cixi began to back those officials who were encouraging the anti-foreign Boxer rebels. it was generally believed that the emperor had been poisoned. and the foreign legations in Beijing were surrounded. May 22. Although the report did not address who may have ordered his death—and there never has been any hard evidence of culpability—suspicion long has pointed toward the Empress Dowager. June 14. Since then. a coalition of foreign troops soon captured the capital. 1926. the young Guangxu emperor. put through a number of radical proposals designed to renovate and modernize the Chinese government and to eliminate corruption. The new reforms were reversed. and Cixi was forced to flee the city and accept humiliating peace terms.
Initially. and 1886. drypoint.g. 1892) and Mother and Child (1899). The Bath (c. Cassatt showed great mastery of drawing.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 in and around Paris. 1881. his style and that of Gustave Courbet inspired her own. She was tutored privately in art in Philadelphia and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1861–65. She shared with the Impressionists an interest in experiment and in using bright colours inspired by the out-of-doors. but she preferred a less academic approach and in 1866 traveled to Europe to study with such European painters as Jean-Léon Gérôme and Thomas Couture. she brought her printmaking technique to perfection. and soft ground. and at his request she exhibited with the Impressionists in 1879 and joined them in shows in 1880. 196 . Like Degas. Her emphasis shifted from form to line and pattern.. she brought out her series of 10 coloured prints— e. Cassatt also was innovative and inventive in exploiting the medium of pastels. is noteworthy for her skillful and tender portraits of almost exclusively women and children. Woman Bathing and The Coiffure—in which the influence of the Japanese masters Utamaro and Toyokuni is apparent. Cassatt painted mostly figures of friends or relatives and their children in the Impressionist style. combining aquatint. In 1874 Cassatt chose Paris as her permanent residence and established her studio there. Edgar Degas became her friend. Degas was known to admire her drawing especially. The principal motif of her mature and perhaps most familiar period is mothers caring for small children—e.. Cassatt was the daughter of a banker and lived in Europe for five years as a young girl. After the great exhibition of Japanese prints held in Paris in 1890. and both artists preferred unposed asymmetrical compositions. Her first major showing was at the Paris Salon of 1872. four more annual Salon exhibitions followed.g. In these etchings.
more than through her own works. she regarded the Conservatoire's methods as antiquated. Napoleon III's half brother. As the presence of a baby interfered with her mother's life. A difficult. and by 1914 she had ceased working. 1844. SARAH BERNHARDT (b. when she was 16. T Early Life and Training Born Henriette-Rosine Bernard. Havemeyer Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. France—d. she wanted to become a nun. Paris) he greatest French actress of the later 19th century. March 26. Oct. 22/23. She was not considered a particularly promising student. or in French. the duke de Morny. and. she exerted a lasting influence on American taste. a Dutch courtesan who had established herself in Paris (the identity of her father is uncertain). Bernhardt was the illegitimate daughter of Julie Bernard. willful child of delicate health. Paris. decided that she should be an actress and. the government-sponsored school of acting. 1923. arranged for her to enter the Paris Conservatoire. New York City. La Divine Sarah) was one of the best-known figures in the history of the stage.O. Soon after 1900 her eyesight began to fail. but one of her mother's lovers. although she revered some of her teachers. Cassatt urged her wealthy American friends and relatives to buy Impressionist paintings. 197 . and in this way. Sarah was brought up at first in a pension and later in a convent.7 Mary Cassatt 7 In 1894 she purchased a château in Le Mesnil-Théribus and thereafter split her time between her country home and Paris. She was largely responsible for selecting the works that make up the H. Sarah Bernhardt (also called The Divine Sarah.
questioning her talent for acting. she played the role of Cordelia in Le Roi Lear there. During the Franco-German War in 1870. by the novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas père. the actor Lou Tellegen.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Sarah Bernhardt left the Conservatoire in 1862 and. During the obligatory three debuts required of probationers. thanks to the duke's influence. gradually established her reputation. she entered a period of soul-searching. For a time she found employment at the Théâtre du GymnaseDramatique. prince de Ligne. but the marriage was short-lived. came in 1869. After the war. The same year. the future Edward VII. After playing the role of a foolish Russian princess. allegedly including the great French writer Victor Hugo. the Comédie-Française. during six years of intensive work with a congenial company there. Jacques Damala. and the prince of Wales. Throughout her life she had a series of affairs or liaisons with famous men. and gave birth to her only child. the reopened Odéon paid tribute to Hugo with a production 198 . she was scarcely noticed by the critics.) In 1866 Bernhardt signed a contract with the Odéon Theatre and. he dying of drug abuse. During these critical months she became the mistress of Henri. when she played the minstrel Zanetto in the young dramatist François Coppée's one-act verse play Le Passant ("The Passerby")—a part that she played again in a command performance before Napoleon III. Bernhardt's greatest triumph at the Odéon. as a beginner on probation. Her contract with the Comédie-Française was canceled in 1863 after she slapped the face of a senior actress who had been rude to her younger sister. Her first resounding success was as Anna Damby in the 1868 revival of Kean. Maurice. however. was accepted by the national theatre company. (Later Bernhardt was married to a Greek military-officer-turned-actor. she organized a military hospital in the Odéon theatre.
In 1872 Bernhardt left the Odéon and returned to the Comédie-Française. But she had a remarkable success there in the title role of Voltaire's Zaïre (1874). She played Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello in 1878. Bernhardt had become an expressive actress with a wide emotional range who was capable of great subtlety in her interpretations. Her career was also helped by her relentless selfpromotion and her unconventional behaviour both on and off the stage. beauty.7 Sarah Bernhardt 7 of his verse-play Ruy Blas. made them revise their estimate and write enthusiastic reviews. and the impact of her unique voice was reinforced by the purity of her diction. Her performance. International Success In 1880 Bernhardt formed her own traveling company and soon became an international idol. and she was soon given the chance to play the title role in Jean Racine's Phèdre. her portrayal of Doña Sol in Hugo's Hernani. Bernhardt charmed her audiences with the lyrical quality of her distinctive voice. however. She had now reached the head of her profession. and an international career lay before her. She spent her time acting with her own company. where at first she received only minor parts. when the Comédie-Française appeared in London in 1879. managing the theatres it 199 . Another of her finest roles. was said to have brought tears to the author's eyes. As Queen Maria. which was memorably described as a "golden bell. a part for which the critics supposed she lacked the resources needed to portray violent passion. Bernhardt played in the second act of Phèdre and achieved another triumph." though her critics usually called it "silvery." as resembling the tones of a flute. and. and charisma gave her a commanding stage presence. Her grace.
La Tosca (1887). and Cléopâtre (1890). and pantomimic action. In 1891–93 she undertook a world tour that included Australia and South America. She appeared fairly regularly in England and extended her itinerary to the European continent. she had 200 . In 1905. 8. flamboyant style of acting. there were two parts that audiences all over the world clamoured to see her act: Marguérite Gautier. In 1893 Bernhardt became the manager of the Théâtre de la Renaissance. In the 1880s a new element had entered her artistic life with the emergence of Victorien Sardou as chief playwright for melodrama. exotic costumes. In one of her more famous parts. "The Lady of the Camellias") of Alexandre Dumas fils. She was also one of the first women known to have performed the title role in Hamlet. Bernhardt. and going on long international tours. and Canada. the United States. taught her a broad. the redeemed courtesan in La Dame aux camélias (Camille. and in 1899 she relocated to the former Théâtre des Nations. that of Napoleon's only son in Edmond Rostand's play L'Aiglon (1900). Bernhardt played several male roles in the course of her career. 1880. and eight visits to the United States followed. Sardou. With Bernhardt in mind. Bernhardt was made a member of the Legion of Honour in 1914. Sardou wrote Fédora (1882). New York City saw her for the first time on Nov. then age 55. relying for effect on lavish decors. The theatre retained her name until the German occupation of World War II and is now known as the Théâtre de la Ville. Thédora (1884). which she renamed the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt and managed until her death in 1923. Aside from her appearances as Phèdre. She had made notable appearances as Hamlet in Paris and London in 1899. She had first played these two roles in 1880. directing his own plays in which she starred. during a South American tour. played a youth who died at age 21.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 used. and the title role of the popular playwright Eugène Scribe's Adrienne Lecouvreur.
Mex. 1891. In November 1918 she arrived back in France but soon set out on another European tour. that is not without interest since the actress-heroine of the story constitutes an idealization of its author's own career and ambitions. Oct. the patriotic Bernhardt insisted on visiting the soldiers at the front during World War I while carried about in a litter chair. L'Art du théâtre (1923. Ma Double Vie: mémoires de Sarah Bernhardt (1907.. U. c. Facts and fiction are difficult to disentangle in her autobiography. Maurice Rostand. also translated as Memories of My Life). and her leg had to be amputated. or Tocmectone ("Shell Flower"). SARAH WINNEMUCCA (b.]—d. Monida. U. whose Paiute name is variously given as Thoc-me-tony. By 1915 gangrene had set in. In 1916 she began her last tour of the United States. playing parts she could act while seated. Mont. and her indomitable spirit sustained her during 18 grueling months on the road. and Sacha Guitry. which was being filmed in her own house in Paris at the time of her death. In 1920 Bernhardt published a novel.S. Petite Idole. was a Native American educator.7 Sarah Bernhardt 7 injured her right knee when jumping off the parapet in the last scene of La Tosca. is revealing in its sections on voice training: the actress had always considered voice as the key to dramatic character.S. New roles were provided for her by the playwrights Louis Verneuil. Humboldt Sink. The Art of the Theatre). 1844. Undaunted. 16.) S arah Winnemucca. [now in Nevada. My Double Life: Memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt. 201 . She collapsed during the dress rehearsal of the Guitry play Un Sujet de roman ("A Subject for a Novel") but recovered again sufficiently to take an interest in the Hollywood motion picture La Voyante ("The Clairvoyant"). lecturer. Thocmectony. Bernhardt's treatise on acting.
Howard. Covering more than a hundred miles of trail through Idaho and Oregon. aide.O. where she learned both Spanish and English. she suffered the loss of several family members.. In 1860 she briefly attended a convent school in San Jose. Winnemucca for a time was an interpreter for the reservation agent. Her writings. she learned that her father and others had been taken hostage and offered to help the army scout the Bannock territory. After her return to Nevada she lived for a time with a white family and adopted the name Sarah (sometimes called Sally). and returned with valuable intelligence for General O. 202 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 tribal leader. she lived during part of her childhood in the San Joaquin valley of California. She was scout. both Northern Paiute chiefs. are among the few contemporary Native American works. She attempted the role of peacemaker on a few occasions and from 1868 to 1871 served as an interpreter at Camp McDermitt in northeastern Nevada. but the appointment of a new and unsympathetic agent in 1876 ended her service as well as a period of relative quiet on the reservation. valuable for their description of Northern Paiute life and for their insights into the impact of white settlement. and interpreter to Howard during the resulting campaign against the Bannocks. until objections from the parents of white students forced her to leave. spirited her father and many of his companions away. A granddaughter of Truckee and daughter of Winnemucca. the Malheur. On the outbreak of the Bannock War in 1878. and writer best known for her book Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims (1883). Winnemucca located the Bannock camp. During the Paiute War of 1860 and the subsequent increasingly frequent clashes between Native Americans and whites. In 1872 she accompanied her tribe to a new reservation. Calif. in southeastern Oregon.
and sales of her Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims raised money for Winnemucca's expenses. Hayes. Feb.—d. She was promised the return of her people to the Malheur reservation and a severalty allotment of land there. b. Winnemucca moved to a sister's home in Monida. the tour was a success. After a year of teaching in a school for Native American children at Vancouver Barracks. From 1883 to 1886 Winnemucca taught at a Paiute school near Lovelock. often known among whites as "the Princess. Hopkins. Manchester. 1880. Despite slanderous responses by agents and their friends. H. and ill herself.7 Sarah Winnemucca 7 In 1879 she lectured in San Francisco on the plight of her tribe—many of whose members had been exiled along with belligerent Bannocks to a reservation in Washington Territory—and on the wrongs perpetrated by dishonest civilian Indian agents. Eng. She secured thousands of signatures on a petition calling for the promised allotment of reservation lands to individual Paiutes. but once again promises came to nothing. Los Angeles. U. 13. Calif. In 1886 her husband died. 1958. but the order issued to that effect was never executed.. Elizabeth Peabody. Winnemucca attracted the attention of President Rutherford B." went on an eastern lecture tour to arouse public opinion. Washington Territory. Manchester. EMMELINE AND CHRISTABEL PANKHURST (Respectively. Sept. June 14. July 14. Nevada. 1858. Aided by General Howard. 22. London. 1928. an army officer. Mont. Congress passed a bill to that end in 1884. where she died in 1891.—d. and others. b..) E mmeline Pankhurst and Christabel Pankhurst were militant crusaders (mother and daughter) for woman 203 .S. Winnemucca. and her marriage late in 1881 to L. Eng.
13. in 1903. a lawyer who was a friend of British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill. Christabel Harriette Pankhurst. hunger strikes. Regarding the Liberal government as the main obstacle to woman suffrage. unfurled a banner reading "Votes for Women" at a Liberal Party meeting in Manchester on Oct." Pankhurst. 1882). after having refused to pay fines. "Deeds not Words. and huge open-air rallies. but her energies were increasingly in demand by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). In 1879 Emmeline Goulden married Richard Marsden Pankhurst. which secured (1894) for married women the right to vote in elections to local offices (not to the House of Commons). as well as the author of the first woman suffrage bill in Great Britain (late 1860s) and of the Married Women's Property acts (1870. Beginning in 1906. Christabel Pankhurst (later Dame Christabel) advocated the use of militant tactics to win the vote for women in England. Christabel subsequently directed a campaign that included direct physical action.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 suffrage in England. which she founded with her daughter. 204 . she campaigned against the party's candidates at elections. Emmeline's 40-year campaign achieved complete success in the year of her death. in Manchester. Reflecting the union's slogan. Emmeline Pankhurst directed WSPU activities from London. The two were arrested in the street for a technical assault on the police and. Ten years later she founded the Women's Franchise League. when British women obtained full equality in the voting franchise. Her action received worldwide attention after she and Kenney were thrown out of the meeting for demanding a statement about votes for women. 1905. were sent to prison. with Annie Kenney. From 1895 Emmeline Pankhurst held a succession of municipal offices in Manchester.
appeared in 1914. upon returning to England. serving a total of about 30 days. by which hunger-striking prisoners could be freed for a time and then reincarcerated upon regaining their health to some extent. where she had gone to avoid arrest for conspiracy. Christabel declared a suffrage truce and helped lead the war effort in England. continued to lecture on woman suffrage. From July 1912 the WSPU turned to extreme militancy. mainly in the form of arson directed by Christabel from Paris. In later life. and. My Own Story. Christabel Pankhurst became a religious evangelist." A truce that she declared in 1910 was broken when the government blocked a "conciliation" bill on woman suffrage. under the Prisoners Act of 1913 (the "Cat and Mouse Act"). Pankhurst herself was imprisoned. but her health failed before she could be elected. In 1908–09 Pankhurst was jailed three times. In 1936 she was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1926. 205 . Canada. meanwhile. was passed a few weeks before her death. She lived in the United States. she was chosen Conservative candidate for an east London constituency.7 Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst 7 and her followers interrupted meetings of Cabinet ministers. Canada. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914. establishing voting equality for men and women. During the war. Emmeline. visiting the United States. The Representation of the People Act of 1928. Emmeline and Christabel called off the suffrage campaign. and the government released all suffragist prisoners. Emmeline Pankhurst's autobiography. and Bermuda for several years after the war. she was released and rearrested 12 times within a year. once for issuing a leaflet calling on the people to "rush the House of Commons. and Russia to encourage the industrial mobilization of women.
U. Addams graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in Illinois in 1881 and was granted a degree the following year when the institution became Rockford College. 1935. She was cowinner (with Nicholas Murray Butler) of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1931. Sept. May 21. During neither subsequent travel in Europe in 1883–85 nor her stay in Baltimore. one of the first social settlements in North America.. Cedarville. and Grace and Edith Abbott—came to live at Hull House. Florence Kelley. Eventually the settlement included 13 buildings and a playground. in 1885–87 did she find a vocation. T 206 . Philadelphia. Following the death of her father in 1881. Ellen Gates Starr. as did others who continued to make their living in business or the arts while helping Addams in settlement activities. 1889. In a working-class immigrant district in Chicago. they acquired a large vacant residence built by Charles Hull in 1856. they moved into it on Sept. 18. her own health problems. Chicago. Upon returning to the United States. In 1887–88 Addams returned to Europe with a Rockford classmate. Ill.) he American social reformer and pacifist Jane Addams is probably best known as the founder of Hull House in Chicago. On a visit to the Toynbee Hall settlement house (founded 1884) in the Whitechapel industrial district in London. Many prominent social workers and reformers—Julia Lathrop. and. calling it Hull House.S. 1860. Wisconsin. Maryland.—d. 6. and an unhappy year at the Woman's Medical College. she and Starr determined to create something like Toynbee Hall. Ill. as well as a camp near Lake Geneva. she was an invalid for two years. Addams's vague leanings toward reform work crystallized.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 JANE ADDAMS (b.
advocated research aimed at determining the causes of poverty and crime. activist Jane Addams a Nobel Prize At The Hague in 1915 for Peace in 1931. Addams worked with labour as well as other reform groups toward goals including the first juvenile-court law. a community kitchen. and a boarding club for working girls. furnished training in art. In addition to making available services and cultural opportunities for the largely immigrant population of the neighbourhood. Hull House afforded an opportunity for young social workers to acquire training. factory inspection. She strove in addition for justice for immigrants and blacks. Hull House offered college-level courses in various subjects. and sponsored one of the earliest little-theatre groups.7 Jane Addams 7 Among the facilities at Hull House were a day nursery. the Hull House Players. and in 1912 she played an active part in the Progressive Party's Her work on behalf of the downpresidential campaign trodden and underserved won for Theodore Roosevelt. and crafts such as bookbinding. and workers' compensation. an eight-hour working day for women. Hulton Archive/ she served as chairman Getty Images 207 . a gymnasium. and supported woman suffrage. music. tenement-house regulation. In 1910 she became the first woman president of the National Conference of Social Work.
1863. In 1896 she was named an assistant at the Harvard Observatory.S. classifying. The scheme of spectral classification by surface temperature 208 . and in 1895 she enrolled at Radcliffe in order to continue her studies under Edward C. begun in 1885. In 1931 she was a cowinner of the Nobel Prize for Peace. 11. Twenty Years at Hull-House (1910)." There. Cannon devoted her energies to Pickering's ambitious project. Dec. She studied physics and astronomy at Wellesley College. Cannon was the oldest daughter of Wilson Cannon. becoming one of a group known as "Pickering's Women. following which was established the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. For several years thereafter she traveled and dabbled in photography and music.) A nnie Jump Cannon was an American astronomer who specialized in the classification of stellar spectra. and Mary Jump.. Dover. She was also involved in the founding of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920. and The Second Twenty Years at Hull-House (1930). and cataloging the spectra of all stars down to those of the ninth magnitude. The establishment of the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois in 1963 forced the Hull House Association to relocate its headquarters.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 of the International Congress of Women. joining Williamina P. U. Mass. Newer Ideals of Peace (1907). who was director of the Harvard College Observatory. graduating in 1884.S. The majority of its original buildings were demolished. April 13. Fleming. of recording. Cambridge. 1941.—d. In 1894 she returned to Wellesley for a year of advanced study in astronomy. ANNIE JUMP CANNON (b. a Delaware state senator. Among Addams's books are Democracy and Social Ethics (1902). Pickering. Del. but the Hull residence itself was preserved as a monument to Jane Addams.
7. In the course of her work Cannon also discovered some 300 variable stars and five novae. Cannon Award. and in 1938 she was named William Cranch Bond Professor of Astronomy. 209 . 1949).000 stars. Cannon officially retired from the observatory in 1940 but carried on research until her death the next year. Nov. 1867. cataloging tens of thousands of additional stars down to the 11th magnitude for the twovolume Henry Draper Extension (1925. 1934. MARIE CURIE (b. Russian Empire—d.7 Annie Jump Cannon 7 used for the project and later (1910) universally adopted was largely work that Cannon had developed from earlier systems. The work was an invaluable contribution to astronomy. near Sallanches. She was also the first woman to become an officer in the American Astronomical Society. Among the numerous honours and awards accorded her were the first honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford to be awarded to a woman (1925) and the Henry Draper Medal of the National Academy of Sciences in 1931. bearing strongly on countless other problems and areas of research and exerting major influence on the evolution of the science of astronomy from one of mere observation to one of great theoretical and philosophical content. France) T he Polish-born French physicist Marie Curie (née Maria Skłodowska) is famous for her work on radioactivity. July 4. Her work was published in nine volumes as the Henry Draper Catalogue (1918–24). and she eventually obtained and classified spectra for more than 225. Warsaw. Poland. After 1924 she extended her work. which is given to a North American female astronomer (within five years of receiving a doctorate) for her distinguished contribution to astronomy. In 1911 Cannon succeeded Fleming as curator of astronomical photographs at the observatory. In 1933 she established that organization's Annie J.
and she was the sole winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. She came first in the licence of physical sciences in 1893. At 18 she took a post as governess. she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. lost his savings through bad investment. In 1891 she went to Paris and. now using the name Marie. a teacher of mathematics and physics. Their marriage (July 25. From her earnings she was able to finance her sister Bronisława's medical studies in Paris. 1895) marked the start of a partnership that was soon to achieve results of world significance. Pierre Curie." reading in Polish to women workers. She began to work in Lippmann's research laboratory and in 1894 was placed second in the licence of mathematical sciences. Skłodowska worked far into the night in her student-quarters garret and virtually lived on bread and butter and tea. Because her father. From childhood Maria Skłodowska was remarkable for her prodigious memory. in particular the discovery of polonium (so called by Marie in honour of her native land) in the summer of 1898 and that of radium a few months later. Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. It was in the spring of that year that she met Pierre Curie. and Aimé Cotton. took part clandestinely in the nationalist "free university. and she is the only woman to win the award in two different fields.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 She twice won the Nobel Prize: with Henri Becquerel and her husband. and at age 16 she won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education at the Russian lycée. There she met physicists who were already well known—Jean Perrin. and Edmond Bouty at the Sorbonne. at the same time. where she suffered an unhappy love affair. she had to take work as a teacher and. Charles Maurain. on the understanding that Bronisława would in turn later help her to get an education. began to follow the lectures of Paul Appel. Gabriel Lippmann. Following 210 .
Marie Curie struggled to obtain pure radium in the metallic state—achieved with the help of the chemist André-Louis Debierne. with Pierre. superior to that of pure uranium. On May 13. Marie Curie received her doctorate of science in June 1903 and. one of Pierre Curie's pupils. The birth of her two daughters. In December 1904 she was appointed chief assistant in the laboratory directed by Pierre Curie. Schmidt did. The sudden death of Pierre Curie (April 19. she was appointed 211 . She discovered that this was true for thorium at the same time as G. Also in 1903 they shared with Becquerel the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of radioactivity. a mineral whose activity. could be explained only by the presence in the ore of small quantities of an unknown substance of very high activity. looking for a subject for a thesis. polonium and radium. decided to find out if the property discovered in uranium was to be found in other matter. C. While Pierre Curie devoted himself chiefly to the physical study of the new radiations. was awarded the Davy Medal of the Royal Society. 1906) was a bitter blow to Marie Curie. Marie Curie. in 1897 and 1904 did not interrupt Marie's intensive scientific work. She was appointed lecturer in physics at the École Normale Supérieure for girls in Sèvres (1900) and introduced there a method of teaching based on experimental demonstrations. she found her interest drawn to pitchblende.7 Marie Curie 7 Henri Becquerel's discovery (1896) of a new phenomenon (which she later called "radioactivity"). but it was also a decisive turning point in her career: henceforth she was to devote all her energy to completing alone the scientific work that they had undertaken. On the results of this research. 1906. Pierre Curie then joined her in the work that she had undertaken to resolve this problem and that led to the discovery of the new elements. Turning her attention to minerals. Irène and Ève.
In 1918 the Radium Institute. She gave lectures. Brazil. In 1908 she became titular professor. Marie Curie. Spain. In 1921. and Czechoslovakia. One of Marie Curie's outstanding achievements was to have understood the need to accumulate intense radioactive sources. Throughout World War I. she was the first woman to teach in the Sorbonne. a member of the Academy of Medicine. devoted her researches to the study of the chemistry of radioactive substances and the medical applications of these substances. In 1914 she saw the completion of the building of the laboratories of the Radium Institute (Institut du Radium) at the University of Paris. especially in Belgium. with the help of her daughter Irène. not only to treat illness but also to maintain 212 . accompanied by her two daughters. where President Warren G. devoted herself to the development of the use of X-radiography. she had the satisfaction of seeing the development of the Curie Foundation in Paris and the inauguration in 1932 in Warsaw of the Radium Institute. Harding presented her with a gram of radium bought as the result of a collection among American women. the staff of which Irène had joined. Marie Curie made a triumphant journey to the United States. Marie Curie. She was made a member of the International Commission on Intellectual Co-operation by the Council of the League of Nations. of which her sister Bronisława became director. and it was to become a universal centre for nuclear physics and chemistry. In 1911 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. from 1922. for the isolation of pure radium. In addition.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 to the professorship that had been left vacant on her husband's death. and in 1910 her fundamental treatise on radioactivity was published. now at the highest point of her fame and. began to operate in earnest.
but because of her influence on subsequent generations of nuclear physicists and chemists. A few months after this discovery. Iraq) he English traveler. July 14. where her uncle T 213 . Eng. Washington Hall. In 1995 Marie Curie's ashes were enshrined in the Panthéon in Paris. above all. and writer Gertrude Bell played a principal part in the establishment in Baghdad of the Hāshimite dynasty. Marie Curie died as a result of leukemia caused by the action of radiation. 1926. The existence in Paris at the Radium Institute of a stock of 1. not only in her own work. Baghdad. radium D and polonium had accumulated made a decisive contribution to the success of the experiments undertaken in the years around 1930 and in particular of those performed by Irène Curie in conjunction with Frédéric Joliot. the importance of which had been demonstrated by the award to her of two Nobel Prizes.7 Marie Curie 7 an abundant supply for research in nuclear physics.5 grams of radium in which.—d. administrator. Durham. July 12. This work prepared the way for the discovery of the neutron by Sir James Chadwick and. over a period of several years. for the discovery in 1934 by Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie of artificial radioactivity. the resultant stockpile was an unrivaled instrument until the appearance after 1930 of particle accelerators. GERTRUDE BELL (b. where she took a first in history in 1887. Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell's brilliant career at Oxford. Her contribution to physics had been immense. was followed by some time spent in Tehrān. whom she had married in 1926. 1868. she was the first woman to receive this honour for her own achievements.
She never wrote a full account of this journey. being the second woman (after Lady Anne Blunt) to visit Ha'il. Her vast correspondence was published in an edited form in two volumes by her stepmother in 1927. 214 . Returning to the political and intellectual salons in England and Europe for a decade. But her heart was set on an Arabian journey. which she began in 1913. where she was not favourably received. and Amurath to Amurath (1911). which is her monument in the land she loved.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Sir Frank Lascelles was British minister. She insisted. She helped place the Hāshimite ruler Fay al I on the throne of Iraq in 1921. thereby ensuring that the National Museum of Iraq. that antiquities excavated should stay in the country of their origin. After a short period of war work in England and France. where she served in turn under Sir Percy Cox and Sir Arnold Wilson. extending her travels to Asia Minor. for the first time. though her literary output during the 20 years preceding World War I had been considerable. Facing ill health and profound loneliness. The Desert and the Sown (1907). would possess a splendid collection of Iraq's own antiquities. including Safar Nameh (1894). she plunged into the rough-and-tumble of Middle East politics. She visited Palestine and Syria in that year and was often back in the Middle East during the next decade. Poems from the Divan of Hafiz (1897). The last three years of her life were devoted to the creation of an archæological museum in Baghdad. although she ever afterward favoured the Ibn Rashīd dynasty in its struggle against the Ibn Sa'ūd dynasty. The Thousand and One Churches (1909). Bell took a fatal dose of sleeping pills. Perhaps her greatest work was a masterly official report on the administration of Mesopotamia during the difficult period between the Armistice of 1918 and the Iraq rebellion of 1920. mainly in Mesopotamia. she did not until 1899 embark on the career of Arabian activities that made her famous.
Chiaravalle. From 1896 to 1906 she held a chair in hygiene at a women's college in Rome. 31. where her methods proved extremely successful. holding a chair in anthropology from 1904 to 1908. where she became interested in the educational problems of mentally retarded children. During these years she continued her studies of philosophy.) he Italian educator Maria Montessori originated the educational system that bears her name. In 1922 she was appointed government inspector of schools in Italy. a preschool for children ages three to six from the San Lorenzo slum district of Rome. applying her methods now to children of normal intelligence. she settled in The Netherlands. 1870. India. Her successes led to the opening of other Montessori schools. 215 T . The Montessori system is based on belief in the creative potential of children. and establishing teacher-training programs. In 1907 Montessori opened the first Casa dei Bambini ("Children's House"). After graduating in medicine from the University of Rome in 1896—the first woman in Italy to do so— Montessori was appointed assistant doctor at the psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome. 1952. Between 1899 and 1901 she served as director of the State Orthophrenic School of Rome. and the United States lecturing. psychology. writing. near Ancona.7 Maria Montessori 7 MARIA MONTESSORI (b. Neth. but left the country in 1934 because of the fascist rule. After periods in Spain and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). and their right to be treated as individuals. Noordwijk aan Zee. Italy—d. and for the next 40 years she travelled throughout Europe. their drive to learn. and from 1900 to 1907 she lectured in pedagogy at the University of Rome. May 6. Aug. and education.
as after an enforced effort. Education for a New World (1946). to teach children by supplying concrete materials and organizing situations conducive to learning with these materials. and graduated series of cylinders for small-muscle training. for from a quarter of an hour to an hour." corresponding to certain ages. The materials used were designed specifically to encourage individual rather than cooperative effort. but refreshed and calm. She discovered that certain simple materials aroused in young children an interest and attention not previously thought possible. indifferent to distraction. like butterflies mounted on pins. they would not seem tired. 216 . "Periods of sensitivity. small slabs of wood designed to train the eye in left-toright reading movements. Children between three and six years old would work spontaneously with these materials. These materials included beads arranged in graduated-number units for premathematics instruction. Undisciplined children became settled through such voluntary work. The Secret of Childhood (1936). The teacher provided and demonstrated the special "didactic apparatus" but remained in the background. instead. exist when a child's interest and mental capacity are best suited to the acquisition of certain specialized knowledge. The Advanced Montessori Method (1917–18).7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Montessori scorned conventional classrooms. A large measure of individual initiative and self-direction characterized the Montessori philosophy. Montessori's methods are set forth in such books as Il metodo della pedagogia scientifica (1909. In the Montessori system biological and mental growth are linked. At the end of such a period. and self-education was the keynote of the plan. are fastened each to his place. where "children. Group activity occurred in connection with shared housekeeping chores. leaving the child to handle it for himself." She sought. The Montessori Method).
She became involved in underground activities while still in high school. To her. however. also called Bloody Rosa (German: Blutige Rosa) played a key role in the founding of the Polish Social Democratic Party and the Spartacus League. Ger. 1919. Russian Empire [now in Poland]—d. 1871. The national issue became one of Luxemburg's main themes. stressing democracy and revolutionary mass action to achieve international socialism. Jan. Together with a fellow student. ROSA LUXEMBURG (b. with whom. which grew into the Communist Party of Germany. Leo Jogiches. As a political theoretician Luxemburg developed a humanitarian theory of Marxism. she and her colleagues founded the rival Polish Social Democratic Party. and La mente assorbente (1949. who was to become a lifelong friend and sometime lover. March 5. she soon began to disagree.) he Polish-born German revolutionary and agitator Rosa Luxemburg. and other leading representatives of the Russian social democratic movement. where she studied law and political economy.7 Maria Montessori 7 To Educate the Human Potential (1948). Berlin. In Zürich she became involved in the international socialist movement and met Georgy Valentinovich Plekhanov. Rosa Luxemburg was the youngest of five children of a lower middle-class Jewish family in Russian-ruled Poland. Like many of her radical contemporaries from the Russian Empire who were faced with prison. Consequently. which was to become the nucleus of the future Polish Communist Party. Pol. she challenged both the Russians and the established Polish Socialist Party because of their support of Polish independence. nationalism and 217 T .. receiving a doctorate in 1898. she emigrated to Zürich (1889). The Absorbent Mind). Pavel Axelrod. 15. Zamość.
Reform or Revolution?). she settled in Berlin to work with the largest and most powerful constituent party of the Second International. she had believed that Germany was the country in which world revolution was most likely to originate. using trade-union activity and parliamentary politics. the bourgeoisie. In 1898 the German revisionist Eduard Bernstein had argued that Marxist theory was essentially outdated and that socialism in highly industrialized nations could best be achieved through a gradualist approach. Partei und Gewerkschaften (1906. In 1898. agreed with her. and was imprisoned. The Mass Strike. She went to Warsaw. She now believed it would catch fire in Russia. Until then. participated in the struggle. Luxemburg denied categorically this approach in Sozialreform oder Revolution? (1889. she jumped into the revisionist controversy that divided the party. arguing that parliament was nothing more than a bourgeois sham. in which she defended Marxist orthodoxy and the necessity of revolution. The Russian Revolution of 1905 proved to be the central experience in Rosa Luxemburg's life. though it continued to make headway. especially in the labour movement. Karl Kautsky. the Political Party. the leading theoretician of the Second International.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 national independence were regressive concessions to the class enemy. She consistently underrated nationalist aspirations and stressed socialist internationalism. which she propounded in Massenstreik. Almost at once. the Social Democratic Party of Germany. and the Trade 218 . This became one of her major points of disagreement with Vladimir Lenin and his theory of national selfdetermination. From these experiences emerged her theory of revolutionary mass action. after marrying Gustav Lübeck to obtain German citizenship. and revisionism consequently became a socialist heresy both in Germany and abroad.
however. It was during this time also that she began to agitate for mass actions and broke completely with the established Social Democratic party leadership of August Bebel and Kautsky. she deemphasized the need for a tight party structure. where she wrote Die Akkumulation des Kapitals (1913. which was dedicated to ending the war through revolution and the establishment of a proletarian government. written in prison under the pseudonym Junius. remained small. The organization's theoretical basis was Luxemburg's pamphlet Die Krise der Sozialdemokratie (1916.7 Rosa Luxemburg 7 Unions). she has been repeatedly chastised by orthodox communist parties. In this analysis. In contrast to Lenin. For this. Released from her Warsaw prison. the spontaneous result of "objective conditions." would radicalize the workers and drive the revolution forward. 219 . The Crisis in the German Social Democracy). The Social Democratic Party backed the German government at the outbreak of World War I. who disagreed with her incessant drive toward proletarian radicalization. believing that organization would emerge naturally from the struggle. but Rosa Luxemburg immediately went into opposition. she taught at the Social Democratic Party school in Berlin (1907–14). In this work she agreed with Lenin in advocating the overthrow of the existing regime and the formation of a new International strong enough to prevent a renewed outbreak of mass slaughter. The mass strike. Western as well as Russian. she described imperialism as the result of a dynamic capitalism's expansion into underdeveloped areas of the world. or Spartacus League. Luxemburg advocated the mass strike as the single most important tool of the proletariat. The Accumulation of Capital). In an alliance with Karl Liebknecht and other like-minded radicals. in attaining a socialist victory. she formed the Spartakusbund. The actual influence of the Spartacus group during the war.
28. She was never able. and colours of her world. Aug. 1954. Luxemburg and Liebknecht immediately began agitation to force the new order to the left. blossoms. or flies. smells. however. textures. Luxemburg always remained a believer in democracy as opposed to Lenin's democratic centralism. The Russian Revolution) chastised Lenin's party on its agrarian and national self-determination stands and its dictatorial and terrorist methods. tastes." At age 20 and ill-prepared for both married life and the Paris scene. Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye. Like the Bolsheviks. whose best novels. where her much-loved mother awakened her to the wonders of the natural world—everything that "germinates. largely concerned with the pains and pleasures of love. for she and Liebknecht were assassinated in 1919 by reactionary troops. her Die Russische Revolution (1922. to exercise a decisive influence on the new party. Colette married 220 . Luxemburg and Liebknecht demanded political power for the workers' and soldiers' soviets but were frustrated by the conservative Socialist establishment and the army. France—d. 3. but Luxemburg attempted to limit Bolshevik influence in this new organization. Her greatest strength as a writer is an exact sensory evocation of sounds.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Released from prison by the German revolution (November 1918). In late December 1918. They exercised considerable influence on the public and were a contributing factor in a number of armed clashes in Berlin. Paris) C olette is one of the outstanding French writers of the first half of the 20th century. COLETTE (b. Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was reared in a village in Burgundy. they became founders of the German Communist Party. are remarkable for their command of sensual description. 1873. Jan. In fact.
as were the plays derived from them. Cats. working long hours to keep poverty at bay. 221 . not long after their marriage. editor in chief of the paper Le Matin. 1913) is the Bel-Gazou of the delightful animal story La Paix chez les bêtes (1916. Their daughter (b. and. Colette left Willy in 1906. Claudine in Paris). The Innocent Wife). She was finally divorced from Willy in 1910. Claudine at School). The V agabond) and L'Envers du music-hall (1913.7 Colette 7 the writer and critic Henri Gauthier-Villars ("Willy"). Willy forced her to write— but published as his own work—the four "Claudine" novels. an independently wealthy lesbian who affected male dress and mocked the masculine manner. and in 1912 she married Henry de Jouvenel. she was involved with the Marquise de Balbeuf ("Missy"). Retreat from Love). who narrates the fourth Claudine book. 15 years her senior. she saw none of her earnings. Claudine à l'école (1900. Willy kept the royalties. For these novels. Both Claudine and the passive. to which she contributed theatre chronicles and short stories. republished as Claudine amoureuse. Locking her in a room to encourage her to focus on the task at hand. she took a job as a music-hall performer. some stories translated as Dogs. & I). he discovered her talent for writing. During these years (roughly 1906–10). translated as The Indulgent Husband). and Claudine s'en va: Journal d'Annie (1903. both as a girl from the provinces and as a young married woman with a libertine husband. Music-Hall Sidelights). Ever resourceful. Claudine à Paris (1901. which was published under the name Colette Willy. reappear in Colette's La Retraite sentimentale (1907. Though her slightly salacious novels were wildly popular. to produce scenes from the life of the young ingénue. Claudine en menage (1902. He introduced her to the world of Parisian salons and the demimonde. Colette drew on her own experiences. This period of her life inspired La V agabonde (1910. domestic Annie.
In 1935. The Last of Chéri). dealing with a liaison between a young man (Chéri) and an older woman. which concerns a tender and acid initiation to love. The Ripening Seed). and Le Blé en herbe (1923. Colette wrote on a number of topics. the story of a girl reared by two elderly sisters to become a courtesan. The second vein looked back to the countryside of her enchanted childhood and away from the pleasures and disillusions of shallow love affairs. The Pure and the Impure]). In Ces Plaisirs (1932. The first vein followed the lives of the slightly depraved.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 The writings she published up to this point belong to what Colette called her years of apprenticeship. starring Maurice Chevalier. 222 . Close to Colette). she married the writer Maurice Goudeket. La Chatte (1933. as Goudeket recorded in his memoirs Près de Colette (1955. "Those Pleasures. My Mother's House) and Sido (1930) are her poetic meditations on these years. My Apprenticeships). La Maison de Claudine (1922." later published as Le Pur et l'impur [1941. Louis Jourdan. she wrote of them in Mes Apprentissages (1936. she examined aspects of female sexuality. The marriage brought much happiness. postwar younger generation. having divorced de Jouvenel the previous year. A charming musical film version of 1958. After 1930 her life was both productive and serene. Colette was made a member of the Belgian Royal Academy (1935) and the French Académie Goncourt (1945) and a grand officer of the Legion of Honour—all honours rarely granted to women. Among these novels are Chéri (1920) and La Fin de Chéri (1926. During her last two decades. and a winsome Leslie Caron. Gigi (1944). enjoyed great popularity. The Cat) and Duo (1934) are treatments of jealousy. was adapted for both stage and screen. Her best work was produced after 1920 and followed two veins.
France) he eccentric Modernist writer and self-styled genius Gertrude Stein was known less for her writing than for the salon she held in her Paris home in the period between World Wars I and II. Feb. She entered the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women (renamed Radcliffe College in 1894). until 1909. her style a blend of the sophisticated and the natural. such as husband hunters or discarded. Allegheny City [now in Pittsburgh]. such as Pablo Picasso (who painted her T 223 . Neuilly-sur-Seine. Toklas (1877–1967). Stein spent her infancy in Vienna and in Passy. She lived with Leo. 3. or déclassé mistresses. and received her degree in 1898. Her chosen format was the novella. and her girlhood in Oakland. a legendary figure surrounded by her beloved cats. She ended her days. From 1949 she was increasingly crippled by arthritis. Stein and her brother were among the first collectors of works by the Cubists and other experimental painters of the period. where she studied psychology with the philosopher William James. moved first to London and then to Paris. confined to her beautiful Palais-Royal apartment overlooking Paris.. France. where she was able to live by private means. GERTRUDE STEIN (b. July 27.7 Colette 7 A delicate and humorous realist. Colette was the annalist of female existence. She studied at Johns Hopkins Medical School from 1897 to 1902 and then. laced with all the subtle cadences of sensuous pleasures and intuitive acumen. who became an accomplished art critic. She wrote chiefly of women in traditional roles. U. thereafter she lived with her lifelong companion Alice B. 1874.— d. 1946. with her older brother Leo. aging. California.S. Pa.
Toklas (1933). has been called a minor masterpiece. Thomson also wrote the music for her second opera. The performance in the United States of her Four Saints in Three Acts (1934). In her own work. Her first published book. based on the life of feminist Susan 224 . The Making of Americans. Among her work that was most thoroughly influenced by Cubism is Tender Buttons (1914). a long composition written in 1906–11 but not published until 1925. Three Lives (1909). she attempted to parallel the theories of Cubism. and her chance remarks could make or destroy reputations. and Georges Braque." including Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway. which carries fragmentation and abstraction to an extreme. which is based on lectures that she gave at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and was issued as a book in 1926. The Mother of Us All (published 1947). and other visitors drawn by her literary reputation. actually Stein's own autobiography. was too convoluted and obscure for general readers. led to a triumphal American lecture tour in 1934–35. The best explanation of her theory of writing is found in the essay Composition and Explanation. Henri Matisse. Her literary and artistic judgments were revered.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 portrait)." Her only book to reach a wide public was The Autobiography of Alice B. specifically in her concentration on the illumination of the present moment (for which she often relied on the present perfect tense) and her use of slightly varied repetitions and extreme simplification and fragmentation. several of whom became her friends. for whom she remained essentially the author of such lines as "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. which the composer Virgil Thomson had made into an opera. the stories of three working-class women. At her salon they mingled with expatriate American writers whom she dubbed the "Lost Generation.
and Beethoven.—d. Wagner. U. 14. 1877 or May 27. 1878. Sept. She wrote about these soldiers in Brewsie and Willie (1946). San Francisco. ISADORA DUNCAN (b. an approach she later used consciously in her interpretations of the works of such great composers as Brahms. May 26. T 225 . "Q. Although Duncan's birth date is generally believed to have been May 27. Nice. Anthony. a music teacher. 1927. especially after surviving the German occupation of France and befriending the many young American servicemen who visited her. in Chicago and New York City. With her meagre savings she sailed on a cattle boat for England. France) he American dancer Isadora Duncan (born Angela Duncan) helped free ballet from its conservative restrictions through her teaching and performances and presaged the development of modern expressive dance. Her earliest public appearances... 1878. her baptismal certificate. The eccentric Stein was not modest in her selfestimation: "Einstein was the creative philosophic mind of the century. met with little success. Calif. She was one of four children brought up in genteel poverty by their mother. and at age 21 she left the United States to seek recognition abroad." She became a legend in Paris. She was among the first to raise interpretive dance to the status of creative art.7 Gertrude Stein 7 B.S. records the date of May 26.E.D. and I have been the creative literary mind of the century." was first published in Things as They Are (1950). One of Stein's early short stories. 1877. As a child she rejected the rigidity of the classic ballet and based her dancing on more natural rhythms and movements. discovered in San Francisco in 1976.
distinguished by a complete freedom of movement. and France were less successful than 226 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 At the British Museum her study of the sculptures of ancient Greece confirmed the classical use of those dance movements and gestures that hitherto instinct alone had caused her to practice and upon a revival of which her method was largely founded. Patrick Campbell. who as impresario was soon to lead a resurgence of ballet throughout western Europe. Her subsequent tours in South America. and the United States. Duncan made a deep impression on the choreographer Michel Fokine and on the art critic Serge Diaghilev. Through the patronage of the celebrated actress Mrs. and at one time or another she founded dance schools in Germany. quite as much as her art. Deirdre. was Paris Singer. During her controversial first tour of Russia in 1905. In 1913 a tragedy occurred from which Duncan never really recovered: The car in which her two children and their nurse were riding in Paris rolled into the Seine River and all three were drowned. The father of her first child. though none of these survived. the heir to a sewing machine fortune and a prominent art patron. was the stage designer Gordon Craig. the father of her second child. Germany. Russia. where her dancing. kept her name in the headlines owing to her constant defiance of social taboos. In an effort to sublimate her grief she was about to open another school when the advent of World War I put an end to her plans. It was not long before the phenomenon of a young woman dancing barefoot. which was then in a period of decay. as scantily clad as a woodland nymph. Patrick. Her private life. Duncan toured widely. she was invited to appear at the private receptions of London's leading hostesses. who shared her abhorrence of marriage. enraptured those who were familiar only with the conventional forms of the ballet. crowded theatres and concert halls throughout Europe.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images 227 .7 Isadora Duncan 7 Expressive movement. which stretched the boundaries of traditional dance in the late 19th century. was American dancer Isadora Duncan's stock in trade.
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 before. but she was often an object of attack by the less broad-minded. and she and her husband were unjustly labeled as Bolshevik agents. in 1925. whose work had won him a considerable reputation. the Soviet Union seemed the land of promise. Isadora Duncan was acclaimed by the foremost musicians. sacrificing her scruples against marriage in order to take him with her on a tour of the United States. I shall never see you again!" She never did. a poet 17 years younger than she. My Life. was published in 1927 (reissued 1972). Fear of the "Red Menace" was at its height. Her ideas were too much in advance of their time. artists. a bitter Duncan told reporters: "Good-bye America. There she met Sergey Aleksandrovich Yesenin. and she flouted social conventions too flamboyantly to be regarded by the wider public as anything but an advocate of "free love. She married him in 1922. To her revolutionary temperament. Her autobiography. living precariously in Nice on the French Riviera. committed suicide. and writers of her day. During the last years of her life Duncan was a somewhat pathetic figure. but in 1920 she was invited to establish a school of her own in Moscow. There followed an unhappy period with Yesenin in Europe." Certainly her place as a great innovator in dance is secure: her repudiation of artificial technical restrictions and reliance on the grace of natural movement helped to liberate the dance from its dependence on rigid formulas and on displays of brilliant but empty technical virtuosity. 228 . She could not have chosen a worse time for their arrival. where she met with a fatal accident: her long scarf became entangled in the rear wheel of the car in which she was riding. and she was strangled. He returned alone to the Soviet Union and. where his increasing mental instability turned him against her. Leaving her native country once more.
but the charges were dropped in 1916. MARGARET SANGER (b. Sept.. U. She was arrested and charged with maintaining a "public nuisance. to J. The Woman Rebel. 14.Y. Later that year she opened in Brooklyn the first birth-control clinic in the United States. advocating her views. uncontrolled fertility. high rates of infant and maternal mortality. Slee in 1922. and distributed a pamphlet. Noah H." The sixth of 11 children. In 1912 Sanger gave up nursing to devote herself to the cause of birth control. These observations made Sanger a feminist who believed in every woman's right to avoid unwanted pregnancies. 6. After a brief teaching career she practiced obstetrical nursing on the Lower East Side of New Y City. and others. ork where she witnessed the relationships among poverty. She was married twice. She was indicted for mailing materials advocating birth control. and deaths from botched illegal abortions.—d. Margaret Louisa Higgins attended Claverack College and then took nurse's training in New York at the White Plains Hospital and the Manhattan Eye and Ear Clinic. 1966. 1879." and in 1917 she served 30 days in the 229 .) M argaret Sanger founded the birth-control movement in the United States and was an international leader in the field. after a divorce. Sept. she is credited with originating the term "birth control. Martha Graham. In fact.7 Isadora Duncan 7 paving the way for the later acceptance of modern dance as it was developed by Mary Wigman. N. Family Limitation. Ariz. to William Sanger in 1900 and. In 1914 she issued a short-lived magazine. Tucson. and she devoted herself to removing the legal barriers to publicizing the facts about contraception.S. Corning.
and she was the first president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (founded 1953). 1968. with Sanger as honorary chairman.S. 230 T . which in 1942 became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 1880.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Queens penitentiary. also organized the first World Population Conference in Geneva in 1927. Her sentencing and subsequent episodes of legal harrassment helped to crystallize public opinion in favour of the birth-control movement. Among her numerous books are What Every Mother Should Know (1917). the first issue of her periodical The Birth Control Review was published. especially India and Japan.—d.) he American author and educator Helen Keller was blind and deaf. Sanger. Tuscumbia. Her education and training represent an extraordinary accomplishment in the education of people with these disabilities. My Fight for Birth Control (1931). June 1. The league was one of the parent organizations of the Birth Control Federation of America. HELEN KELLER (b. June 27. U. and she served as its president until 1928. in 1936. Conn. Ala. In 1921 Sanger founded the American Birth Control League. Westport. and Margaret Sanger: An Autobiography (1938).. Subsequently she took her campaign for birth control to Asian countries. who had traveled to Europe to study the issue of birth control there. Sanger's legal appeals prompted the federal courts first to grant physicians the right to give advice about birth-control methods and then. to reinterpret the Comstock Act of 1873 (which had classified contraceptive literature and devices as obscene materials) in such a way as to permit physicians to import and prescribe contraceptives. While she was serving time.
231 .C. Washington.7 Helen Keller 7 Helen Keller (left) with her teacher. D. Library of Congress. Anne Sullivan.
Bok accepted her articles for the Ladies' Home Journal. My Religion (1927). a remarkable teacher. Anne Sullivan (Macy) from the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston. remained with Keller from March 1887 until her own death in October 1936. and other major magazines—The Century. She won admission to Radcliffe College in 1900 and graduated cum laude in 1904. and at 16 she entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies in Massachusetts. McClure's. At age six she was examined by the Scottish-born American audiologist Alexander Graham Bell. Optimism (1903). and mute. a subject then taboo in women's magazines because of the relationship of many cases to venereal disease. and 232 . The World I Live In (1908). Helen Keller's Journal (1938). to read sentences by feeling raised words on cardboard. deaf. including The Story of My Life (1903). Sullivan. At age 14 she enrolled in the WrightHumason School for the Deaf in New York City.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Helen Adams Keller was afflicted at the age of 19 months with an illness (possibly scarlet fever) that left her blind. Edward W. also in Boston. which Bell's son-in-law directed. who sent to her a 20-year-old teacher. and The Atlantic Monthly—followed suit. Keller began to write of blindness. She wrote of her life in several books. Then she began a slow process of learning to speak under Sarah Fuller of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf. During 1888–90 she spent winters at the Perkins Institution learning braille. She also learned to lip-read by placing her fingers on the lips and throat of the speaker while the words were simultaneously spelled out for her. Within months Keller had learned to feel objects and associate them with words spelled out by finger signals on her palm. and to make her own sentences by arranging words in a frame. Having developed skills never approached by any similarly disabled person.
founded the United Kingdom's first instructional clinic for contraception. Oct. especially from Roman Catholics. Surrey. Stopes obtained a science degree (1902) from University College. primarily on behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind. for which she later established a $2 million endowment fund. Stopes grew up in a wealthy. MARIE STOPES (b.7 Helen Keller 7 The Open Door (1957). which she completed in only two years. London. In 1913 she began lecturing (with the aid of an interpreter). Eng. 19. and her lecture tours took her several times around the world. Her efforts to improve treatment of the deaf and the blind were influential in removing the disabled from asylums. near Dorking. writings. she greatly influenced the Church of England's gradual relaxation (from 1930) of its stand against birth control.) M arie Stopes (in full Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes) was an advocate of birth control who. which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1960 and was subsequently made into a motion picture (1962) that won two Academy Awards. 1880. educated family. Edinburgh. 1959). 2. Scot. in 1921. 15. Oct. Oct. Although her clinical work. She also prompted the organization of commissions for the blind in 30 states by 1937. That same year she became an assistant lecturer of botany at 233 .—d. Keller's childhood training with Anne Sullivan was depicted in William Gibson's play The Miracle Worker (New York opening. earning a doctorate from the University of Munich in 1904. her father was an architect. and speeches evoked violent opposition. 1958. her mother a scholar of Shakespeare and an advocate for the education of women. She went on to do postgraduate studies in paleobotany (fossil plants).
Her failed marriage and its eventual annulment in 1916 played a large role in determining her future career. Roe aircraft firm. the most comprehensive treatment of the subject.V. and childbirth and their meaning in society. He helped her in the crusade that she then began. a botanist named Reginald Ruggles Gates. in the working-class Holloway district of London. a platform from which she spoke widely about the benefits of married women having healthy. Their original birth-control clinic—designed to educate women about the few methods of birth control available to them—was founded three years later. In the meantime she wrote Married Love and Wise Parenthood (both 1918). In 1918 Stopes married Humphrey Verdon Roe. causing her to turn her attention to the issues of sex. That same year she became founder and president of the Society for Constructive Birth Control. desired babies. She initially saw birth control as an aid to marriage fulfillment and as a means to save women from the physical strain of excessive childbearing. She married her first husband. who were more concerned with social good. marriage. who also had strong interests in the birth-control movement. such as the elimination of overpopulation and poverty. she differed from most other early leaders of the birthcontrol movement.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 the University of Manchester. History and Practice (1923) was. which were widely translated. when it first appeared. In this regard for quality of life of the individual woman. 234 . She specialized in fossil plants and the problems of coal mining. Stopes would later assert that her marriage was unconsummated and that she knew little about sex when she first married. Her Contraception: Its Theory. After World War II she promoted birth control in East Asian countries. cofounder of the A. in 1911.
she went on a European tour to Riga. Russia—d. joined the Imperial Ballet in 1899. But her experience of touring with a small group had given her a taste for independence. Pavlova learned her art from teachers who were themselves great dancers. and. The place and time of Pavlova's birth could hardly have been better for a child with an innate talent for dancing. with a few other dancers. St. By this time she had already danced Giselle with considerable success. Jan. and Prague. although Pavlova's mother was poor—Anna's father had died when she was two years old—the child was accepted for training at the Imperial School of Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Jan. Berlin. Neth. 23. That year. Following ballet tradition. and she T 235 . Petersburg in 1891.7 Anna Pavlova 7 ANNA PAVLOVA (b. Copenhagen. Entry was by examination. Almost immediately. In 1909 the impresario Serge Diaghilev staged a historic season of Russian ballet in Paris. in 1907. After 1913 she danced independently with her own company throughout the world. 1881. She graduated to the Imperial Ballet in 1899 and rose steadily through the grades to become prima ballerina in 1906. Petersburg. and became a prima ballerina in 1906. Pavlova studied at the Imperial School of Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre from 1891. 1931. In 1909 she went to Paris on the historic tour of the Ballets Russes. Tsarist Russia maintained magnificent imperial schools for the performing arts. 12. the pattern of her life began to emerge. Stockholm. New Style]. and Pavlova appeared briefly with the company there and later in London. and another tour took place in 1908. 31 [Feb.) he Russian ballerina Anna Pavlovna Pavlova was the most celebrated dancer of her time. She was acclaimed. The Hague.
and incarnate magic. Pavlova's own performances left those who watched them with a lasting memory of disciplined grace. her frontiers were extended. Her destiny was not. she danced in New York City and London in 1910 with Mikhail Mordkin. which inevitably was largely a well-trained. with various partners (including Laurent Novikov and Pierre Vladimirov) and companies.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 never became part of Diaghilev's closely knit Ballets Russes. La Fille mal gardée ("The Girl Poorly Managed"). Her visits to India and Japan led her to a 236 . Gavotte. together with her single choreographic endeavour. which were endowed by her with an inimitable enchantment: The Dragonfly. Autumn Leaves (1918). Russian. These tours were managed by her husband. she was a wandering missionary for her art. Polish. of which she was an outstanding interpreter. dedicated band of young disciples. or Giselle. giving a vast number of people their introduction to ballet. as was theirs. were the succession of ephemeral solos. The most famous numbers. the powerful and elusive one of true glamour. Pavlova's enthusiasm for ethnic dances was reflected in her programs. however. Californian Poppy. above all. took her to remote parts of the world. Once she left the Imperial Ballet in 1913. Her quality was. Pavlova's independent tours. For the rest of her life. poetic movement. They danced excerpts or adaptations of Mariinsky successes such as Don Quixote. While she was still taking leave from the Mariinsky Theatre. which began in 1914. The repertoire of Anna Pavlova's company was in large part conventional. Victor Dandré. The Fairy Doll. and Mexican dances were performed. Whatever the limitations of the rest of the company. and Christmas are names that lingered in the thoughts of her audiences. to innovate but simply to show the beauties of classical ballet throughout the world.
London. Pavlova's burden was extreme. and in this way playing an important part in the renaissance of the dance in India. March 28. and. therefore. She loved birds and animals. She compiled these studies into Oriental Impressions. beside which she was photographed and filmed. Hampstead. her technique was faltering. Sr. These film sequences are among the few extant of her and are included in a compilation called The Immortal Swan. its financial stability. in 1911. that. the source of its public appeal. and there were no children. as when. by the actor Douglas Fairbanks. Jan. her maternal instincts spent themselves on her company and on a home for Russian refugee orphans. It was hardly surprising. Her home in London. she quarreled with Mordkin. by the end of her life. recalling her most famous solo. in 1924. Because she was the company's raison d'être. near Rodmell. collaborating on the Indian scenes with Uday Shankar. Ivy House. became famous for the ornamental lake with swans. Sussex) E nglish writer Virginia Woolf is noted mainly for a group of novels that through their nonlinear approaches to 237 . 1882. therefore.—d. 1941.7 Anna Pavlova 7 serious study of their dance techniques. 25. together with some extracts from her solos filmed one afternoon in Hollywood. Pavlova's personal life was undramatic apart from occasional professional headlines. which she founded in Paris in 1920. and she was relying increasingly on her unique qualities of personality. which the choreographer Michel Fokine had created for her in 1905. later to become one of the greatest performers of Indian dance. VIRGINIA WOOLF (b. Eng. Victor Dandré. For some time she kept secret her marriage to her manager. The Dying Swan.
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narrative, exerted a major influence on the genre. While she is best known for her novels, especially Mrs. Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927), Woolf also wrote pioneering essays on artistic theory, literary history, women's writing, and the politics of power. A fine stylist, she experimented with several forms of biographical writing, composed painterly short fictions, and sent to her friends and family a lifetime of brilliant letters.
Early Life and Influences
Born Adeline Virginia Stephen, she was the child of ideal Victorian parents. Her father, Leslie Stephen, was an eminent literary figure and the first editor (1882–91) of the Dictionary of National Biography. Her mother, Julia Jackson, possessed great beauty and a reputation for saintly self-sacrifice; she also had prominent social and artistic connections, which included Julia Margaret Cameron, her aunt and one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 19th century. Both Jackson's first husband, Herbert Duckworth, and Stephen's first wife, a daughter of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, had died unexpectedly, leaving her three children and him one. Julia Jackson Duckworth and Leslie Stephen married in 1878, and four children followed: Vanessa (born 1879), Thoby (born 1880), Virginia (born 1882), and Adrian (born 1883). While these four children banded together against their older half siblings, loyalties shifted among them. Virginia was jealous of Adrian for being their mother's favourite. At age nine, she was the genius behind a family newspaper, the Hyde Park Gate News, that often teased Vanessa and Adrian. Vanessa mothered the others, especially Virginia, but the dynamic between need (Virginia's) and aloofness (Vanessa's) sometimes expressed itself as
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rivalry between Virginia's art of writing and Vanessa's of painting. The Stephen family made summer migrations from their London town house near Kensington Gardens to the rather disheveled Talland House on the rugged Cornwall coast. That annual relocation structured Virginia's childhood world in terms of opposites: city and country, winter and summer, repression and freedom, fragmentation and wholeness. Her neatly divided, predictable world ended, however, when her mother died in 1895 at age 49. Virginia, at 13, ceased writing amusing accounts of family news. Almost a year passed before she wrote a cheerful letter to her brother Thoby. She was just emerging from depression when, in 1897, her half sister Stella Duckworth died at age 28, an event Virginia noted in her diary as "impossible to write of." Then in 1904, after her father died, Virginia had a nervous breakdown. While Virginia was recovering, Vanessa supervised the Stephen children's move to the bohemian Bloomsbury section of London. There the siblings lived independent of their Duckworth half brothers, free to pursue studies, to paint or write, and to entertain. Leonard Woolf dined with them in November 1904, just before sailing to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to become a colonial administrator. Soon the Stephens hosted weekly gatherings of radical young people, including Clive Bell, Lytton Strachey, and John Maynard Keynes, all later to achieve fame as, respectively, an art critic, a biographer, and an economist. Then, after a family excursion to Greece in 1906, Thoby died of typhoid fever. He was 26. Virginia grieved but did not slip into depression. She overcame the loss of Thoby and the "loss" of Vanessa, who became engaged to Bell just after Thoby's death, through writing. Vanessa's marriage (and perhaps Thoby's absence) helped transform conversation at the avant-garde gatherings of what came
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to be known as the Bloomsbury group into irreverent, sometimes bawdy repartee that inspired Virginia to exercise her wit publicly, even while privately she was writing her poignant Reminiscences—about her childhood and her lost mother—which was published in 1908. Viewing Italian art that summer, she committed herself to creating in language "some kind of whole made of shivering fragments," to capturing "the flight of the mind."
Early Fiction
Virginia Stephen determined in 1908 to "re-form" the novel by creating a holistic form embracing aspects of life that were "fugitive" from the Victorian novel. While writing anonymous reviews for the Times Literary Supplement and other journals, she experimented with such a novel, which she called Melymbrosia. In November 1910, Roger Fry, a new friend of the Bells, launched the exhibit "Manet and the Post-Impressionists," which introduced radical European art to the London bourgeoisie. Virginia was at once outraged over the attention that painting garnered and intrigued by the possibility of borrowing from the likes of artists Paul Cézanne and Pablo Picasso. As Clive Bell was unfaithful, Vanessa began an affair with Fry, and Fry began a lifelong debate with Virginia about the visual and verbal arts. In the summer of 1911, Leonard Woolf returned from the East. After he resigned from the colonial service, Leonard and Virginia married in August 1912. She continued to work on her first novel; he wrote the anticolonialist novel The Village in the Jungle (1913) and The Wise Virgins (1914), a Bloomsbury exposé. Then he became a political writer and an advocate for peace and justice. Between 1910 and 1915, Virginia's mental health was precarious. Nevertheless, she completely recast Melymbrosia
7 Virginia Woolf
Dust jacket designed by V anessa Bell for the first edition of Virginia Woolf 's To the Lighthouse, published by the Hogarth Press in 1927. Between the Covers Rare Books, Merchantville, N.J. 241
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as The Voyage Out in 1913. She based many of her novel's characters on real-life prototypes: Lytton Strachey, Leslie Stephen, her half brother George Duckworth, Clive and Vanessa Bell, and herself. Rachel Vinrace, the novel's central character, is a sheltered young woman who, on an excursion to South America, is introduced to freedom and sexuality (though from the novel's inception she was to die before marrying). Woolf first made Terence, Rachel's suitor, rather Clive-like; as she revised, Terence became a more sensitive, Leonard-like character. After an excursion up the Amazon, Rachel contracts a terrible illness that plunges her into delirium and then death. As possible causes for this disaster, Woolf 's characters suggest everything from poorly washed vegetables to jungle disease to a malevolent universe, but the book endorses no explanation. That indeterminacy, at odds with the certainties of the Victorian era, is echoed in descriptions that distort perception: while the narrative often describes people, buildings, and natural objects as featureless forms, Rachel, in dreams and then delirium, journeys into surrealistic worlds. Rachel's voyage into the unknown began Woolf 's voyage beyond the conventions of realism. Woolf 's manic-depressive worries (that she was a failure as a writer and a woman, that she was despised by Vanessa and unloved by Leonard) provoked a suicide attempt in September 1913. Publication of The Voyage Out was delayed until early 1915; then, that April, she sank into a distressed state in which she was often delirious. Later that year she overcame the "vile imaginations" that had threatened her sanity. She kept the demons of mania and depression mostly at bay for the rest of her life. In 1917 the Woolfs bought a printing press and founded the Hogarth Press, named for Hogarth House, their home in the London suburbs. The Woolfs themselves (she was the compositor while he worked the press) published their
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own Two Stories in the summer of 1917. It consisted of Leonard's Three Jews and Virginia's The Mark on the Wall, the latter about contemplation itself. Since 1910, Virginia had kept (sometimes with Vanessa) a country house in Sussex, and in 1916 Vanessa settled into a Sussex farmhouse called Charleston. She had ended her affair with Fry to take up with the painter Duncan Grant, who moved to Charleston with Vanessa and her children, Julian and Quentin Bell; a daughter, Angelica, would be born to Vanessa and Grant at the end of 1918. Charleston soon became an extravagantly decorated, unorthodox retreat for artists and writers, especially Clive Bell, who continued on friendly terms with Vanessa, and Fry, Vanessa's lifelong devotee. Virginia had kept a diary, off and on, since 1897. In 1919 she envisioned "the shadow of some kind of form which a diary might attain to," organized not by a mechanical recording of events but by the interplay between the objective and the subjective. Her diary, as she wrote in 1924, would reveal people as "splinters & mosaics; not, as they used to hold, immaculate, monolithic, consistent wholes." Such terms later inspired critical distinctions, based on anatomy and culture, between the feminine and the masculine, the feminine being a varied but all-embracing way of experiencing the world and the masculine a monolithic or linear way. Critics using these distinctions have credited Woolf with evolving a distinctly feminine diary form, one that explores, with perception, honesty, and humour, her own ever-changing, mosaic self. Proving that she could master the traditional form of the novel before breaking it, she plotted her next novel in two romantic triangles, with its protagonist Katharine in both. Night and Day (1919) answers Leonard's The Wise Virgins, in which he had his Leonard-like protagonist lose the Virginia-like beloved and end up in a conventional
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marriage. In Night and Day, the Leonard-like Ralph learns to value Katharine for herself, not as some superior being. And Katharine overcomes (as Virginia had) class and familial prejudices to marry the good and intelligent Ralph. This novel focuses on the very sort of details that Woolf had deleted from The Voyage Out: credible dialogue, realistic descriptions of early 20th-century settings, and investigations of issues such as class, politics, and suffrage. Woolf was writing nearly a review a week for the Times Literary Supplement in 1918. Her essay Modern Novels (1919; revised in 1925 as Modern Fiction) attacked the "materialists" who wrote about superficial rather than spiritual or "luminous" experiences. The Woolfs also printed by hand, with Vanessa Bell's illustrations, Virginia's Kew Gardens (1919), a story organized, like a Post-Impressionistic painting, by pattern. With the Hogarth Press's emergence as a major publishing house, the Woolfs gradually ceased being their own printers. In 1919 they bought a cottage in Rodmell village called Monk's House, which looked out over the Sussex Downs and the meadows where the River Ouse wound down to the English Channel. Virginia could walk or bicycle to visit Vanessa, her children, and a changing cast of guests at the bohemian Charleston and then retreat to Monk's House to write. She envisioned a new book that would apply the theories of Modern Novels and the achievements of her short stories to the novel form. In early 1920 a group of friends, evolved from the early Bloomsbury group, began a "Memoir Club," which met to read irreverent passages from their autobiographies. Her second presentation was an exposé of Victorian hypocrisy, especially that of George Duckworth, who masked inappropriate, unwanted caresses as affection honouring their mother's memory. In 1921 Woolf 's minimally plotted short fictions were gathered in Monday or Tuesday. Meanwhile, typesetting
Major Period At the beginning of 1924. Dalloway. so that "the sane and the insane" would exist "side by side. a Mr. revised later that year as the Hogarth Press pamphlet Mr. Woolf thought of a foiling device that would pair that highly sensitive woman with a shell-shocked war victim. Smith. The emptiness of Jacob's room and the irrelevance of his belongings convey in their minimalism the profound emptiness of loss. Also in 1924 Woolf gave a talk at Cambridge called Character in Fiction. transforming personal grief over the death of Thoby Stephen into a "spiritual shape." Her aim was to "tunnel" into these two characters until Clarissa Dalloway's affirmations meet Septimus Smith's negations. 1910"—during Fry's exhibit "Manet and the Post245 . In On Re-Reading Novels (1922). she leaves out plot. where they were less isolated from London society. Though Jacob's Room is an antiwar novel. Woolf feared that she had ventured too far beyond representation. she began a new novel written in blocks to be surrounded by white spaces. Woolf argued that the novel was not so much a form but an "emotion which you feel. Soon the aristocratic Vita Sackville-West began to court Virginia. to graft such experimental techniques onto more-substantial characters. Brown.7 Virginia Woolf 7 having heightened her sense of visual layout. In it she celebrated the breakdown in patriarchal values that had occurred "in or about December." as she wrote Clive Bell. conflict. the Woolfs moved their city residence from the suburbs back to Bloomsbury." Though she takes Jacob from childhood to his early death in war. even character. She vowed to "push on. Bennett and Mrs." In Jacob's Room (1922) she achieved such emotion. Having already written a story about a Mrs. a relationship that would blossom into a lesbian affair.
In Mrs. Woolf wished to build on her achievement in Mrs. To the Lighthouse—published on May 5. The main characters are connected by motifs and. . conversation as winning points. Clarissa gives a grand party and Septimus commits suicide. As a novel. rather. Ramsay. mistreating) Septimus arrives at Clarissa's party with news of the death. her youngest son—like Julia and Adrian Stephen—sit in the French window of the Ramsays' summer home while a houseguest named Lily Briscoe paints them and James begs to go to a nearby lighthouse. . The first section. In the climactic dinner-party scene. "The Window. but he needs sympathy from his wife. she felt. As an elegy. the boorish doctors presume to understand personality." The novel's middle "Time Passes" section focuses on the empty house during a 10-year hiatus and the lastminute housecleaning for the returning Ramsays. Mr. she inspires such harmony and composure that the moment "partook. the 32nd anniversary of Julia Stephen's death—evoked childhood summers at Talland House. it broke narrative continuity into a tripartite structure. At the end of the day. She is more attuned to emotions than reason. of eternity.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Impressionists"— and she attacked "materialist" novelists for omitting the essence of character. and life as a tally of accomplishments. Dalloway by merging the novelistic and elegiac forms. finally. like Leslie Stephen. sees poetry as didacticism. Dalloway (1925). Their lives come together when the doctor who was treating (or. Ramsay and James. 1927. He uses logic to deflate hopes for a trip to the lighthouse. Woolf 246 ." begins as Mrs. but its essence evades them. by Clarissa's intuiting why Septimus threw his life away. This novel is as patterned as a Post-Impressionist painting but is also so accurately representational that the reader can trace Clarissa's and Septimus's movements through the streets of London on a single day in June 1923. .
Woolf herself writes in mock-heroic imitation of biographical styles that change over the same period of time. revising it according to shifting poetic conventions. Orlando: A Biography (1928) exposes the artificiality 247 . The Art of Fiction and The New Biography. and personal dilemmas with the story of Orlando. but she merely announces such major events as the deaths of Mrs. Thus. To the Lighthouse melds into its structure questions about creativity and the nature and function of art. historical." Woolf brings Mr. Woolf sought to reclaim Sackville-West through a "biography" that would include Sackville family history. Lily Briscoe. biographers should yoke truth with imagination. Ramsay and a son and daughter. In two 1927 essays. his youngest children (James and Cam). and lives into the 20th century. As Mr. experiences debilitating gender constraints. and her painting (in which mother and child are reduced to two shapes with a line between them) echoes the abstract structure of Woolf 's profoundly elegiac novel. However restricted by fact. and over the ensuing centuries returns to the poem The Oak Tree. Lily completes her painting. Orlando begins writing poetry during the Renaissance. Ramsay. Lily argues effectively for nonrepresentational but emotive art. he then becomes female. and others from "The Window" back to the house. dust." Their relationship having cooled by 1927. In the novel's third section. who lives from Elizabethan times through the entire 18th century. using history and mythology as models. Ramsay and the now-teenage children reach the lighthouse and achieve a moment of reconciliation. she argued. mold. she wrote that fiction writers should be less concerned with naive notions of reality and more with language and design.7 Virginia Woolf 7 describes the progress of weeds. Woolf solved biographical. "The Lighthouse. "granite-like solidity" with "rainbow-like intangibility. and gusts of wind.
the quintessential Victorian paean to women who sacrifice themselves to men." The W aves offers a six-sided shape that illustrates how each individual experiences events—including their friend's death—uniquely.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 of both gender and genre prescriptions. when the six friends meet at a farewell dinner for another friend leaving for India." a reference to Coventry Patmore's poem of that title. Between the interludes. Orlando also argues for a novelistic approach to biography. Bernard. narrates the final section." Unique though they are (and their prototypes can be identified in the Bloomsbury group). poetic interludes describe the sea and sky from dawn to dusk. This oneness with all creation was the 248 . the writer in the group. In 1921 John Maynard Keynes had told Woolf that her memoir "on George. Woolf blamed women's absence from history not on their lack of brains and talent but on their poverty. Woolf planned a mystical novel that would be similarly impersonal and abstract." presented to the Memoir Club that year or a year earlier. represented her best writing. In The W aves (1931). However fantastic. . Having praised a 1930 exhibit of Vanessa Bell's paintings for their wordlessness. defying death and a world "without a self. In the middle section. She urged women to destroy the "angel in the house. Afterward she was increasingly angered by masculine condescension to female talent. In A Room of One's Own (1929). For her 1931 talk Professions for Women. the voices of six named characters appear in sections that move from their childhood to old age. a whole flower to which every eye brings its own contribution. the single flower at the centre of the dinner table becomes a "seven-sided flower . Woolf studied the history of women's education and employment and argued that unequal opportunities for women negatively affect all of society. the characters become one. just as the sea and sky become indistinguishable in the interludes. .
she began compiling a scrapbook of clippings illustrating the horrors of war. the threat of fascism. In 249 . she relied upon experiences of friends and family from the Victorian Age to the 1930s. Woolf became. Woolf had framed experience in terms of oppositions. Woolf took a holiday from The Pargiters to write a mock biography of Flush. and the oppression of women.7 Virginia Woolf 7 primal experience Woolf had felt as a child in Cornwall. she researched that 50-year span of history. in this case a dog's. The task. with James Joyce and William Faulkner. Through To the Lighthouse and The Waves. In this her most experimental novel. nevertheless. Even before finishing The W aves. For the essays. The discrimination against women that Woolf had discussed in A Room of One's Own and Professions for Women inspired her to plan a book that would trace the story of a fictional family named Pargiter and explain the social conditions affecting family members over a period of time. of moving between fiction and fact was daunting. one of the three major English-language Modernist experimenters in stream-of-consciousness writing. the dog of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Late Work From her earliest days. Lytton Strachey having recently died. Woolf muted her spoof of his biographical method. The "perpetual marriage of granite and rainbow" Woolf described in her essay The New Biography typified her approach during the 1930s to individual works and to a balance between writing works of fact and of imagination. Flush (1933) remains both a biographical satire and a lighthearted exploration of perception. even while she longed for a holistic state beyond binary divisions. she achieved its poetic equivalent. however. In The Pargiters: A Novel-Essay she would alternate between sections of fiction and of fact. For the fictional historical narrative.
fascism. keeping the family narrative. and the painter George Frederick Watts. Woolf connected masculine symbols of authority with militarism and misogyny. cutting epiphanies for Eleanor Pargiter and explicit references to women's bodies. the rise of feminism. colours. Featuring such other eminences as the poet Alfred. Lord Tennyson. Though (or perhaps because) Woolf 's trimming muted the book's radicalism. Virginia was distressed. this riotous play satirizes high-minded Victorian notions of art. Desperate to finish. and sounds and with wholesale deletions. and the threat of another war. Still distressed by the deaths of Roger Fry and Julian Bell. She narrated 50 years of family history through the decline of class and patriarchal systems. Meanwhile. and discrimination. ignorance. When Fry died in 1934. she determined to test her theories about experimental. The Years (1937) became a best-seller. and the book was becoming too long. Vanessa was devastated. Woolf lightened the book with poetic echoes of gestures. and war. an argument buttressed by notes from her clippings about aggression. Privately a lament over Julian's death and publicly a diatribe against war. Three Guineas (1938) proposes answers to the question of how to prevent war. She solved this dilemma by jettisoning the essay sections. Woolf feared she would never finish The Pargiters. objects. The novel illustrates the damage done to women and society over the years by sexual repression. novelistic biography in a life of Fry. was killed in the Spanish Civil War while driving an ambulance for the Republican army. and renaming her book The Years. Alternating between types of prose was proving cumbersome. As she acknowledged 250 . Then in July 1937 Vanessa's elder son. an absurdist drama based on the life of her great-aunt Julia Margaret Cameron.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 1935 Woolf completed Freshwater. Vanessa was so disconsolate that Virginia put aside her writing for a time to try to comfort her sister. Julian Bell.
On March 28. Woolf finished her biography. Though convinced that Roger Fry (1940) was more granite than rainbow. her other half brother.) Through last-minute borrowing from the letters between Fry and Vanessa. war threatens art and humanity itself. Despite Between the Acts's affirmation of the value of art. As another holiday from Fry's biography. and. the recalcitrance of evidence brought her near despair over the possibility of writing an imaginative biography. Against the "grind" of finishing the Fry biography. During the bombing of London in 1940 and 1941. World War II. Facing such horrors. Pointz Hall (later retitled Between the Acts). and her own despair was writing. Woolf wrote a verse play about the history of English literature. Her next novel. Woolf worried that this novel was "too slight" and indeed that all writing was irrelevant when England seemed on the verge of invasion and civilization about to slide over a precipice. a memoir about her mixed feelings toward her parents and her past and about memoir writing itself. in the interplay between the pageant— performed on a June day in 1939—and the audience. Woolf returned to her own childhood with A Sketch of the Past. fearing that she now lacked the resilience to battle 251 . 1941. (Here surfaced for the first time in writing a memory of the teenage Gerald Duckworth. touching her inappropriately when she was a girl of perhaps four or five. Virginia congratulated herself on at least giving back to Vanessa "her Roger. would include the play as a pageant performed by villagers and would convey the gentry's varied reactions to it. In her novel." Woolf 's chief anodyne against Adolf Hitler.7 Virginia Woolf 7 in The Art of Biography (1939). she worked on her memoir and Between the Acts. Woolf raises questions about perception and response. The demons of self-doubt that she had kept at bay for so long returned to haunt her. a depressed Woolf found herself unable to write.
" Being neither single nor fixed. Woolf 's collection of essays The Common Reader (1925) was followed by The Common Reader: Second Series (1932." as she wrote in 1908. she avoids the self-absorption of many of her contemporaries and implies a brutal society without the explicit details some of her contemporaries felt obligatory. she walked behind Monk's House and down to the River Ouse. She continued writing essays on reading and writing. Woolf 's narratives move between inner and outer and between characters without clear demarcations. While Joyce and Faulkner separate one character's interior monologues from another's. and drowned herself. also published as The Second Common Reader). Assessment Woolf 's experiments with point of view confirm that as Bernard thinks in The W aves. women and history. her indeterminacy anticipates a postmodern awareness of the evanescence of boundaries and categories. While Woolf 's fragmented style is distinctly Modernist. Six volumes of diaries (including her early journals). "we are not single. six 252 . perception in her novels is fluid. as is the world she presents. put stones in her pockets. Her nonlinear forms invite reading not for neat solutions but for an aesthetic resolution of "shivering fragments. and class and politics for the rest of her life.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 them. in Samuel Johnson's words. "common" (unspecialized) readers. Woolf 's many essays about the art of writing and about reading itself today retain their appeal to a range of. Between the Acts was published posthumously later that year. Many were collected after her death in volumes edited by Leonard Woolf. Virginia Woolf wrote far more fiction than Joyce and far more nonfiction than either Joyce or Faulkner. Furthermore.
Saumur. Woolf 's haunting language. political. and her revisionist experiments with novelistic form during a remarkably productive career altered the course of Modernist and postmodernist letters. perception and essence. they are serious inquiries into reading and writing." Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was born into poverty in the French countryside. where she also sold simple sportswear. 19. France—d. and the need to reform society. and her father abandoned her to an orphanage. Aug. the novel and the arts. she opened a tiny millinery shop in Deauville. with financial assistance from one of these men. Within five years her original use of jersey fabric to create a "poor girl" look had attracted the attention of influential wealthy 253 T .7 Virginia Woolf 7 volumes of letters. Paris) he French fashion designer Coco Chanel ruled over Parisian haute couture for almost six decades. written anonymously to deadlines for money. Her elegantly casual designs inspired women of fashion to abandon the complicated. Among her now-classic innovations were the Chanel suit. feminist. war and peace. In 1913. and numerous volumes of collected essays show her deep engagement with major 20th-century issues. and the "little black dress. COCO CHANEL (b. Jan. Chanel engaged in liaisons with a series of wealthy men. and many include imaginative settings and whimsical speculations. 1883. such as jersey sweaters. privilege and discrimination. Though many of her essays began as reviews. uncomfortable clothes—such as petticoats and corsets—that were prevalent in 19thcentury dress. costume jewelry. After a brief stint as a shopgirl and a failed attempt to become a café singer. her mother died. class and politics. 10. and artistic issues. her prescient insights into wide-ranging historical. 1971.
who promised to help her market her fragrance in exchange for a share of the profits. classic look. braid-trimmed cardigan jacket with a graceful skirt. meant that she received only 10 percent of its royalties before World War II and only 2 percent afterward. a combination of jasmine and several other floral scents that was more complex and mysterious than the single-scented perfumes then on the market. This situation stabilized in 1983. while always retaining a clean. That Chanel was the first major fashion designer to introduce a perfume and that she replaced the typical perfume packaging with a simple and sleek bottle also added to the scent's success. perfume laboratories." Chanel's designs stressed simplicity and comfort and revolutionized the fashion industry. Unfortunately. one of the most talented perfume creators in France. Chanel's couture house was led by a series of different designers. 5.500 people and included a couture house. a textile business. Despite enacting a series of lawsuits. otherwise it is not luxury. It has been said that the perfume got its name from the series of scents that Beaux created for Chanel to sample—she chose the fifth. Chanel closed her couture house in 1939 with the outbreak of World War II but returned in 1954 to introduce her highly copied suit design: a collarless. and a workshop for costume jewelry. She also introduced bell-bottomed pants and other innovations. After her death in 1971. 254 . Chanel failed to regain control of her signature fragrance. her partnerships with businessmen Théophile Bader and Pierre Wertheimer. the phenomenally successful perfume she introduced in 1922 with the help of Ernst Beaux. By the late 1920s the Chanel industries employed 3. when Karl Lagerfeld became chief designer. The financial basis of this empire was Chanel No. Faithful to her maxim that "luxury must be comfortable.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 women seeking relief from the prevalent corseted styles.
she returned to New York in the summer of 1902 to prepare for her "coming out" into society that winter. began to court her. At age 15 Eleanor enrolled at Allenswood. U. 32nd president of the United States. including teaching in a settlement house on Manhattan's Lower East Side. 7. She grew up in a wealthy family that attached great value to community service. The death of Eleanor's father. Early Life with Franklin Soon after Eleanor returned to New York. she devoted time to community service. She was. 26th president of the United States. New Y ork.—d. Franklin Roosevelt. 1962.7 Eleanor Roosevelt 7 ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (b. was very difficult for her. in New York City. a girls' boarding school outside London. Oct. and they were married on March 17. Both her parents died before she was 10. New Y City) ork E leanor Roosevelt was an American first lady (1933–45). one of the world's most widely admired and powerful women. to whom she had been especially close. the wife of Franklin D. Reluctantly. 11. where she came under the influence of the French headmistress. who later described her three years there as the happiest time of her life.. Nov.Y. Marie Souvestre. 1884. His 255 .S. and a United Nations diplomat and humanitarian. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the daughter of Elliott and Anna Hall Roosevelt and the niece of Theodore Roosevelt. in her time. Souvestre's intellectual curiosity and her taste for travel and excellence—in everything but sports—awakened similar interests in Eleanor. Roosevelt. her distant cousin. N. Following family tradition. 1905. and she and her surviving brother (another brother died when she was 9) were raised by relatives.
witty women continued to attract his attention and claim his time. It was one of the most traumatic events in her life. was with Franklin when he died at Warm Springs. Between 1906 and 1916 Eleanor gave birth to six children. . and she wrote later. With the entry of the United States into World War I in April 1917. and she often commented on how he had to find companions in pleasure elsewhere." including attending formal parties and making social calls in the homes of other government officials. For the most part she found these occasions tedious. where Eleanor was initiated into the job of political wife. . ork the family moved to Albany. Mercer and other glamorous. Franklin refused Eleanor's offer of a divorce and agreed to stop seeing Mercer. and Eleanor spent the next few years performing the social duties expected of an "official wife.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 taste for fun contrasted with her own seriousness. Eleanor was able to resume her volunteer work." In 1918 Eleanor discovered that Franklin had been having an affair with her social secretary. After Franklin won a seat in the New Y Senate in 1911. her friend and biographer.C. Lucy Mercer. Later. Mindful of his political career and fearing the loss of his mother's financial support. and later in 1945 Mercer. the family moved to Washington. D. When Franklin was appointed assistant secretary of the navy in 1913. This work increased her sense of self-worth.. as she later told Joseph Lash. Georgia. "I loved it . She visited wounded soldiers and worked for the Navy–Marine Corps Relief Society and in a Red Cross canteen. The Roosevelts' marriage settled into a routine in which both principals kept independent agendas while remaining respectful of and affectionate toward each other. I simply ate it up. 256 . by then the widow of Winthrop Rutherfurd. But their relationship had ceased to be an intimate one. one of whom died in infancy.
Eleanor found an opportunity to combine the responsibilities of a political hostess with her own burgeoning career and personal independence. and wire services that had not formerly employed women were forced to do so in order to have a representative present in case important news broke. and public opinion. partly as a result of her decision to help in her husband's political career after he was stricken with poliomyelitis in 1921 and partly as a result of her desire to work for important causes. she began studying the Congressional Record and learned to evaluate voting records and debates. She instituted regular White House press conferences for women correspondents. At this time Eleanor's interest in politics increased. she helped serve as his eyes and ears throughout the nation. In the White House During her 12 years as first lady. programs. These unusual excursions were the butt of some criticism and "Eleanor jokes" by her opponents. making several trips a week back and forth between Albany and New York City. but many people responded warmly to 257 . the unprecedented breadth of Eleanor's activities and her advocacy of liberal causes made her nearly as controversial a figure as her husband. She continued to teach at Todhunter.7 Eleanor Roosevelt 7 Franklin ran unsuccessfully for vice president on the Democratic ticket in 1920. She joined the Women's Trade Union League and became active in the New York state Democratic Party. In deference to the president's infirmity. When Franklin became governor of New York in 1929. embarking on extensive tours and reporting to him on conditions. As a member of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the League of Women Voters. a girls' school in Manhattan that she and two friends had purchased.
her compassionate interest in their welfare. when the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to let Marian Anderson. centre) visiting with Children of the American Revolution at the White House. Beginning in 1936. she also wrote a daily syndicated newspaper column. Inc. she showed particular interest in child welfare. the event turned into a massive outdoor celebration 258 . Eleanor resigned her membership in the DAR and arranged to hold the concert at the nearby Lincoln Memorial. housing reform. an African American opera singer. In 1939. Encyclopædia Britannica.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Eleanor Roosevelt (top. perform in Constitution Hall. and equal rights for women and racial minorities." A widely sought-after speaker at political meetings and at various institutions. "My Day. 1935.
working for the election of Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and 1956. and the poor helped to bring groups into government that formerly had been alienated from the political process. She had not initially favoured the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Truman appointed Eleanor a delegate to the United Nations (UN). in 1962. when local officials in Alabama insisted that seating at a public meeting be segregated by race. Eleanor Roosevelt circled the globe several times. visiting scores of countries and meeting with most of the world's leaders. Eleanor carried a folding chair to all sessions and carefully placed it in the centre aisle. She continued to write books and articles.000 people. Roosevelt Library. and she continued with that work until shortly before her death. saying it would take from women the valuable protective legislation that they had fought to win and still needed.7 Eleanor Roosevelt 7 attended by 75. where she served as chairman of the Commission on Human Rights (1946–51) and played a major role in the drafting and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Later Years After President Roosevelt's death in 1945. In 1961 President John F. youth. President Harry S. it 259 . Her defense of the rights of African Americans. her husband's family home on the Hudson River and the site of the Franklin D. In the last decade of her life she continued to play an active part in the Democratic Party. from a rare form of tuberculosis. Kennedy appointed her chair of his Commission on the Status of Women. In many ways. and the last of her "My Day" columns appeared just weeks before her death. On another occasion. An indefatigable traveler. She is buried at Hyde Park. but she gradually embraced it.
one against which all her successors would be judged. in 1909. a lawyer. Göttingen. suggesting that male envy of pregnancy. Ger. and in 1920 she joined the teaching staff of the newly founded Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute. From 1915 to 1920 she engaged in clinical and outpatient psychiatric work in connection with Berlin hospitals. From 1913 to 1915 she studied and entered analysis with Karl Abraham. near Hamburg. and motherhood—of women's primary role in 260 . Karen Danielsen married Oscar Horney.D.Y. KAREN HORNEY (b. Unaffected by the worshipful awe that held many early Freudians to received dogma. the German-born American psychoanalyst Karen Horney proposed an environmental and social basis for the personality and its disorders. 1952. and Berlin. Horney early began to disagree with Freud's view of female psychology.—d. 16. Although she adhered in the main to the outlines of Freudian theory. U. New York.. Blankenese. After a period of medical practice Karen Horney became interested in psychoanalysis. Sept.S. a close associate and disciple of Sigmund Freud. She studied medicine at the universities of Freiburg. 1885.) D eparting from some of the basic principles of Sigmund Freud. she forthrightly rejected such notions as penis envy and other manifestations of male bias in psychoanalytic theory. since she had carved out such an important record as first lady. 4. Dec. degree from the last in 1911. nursing. taking an M.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 was her library too. N. She introduced the concept of womb envy. which he treated as an offshoot of male psychology. She argued instead that the source of much female psychiatric disturbance is located in the very male-dominated culture that had produced Freudian theory.
" The various strategies the child adopts to cope with this anxiety can eventually become persistent and irrational needs that cause both neurosis and personality disorder. in which the child felt "isolated and helpless in a potentially hostile world. Her refusal to adhere to strict Freudian theory caused Horney's expulsion from the New York Psychoanalytic 261 . she suggested that the patient could even learn to psychoanalyze himself. were translated into a new approach to psychoanalytic therapy. determine much of individual personality and are the chief causes of neuroses and personality disorders. Horney and her husband separated in 1926. in which ays she argued that environmental and social conditions. in 1932. She believed that a primary condition responsible for the later development of neurosis was the infant's experience of basic anxiety. rooted as they were in her wide clinical experience. thinking that it was just as important to the goals of psychoanalysis to deal with real-life. During this time. rather than the instinctual or biological drives described by Freud. She sought to help patients identify the specific cause of present anxieties. Many of Horney's ideas. she went to the United States to become associate director of the Institute for Psychoanalysis in Chicago. She moved to New York City in 1934 to return to private practice and teach at the New School for Social Research.7 Karen Horney 7 creating and sustaining life—led men to claim their superiority in other fields. In particular. the death instinct. which she thought could be more adequately explained by cultural and social conditions. Horney objected to Freud's concepts of the libido. In many cases. and the Oedipus complex. and divorced in 1937. The Neurotic Personality of Our Time (1937) and New W in Psychoanalysis (1939). There she produced her major theoretical works. present-day problems as it was to reconstruct childhood emotional states and fantasies.
New York.S. The Karen Horney Foundation was established in New York the year of her death and gave rise in 1955 to the Karen Horney Clinic. U.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Institute in 1941. She gave modern dance new depth as a vehicle for the intense and forceful expression of primal emotions. teacher. Horney founded the association's American Journal of Psychoanalysis and served as its editor until her death in 1952. the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis. N. April 1." Over 50-plus years she created more than 180 works. and its affiliated teaching centre.—d.) M artha Graham was an influential American dancer. May 11. Pa. MARTHA GRAHAM (b. She also continued to write. 1991. from solos to large-scale works. and choreographer of modern dance. 1894. which left her free to organize a new group. Her ideas on female psychosexual development were given particular attention after Feminine Psychology. in most of which she herself danced.Y. Horney's analysis of the causes and the dynamics of neurosis and her revision of Freud's theory of personality have remained influential. Allegheny county. a collection of her early papers on the subject. further expounding her views that neuroses were caused by disturbances in interpersonal relationships in Our Inner Conflicts (1945) and Neurosis and Human Growth (1950). whose ballets and other works were intended to "reveal the inner man.. Early Life and Works Graham was one of three daughters of a physician who was particularly interested in the bodily expression of 262 . the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. was published in 1967.
and American Indian. for the first time in the United States. her family settled in 1909 in Santa Barbara. Graham made her New York City debut as an independent artist in 1926. such as Three Gopi Maidens and Danse Languide. The critics found her to be graceful and lyrical. Among the 263 . Denis and Ted Shawn. She was entranced by the religious mysticism of St. to teach and to experiment. The exotic costumes and rich staging of Denishawn were in the past. and although she ultimately rebelled violently against its eclecticism. but Shawn was her major teacher. In 1924 she went to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. experimental. California. he discovered sources of dramatic power within her and then channeled them into an Aztec ballet. New York. Xochitl. stark. the school and dance company founded in Los Angeles by Ruth St. the startlingly original dances she performed were to be referred to as ugly. where she discovered the rhythm of the sea and became acquainted with Oriental art. a good many of her dances. After some time in the South. she later mirrored in her own works the Orientalism that pervaded the school.7 Martha Graham 7 human behaviour. Oriental. and for the next decade and more. influences that were to be evident in her choreography throughout her career. explored the world's dances—folk. where she remained for two years. where as a teenager she was introduced to a repertory and curriculum that. Graham remained with Denishawn until 1923. All of that changed with her 1927 concert. Though some of the fruits of her experiments were discernible from the first. and obscure. Graham's professional career began in 1916 at Denishawn. The dance was a tremendous success both in vaudeville and in concert performance and made her a Denishawn star. She left Denishawn to become a featured dancer in the Greenwich Village Follies revue. classical. Denis. echoed her Denishawn past.
Graham herself later referred to this decade as "my period of long woolens. Thus. which was set to the avant-garde music of Arthur Honegger. Frontier initiated the use of decor in Graham's repertoire and marked the beginning of a long and distinguished collaboration with the noted Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Maturity For Martha Graham. the use of sculpture. musical director at Denishawn. and has borne him 264 . and Primitive Mysteries. often composing pieces for her during her first two decades of independence. under whose influence she developed one of her most singular stage innovations. Among his most noted scores for her were those for the now historic Frontier (1935).7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 dances of her 1927 program was Revolt. He became her musical director. instead of flats and drops. ridiculed her. A strong and continuing influence in her life was Louis Horst. can explore the spiritual and emotional essence of human beings. written for Graham and a company of female dancers. they remained close until his death in 1964. probably the first dance of protest and social comment staged in the United States. a solo dance. famous and unknown. dancers and theatregoers. her own son." a reference to the plain jersey dress that she wore in many of her dances. like the spoken drama. the dance. or three-dimensional set pieces. the choreography of Frontier symbolized the frontier woman's achievement of mastery over an uncharted domain. who had left the school two years after Graham. The audience was not impressed. a work about the Greek legendary figure Jocasta. In Night Journey (1948). the whole dance-drama takes place in the instant when Jocasta learns that she has mated with Oedipus.
a ballet dancer. She created some dances from American frontier life. to join her company. stories. was not a dance version of the legend but rather an exposure of the Medea latent in every woman who. Another source was Greek legend. with its score by Aaron Copland. the dances rooted in Classical Greek dramas. She engaged Erick Hawkins. Graham created a succession of dances. Later works by Graham also borrowed from Greek legend. Biblical themes and religious figures also inspired her: Seraphic Dialogue (1955. In a career spanning more than half a century. several characters are used to portray different aspects of the poet's personality. ranging from solos to largescale creations of full-program length such as Clytemnestra (1958). and Circe (1963). Phaedra (1962). out of consuming jealousy. with music by Samuel Barber. a work about Emily Dickinson. Embattled 265 . For her themes she almost always turned to human conflicts and emotions.7 Martha Graham 7 children. but her themes were beginning to call for men as well. The settings and the eras vary. In Letter to the World (1940). and he appeared with her in a major work. and shows her reliving the events of her life and seeking justification for her actions. including Errand into the Maze (1947). Joan of Arc). Though she and Hawkins were married in 1948. The work treats Jocasta rather than Oedipus as the tragic victim. not only destroys those she loves but herself as well. American Document (1938). Cave of the Heart (1946). an investigation of hidden fears presented through the symbols of the Minotaur and the labyrinth. the most famous of which is Appalachian Spring (1944). Alcestis (1960). the marriage did not last. but her great gallery of danced portraits never failed to explore the inner emotional life of their characters. For more than 10 years Graham's dance company consisted solely of women. based on the figure of Medea. and myths.
Cortege of Eagles (1967). Assessment Martha Graham created a dance technique that became the first significant alternative to the idiom of classical ballet. angular movements originating in spasms of muscular contraction and release centred in the dancer's pelvis. In the early 1980s she created neoclassical dances. Many of her dances feature forceful. The Owl and the Pussycat (1978). The dances were also intended to evoke a visceral response in the audience rather than be comprehended in primarily linear or pictorial terms. These expressive contractions help generate the strong sexual tension that is a feature of so many of Graham's works. rather than merely provide decorative displays of graceful movements. As the dancer Alma Guillermoprieto has pointed out. and Frescoes (1980). and its dislocations and distortions that express intensely felt human emotion. In 1970 she announced her retirement as a dancer. and Legend of Judith (1962) and such fanciful abstractions as Diversion of Angels (1948) or Acrobats of God (1960). The resulting dance vocabulary is startlingly unlike that of classical ballet in its jagged and angular lines. Her technique is the most highly developed body-training method in the entire field of 266 . Her later works include The Witch of Endor (1965). but she continued to create dances and to teach. Mendicants of Evening (1973). beginning with Acts of Light (1981). The Archaic Hours (1969). Lucifer (1975)." Her dance language was intended to express shared human emotions and experiences. referring to the Garden of Eden).7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Garden (1958. Graham was "the first creator of modern dance to devise a truly universal dance technique out of the movements she developed in her choreography.
SOONG MEI-LING (b. 23. and her brother T. In 1973 she published The Notebooks of Martha Graham. the highest civilian award in the United States. New York. 1897. stagers of musicals and operas. including the Medal of Freedom. From the "long woolens" of the 1920s.) S oong Mei-ling (Soong also spelled Sung. V. Graham maintained a position as the foremost figure in American modern dance. Throughout most of her career. prosperous. ballet choreographers. with an accent on sculptured pieces and brilliant costumes and properties. She is also called Madame Chiang Kai-shek. She instructed. Soong was a prominent industrialist and official of the Nationalist Chinese government. requiring both unrelenting discipline and prodigious virtuosity. She was the recipient of many awards and honours.Y. and she helped introduce him to Western 267 . or guided. Her family was successful. generations of modern dance teachers both in the United States and abroad. China—d. U. N. and wellconnected: her sister Soong Ch'ing-ling (Song Qingling) was the wife of Sun Yat-sen. Oct. March 5. when she graduated from Wellesley College.S. and was thoroughly Americanized. In 1927 she married Chiang Kai-shek. Soong Mei-ling was educated in the United States from 1908 to 1917. Graham moved to some of the most opulent productions to be found in modern dance. She strongly influenced succeeding generations of modern dancers. and creators of dance-dramas.7 Martha Graham 7 modern dance. Shanghai. 2003. Mei-ling also spelled Mayling) was a notable Chinese political figure and second wife of the Nationalist Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek..
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Soong Mei-ling giving a special radio broadcast to thank the American people for their support of China during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). Encyclopædia Britannica. 268 . Inc.
and in 1943.S. In 1936 Chiang Kai-shek was taken captive by Chang Hsüeh-liang. government's policy toward China and Taiwan. Following the death in 1988 of Chiang Ching-kuo. The Sure Victory (1955). where she sought increased support for China in its war against Japan. Chiang Kai-shek's son from his first marriage and the president of Taiwan. where her husband established his government. Still highly influential. during a visit to the United States. list of the 10 most admired women in the world. and two volumes of selected speeches. Soong Mei-ling moved to New York. and Soong Mei-ling so impressed the American public that until 1967 her name appeared annually on the U. Her published works include This Is Our China (1940). In the mid-1940s civil war broke out in China as Nationalists and communists battled for control of the country. she became the first Chinese and only the second woman to address a joint session of the U. a warlord who believed the Nationalist government should stop fighting China's communists and instead concentrate on resisting Japanese aggression. Her efforts resulted in much financial aid. Chiang Kai-shek's forces were defeated in 1949. During World War II she wrote many articles on China for American journals.S. she briefly became involved in Taiwanese politics.7 Soong Mei-ling 7 culture and ideas and worked to publicize his cause in the West. Soong Mei-ling played a major role in the negotiations that led to his release. but by that time her influence had greatly diminished. 269 . where she lived in semi-seclusion. she continued to seek support from the United States. and her efforts helped sway the U. she launched in 1934 the New Life Movement. Congress. a program that sought to halt the spread of communism by teaching traditional Chinese values. After Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975.S. and Soong Mei-ling and her family moved to Taiwan. With her husband.
She learned to fly (against her family's wishes) in 1920–21 and in 1922 bought her first plane. On June 17–18.S. After that flight. U. 40 Min. 1897. Atchison. She married the publisher George Palmer Putnam in 1931 but continued her career under her maiden name. near Howland Island.. She worked as a military nurse in Canada during World War I and as a social worker at Denison House in Boston after the war.—disappeared July 2. her reflections on that flight were published as 20 Hrs. She also took an active part in efforts to open aviation to women and end male domination in the new field. The same year. 1928. a Kinner Canary. 1937. This soon led to a series of flights across the United States and drew her into the movement that encouraged the development of commercial aviation. although she was only a passenger in a plane flown by Wilmer Stutz and Louis Gordon..7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 AMELIA EARHART (b. Determined to justify the renown that her 1928 crossing had brought her. July 24. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly alone over the Atlantic Ocean. Kan. she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Earhart crossed the Atlantic alone on May 20–21. She set out in 1937 to fly around the 270 . Her flight in her Lockheed Vega from Newfoundland to Ireland was completed in the record time of 14 hours 56 minutes. she wrote The Fun of It (1932). Earhart was the first person to fly that hazardous route successfully. central Pacific Ocean) O ne of the world's most celebrated aviators. Amelia Mary Earhart moved often with her family and completed high school in Chicago in 1916. In January 1935 she made a solo flight from Hawaii to California. all previous attempts had ended in disaster. 1932. a longer distance than that from the United States to Europe.
7 Amelia Earhart
world, with Fred Noonan as her navigator, in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra. After completing more than two-thirds of the distance, her plane vanished in the central Pacific near the International Date Line. Although her mysterious disappearance has since raised many questions and much speculation about the events surrounding it, the facts remain largely unknown.
(b. Sept. 12, 1897, Paris, France—d. March 17, 1956, Paris)
he French physical chemist Irène Joliot-Curie was awarded, with her husband, the 1935 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of new radioactive isotopes prepared artificially. She was the daughter of Nobel Prize winners Pierre and Marie Curie. Irène Curie from 1912 to 1914 prepared for her baccalauréat at the Collège Sévigné and in 1918 became her mother's assistant at the Institut du Radium of the University of Paris. In 1925 she presented her doctoral thesis on the alpha rays of polonium. In the same year she met Frédéric Joliot in her mother's laboratory; they were married the following year (on Oct. 9, 1926). She was to find in him a mate who shared her interest in science, sports, humanism, and the arts. He learned laboratory techniques under Irène's guidance, and beginning in 1928 they signed their scientific work jointly. In the course of their researches they bombarded boron, aluminum, and magnesium with alpha particles; and they obtained radioactive isotopes of elements not ordinarily radioactive, namely, nitrogen, phosphorus, and aluminum. These discoveries revealed the possibility of using artificially produced radioactive isotopes to follow chemical changes and physiological processes, and such
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time
applications were soon successful; the absorption of radioiodine by the thyroid gland was detected, and the course of radiophosphorus (in the form of phosphates) was traced in the metabolism of the organism. The production of these unstable atomic nuclei afforded further means for the observation of changes in the atom as these nuclei broke down. The Joliot-Curies observed also the production of neutrons and positive electrons in the changes that they studied; and their discovery of artificial radioactive isotopes constituted an important step toward the solution of the problem of releasing the energy of the atom, since the method of Enrico Fermi, using neutrons instead of alpha particles for the bombardments which led to the fission of uranium, was an extension of the method developed by the Joliot-Curies for producing radioelements artificially. In 1935 Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie were awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the synthesis of new radioactive isotopes. The Joliot-Curies then moved into a home at the edge of the Parc de Sceaux. They left it only for visits to their house in Brittany at Pointe de l'Arcouest, where university families had been meeting together since the time of Marie Curie. In 1937, Frédéric having been appointed professor at the Collège de France, Irène then devoted her time largely to the upbringing of their children, Hélène and Pierre. But both she and Frédéric had a lofty idea of their human and social responsibilities. They had joined the Socialist Party in 1934 and the Comité de Vigilance des Intellectuels Antifascistes (Vigilance Committee of Anti-Fascist Intellectuals) in 1935. They also took a stand in 1936 on the side of Republican Spain. Irène was one of three women to participate in the Popular Front government of 1936. As undersecretary of state for scientific research, she helped
7 Irène Joliot-Curie
to lay the foundations, with Jean Perrin, for what would later become the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Centre for Scientific Research). Anxiety resulting from the rise of Nazism and the awareness of the dangers that could result from the application of chain reactions led them to cease publication. On Oct. 30, 1939, they recorded the principle of nuclear reactors in a sealed envelope, which they deposited at the Académie des Sciences; it remained secret until 1949. Frédéric chose to remain in occupied France with his family and to make certain that the Germans who came into his laboratory could not use his work or his equipment, whose removal to Germany he prevented. The JoliotCuries continued their research, notably in biology. In May 1944, Irène and their children took refuge in Switzerland, while Frédéric remained in Paris under an assumed name. After 1945, when General Charles de Gaulle tapped Frédéric for his atomic expertise, Irène devoted her scientific experience and her abilities as an administrator to the acquisition of raw materials, the prospecting for uranium, and the construction of detection installations. In 1946 she was also appointed director of the Institut du Radium. After 1950 they devoted themselves to laboratory work, to teaching, and to various peace movements. During the 1950s, following several operations, Irène's health began to decline. In 1955 Irène drew up plans for the new nuclear physics laboratories at the Université d'Orsay, south of Paris, where teams of scientists could work with large particle accelerators under conditions less cramped than in the Parisian laboratories. Early in 1956 she was sent into the mountains to recuperate, but her condition did not improve. Wasted away by leukemia as her mother had been, she again entered the Curie Hospital, where she died in 1956.
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time
(b. May 3, 1898, Kiev [Ukraine]—d. Dec. 8, 1978, Jerusalem, Israel)
olda Meir was one of the founders of the State of Israel and its fourth prime minister (1969–74). Born Goldie Mabovitch, Meir and her family immigrated to Milwaukee, Wis., in 1906. She attended the Milwaukee Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and later became a leader in the Milwaukee Labor Zionist Party. In 1921 she and her husband, Morris Myerson, emigrated to Palestine and joined the Mer avya kibbutz. She became the kibbutz's representative to the Histadrut (General Federation of Labour), the secretary of that organization's Women's Labour Council (1928–32), and a member of its executive committee (1934 until World War II).
Golda Meir helped found the State of Israel. Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
7 Golda Meir
During the war, Meir emerged as a forceful spokesman for the Zionist cause in negotiating with the British mandatory authorities. In 1946, when the British arrested and detained many Jewish activists, including Moshe Sharett, head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency, she provisionally replaced him and worked for the release of her comrades and the many Jewish war refugees who had violated British immigration regulations by settling in Palestine. Upon his release, Sharett took up diplomatic duties, and she officially took over his former position. She personally attempted to dissuade King Abdullah of Jordan from joining the invasion of Israel decided on by other Arab states. On May 14, 1948, Meir was a signatory of Israel's independence declaration and that year was appointed minister to Moscow. She was elected to the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in 1949 and served in that body until 1974. As minister of labour (1949–56), she carried out major programs of housing and road construction and vigorously supported the policy of unrestricted Jewish immigration to Israel. Appointed foreign minister in 1956, she Hebraized her name to Golda Meir. She promoted the Israeli policy of assistance to the new African states aimed at enhancing diplomatic support among uncommitted nations. Shortly after retiring from the Foreign Ministry in January 1966, she became secretary general of the Mapai Party and supported Prime Minister Levi Eshkol in intraparty conflicts. After Israel's victory in the Six-Day War (June 1967) against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, she helped merge Mapai with two dissident parties into the Israel Labour Party. Upon Eshkol's death on Feb. 26, 1969, Meir, the compromise candidate, became prime minister. She maintained the coalition government that had emerged in June 1967.
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time
Meir pressed for a peace settlement in the Middle East by diplomatic means. She traveled widely, her meetings including those with Nicolae Ceauşescu in Romania (1972) and Pope Paul VI at the Vatican (1973). Also in 1973, Meir's government was host to Willy Brandt, chancellor of West Germany. Her efforts at forging a peace with the Arab states were halted by the outbreak in October 1973 of the fourth Arab–Israeli war, called the Yom Kippur War. Israel's lack of readiness for the war stunned the nation, and Meir formed a new coalition government only with great difficulty in March 1974 and resigned her post as prime minister on April 10. She remained in power as head of a caretaker government until a new one was formed in June. Although in retirement thereafter, she remained an important political figure. Upon her death it was revealed that she had had leukemia for 12 years. Her autobiography, My Life, was published in 1975.
(b. Dec. 27, 1901, Schöneberg (now in Berlin), Germany—d. May 6, 1992, Paris, France)
he German American motion-picture actress Marlene Dietrich, one of the world's most glamorous film stars, was noted for her beauty, voice, aura of sophistication, and languid sensuality. Dietrich was born Marie Magdalene Dietrich. Her father, Ludwig Dietrich, a Royal Prussian police officer, died when she was very young, and her mother remarried a cavalry officer, Edouard von Losch. Marlene, who as a girl adopted the compressed form of her first and middle names, studied at a private school and learned both English and French by age 12. As a teenager she studied to be a concert violinist, but her initiation into the nightlife of
7 Marlene Dietrich
Weimar Berlin—with its cabarets and notorious demimonde—made the life of a classical musician unappealing to her. She pretended to have injured her wrist and was forced to seek other jobs acting and modeling to help make ends meet. In 1921 Dietrich enrolled in Max Reinhardt's Deutsche Theaterschule, and she eventually joined Reinhardt's theatre company. In 1923 she attracted the attention of Rudolf Sieber, a casting director at UFA film studios, who began casting her in small film roles. She and Sieber married the following year, and after the birth of their daughter, Maria, Dietrich returned to work on the stage and in films. Although they did not divorce for decades, the couple separated in 1929. That same year, director Josef von Sternberg first laid eyes on Dietrich and cast her as Lola-Lola, the sultry and world-weary female lead in Der blaue Engel (1930; The Blue Angel), Germany's first talking film. The film's success catapulted Dietrich to stardom. Von Sternberg took her to the United States and signed her with Paramount Pictures. With von Sternberg's help, Dietrich began to develop her legend by cultivating a femme fatale film persona in several von Sternberg vehicles that followed— Morocco (1930), Dishonored (1931), Shanghai Express (1932), Blonde Venus (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), and The Devil Is a Woman (1935). She showed a lighter side in Desire (1936), directed by Frank Borzage, and Destry Rides Again (1939). During the Third Reich and despite Adolf Hitler's personal requests, Dietrich refused to work in Germany, and her films were temporarily banned there. Renouncing Nazism ("Hitler is an idiot," she stated in one wartime interview), Dietrich was branded a traitor in Germany; she was spat upon by Nazi supporters carrying banners that read "Go home Marlene" during her visit to Berlin in 1960. (In 2001, on the 100th anniversary of her birth, the
" After the war. but in my heart I am German—German in my soul. but rather than destroying her career they seemed to enhance it. She has the bearing of a man. her memorable renditions of songs such as Falling in Love Again. citizen in 1937. Marlene). photographs.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 city issued a formal apology for the incident. Lili Marleen. Dietrich's persona was carefully crafted.) Having become a U. In the words of the critic Kenneth Tynan: "She has sex. The documentary film Marlene. a collection of her film costumes. After a period of retirement from the screen. Thank God. Dietrich continued to make successful films.S. which included a voice-over interview of the star by Maximilian Schell. and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). trans. Witness for the Prosecution (1957). a review of her life and career. She was also a popular nightclub performer and gave her last stage performance in 1974. The Monte Carlo Story (1956). Gott sei Dank. She later said. Her 278 . Eight years after her death. recordings. was released in 1986. Berlinerin ("I Am. was published in 1987. Ich bin. and other personal items was put on permanent display in the Berlin Film Museum (2000). La Vie en rose. the characters she plays love power and wear trousers. and her films (with few exceptions) were skillfully executed. such as A Foreign Affair (1948). Eng. "America took me into her bosom when I no longer had a native country worthy of the name. but no particular gender. she appeared in the film Just a Gigolo (1978). a Berliner". Her autobiography. Although her vocal range was not great. Her adoption of trousers and other mannish clothes made her a trendsetter and helped launch an American fashion style that persisted into the 21st century. she made more than 500 personal appearances before Allied troops from 1943 to 1946. and Give Me the Man made them classics of an era. written documents. Her many affairs with both men and women were open secrets. Touch of Evil (1958).
social philosopher. 3. Universum Film A. Paris. Ashford." SIMONE WEIL (b. a French mystic. 1909. T 279 . "If she had nothing more than her voice. another of her admirers. Feb. photograph from a private collection masculinity appeals to women and her sexuality to men.G.) he posthumously published works of Simone Weil. the writer Ernest Hemingway. 1943. Eng.7 Marlene Dietrich 7 Marlene Dietrich (left) in Der blaue Engel (1930. Aug. France—d. had particular influence on French and English social thought. she could break your heart with it. The Blue Angel)." But her personal magnetism went far beyond her masterful androgynous image and her glamour. Kent. 24. said.. and activist in the French Resistance during World War II.
refusing to eat more than those on relief. she took a job in 1934–35 in an auto factory. Weil's writings. Weil also expressed social awareness at an early age. Malnutrition and overwork led to a physical collapse. and science. She died after a few months spent in a sanatorium. Soon thereafter Weil had the first of several mystical experiences.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Intellectually precocious. but after an accident in which she was badly scalded by boiling oil. Weil moved to the south of France. where she worked as a farm servant. To learn the psychological effects of heavy industrial labour. classical philology. She taught philosophy in several girls' schools from 1931 to 1938 and often became embroiled in conflicts with school boards as a result of her social activism. and she subsequently came to view her social concerns as "ersatz Divinity. To identify herself with her French compatriots under German occupation. and at six she was quoting the French dramatic poet Jean Racine (1639–99). and writing for leftist journals. L'Enracinement 280 . which entailed picketing. where she observed the spiritually deadening effect of machines on her fellow workers. training for action in the Spanish Civil War. which were collected and published after her death. fill about 20 volumes. Weil refused to eat more than the official ration in occupied France. she went to Portugal to recuperate. Gravity and Grace). and during her hospitalization she was found to have tuberculosis." After the German occupation of Paris during World War II. Spain. In addition to studies in philosophy. In 1936 she joined an Anarchist unit near Zaragoza. Her most important works are La Pesanteur et la grâce (1947. a collection of religious essays and aphorisms. At five she refused sugar because the French soldiers at the front during World War I had none. Weil continued to embark on new learning projects as the need arose. She escaped with her parents to the United States in 1942 but then went to London to work with the French Resistance.
and the horrors of totalitarianism. Though born of Jewish parents. U.) he American dancer. a collection of political and philosophical essays on war.) In 1938 she joined the Federal Theatre Project in Chicago and composed a ballet. 1909. Tropics (choreographed 1937) and Le Jazz Hot (1938) were among the earliest of many works based on her research. Oppression et Liberté (1955. While a student at the University of Chicago. in anthropology. Weil in her writings explored her own religious life while also analyzing the individual's relation with the state and God. Dunham early became interested in dance. 2006. the spiritual shortcomings of modern industrial society. Glen Ellyn. May 21. Attente de Dieu (1950. and anthropologist Katherine Dunham was noted for her innovative interpretations of ritual and ethnic dances. language. factory work. By the time she received an M. 281 T .. Waiting for God). L'Ag'Ya. a spiritual autobiography. June 22.Y. KATHERINE DUNHAM (b. Ill. from the University of Chicago. she formed a dance group that performed in concert at the Chicago World's Fair in 1934 and with the Chicago Civic Opera company in 1935–36. she had acquired a vast knowledge of the dances and rituals of the black peoples of tropical America. T years later she formed wo an all-black company. Weil eventually adopted a mystical theology that came very close to Roman Catholicism. based on Caribbean dance. and other topics. and three volumes of Cahiers (1951–56. On graduating with a bachelor's degree in anthropology she undertook field studies in the Caribbean and in Brazil. Oppression and Liberty). choreographer. an essay upon the obligations of the individual and the state. The Need for Roots). Notebooks). N.S.7 Simone Weil 7 (1949.D.A. New Y ork. which began touring extensively by 1943. (She later took a Ph.—d. A moral idealist committed to a vision of social justice.
Island Possessed (1969). and director of Southern Illinois's Performing Arts Training Centre and Dynamic Museum in East St. DOROTHY CROWFOOT HODGKIN (b. Edwardsville. trained in her studios in Chicago and New York City. She also choreographed and starred in dance sequences in such films as Carnival of Rhythm (1942). became prominent in the field of modern dance. include Katherine Dunham's Journey to Accompong (1946). Shipston-on-Stour. Dunham conducted special projects for African American high school students in Chicago.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Dunham was both a popular entertainer and a serious artist intent on tracing the roots of black culture. Dunham received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1983 and the National Medal of Arts in 1989. Eng. Ill. In addition. Dunham's writings. 282 T . Many of her students. May 12. A Touch of Innocence (1959). Cairo. an autobiography. and served as artist-in-residence. and later professor. July 29. Stormy Weather (1943). an account of her anthropological studies in Jamaica. and her discoveries brought her the 1964 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. 1994. Warwickshire. and Casbah (1947). and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees. The recipient of numerous awards. Egypt—d. Dunham was active in human rights causes. Louis. and several articles for popular and scholarly journals. sometimes published under the pseudonym Kaye Dunn. She choreographed for Broadway stage productions and opera—including Aida (1963) for the New York Metropolitan Opera.) he English chemist Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin determined the structure of penicillin and vitamin B12. 1910. at Southern Illinois University. was artistic and technical director (1966–67) to the president of Senegal.
state-funded secondary school in the small town of Beccles. Hodgkin fought to be allowed to study science along with the boys. As an undergraduate. who was then teaching adult-education classes 283 . Suffolk. (In the late 1940s the future prime minister Margaret Thatcher was one of her students.) Hodgkin established an X-ray laboratory in a corner of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (better known for its dinosaur skeletons and mineral collections) and almost immediately began work taking X-ray photographs of insulin. she returned there in 1934 and remained until her retirement in 1977.7 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin 7 Born Dorothy Mary Crowfoot. a crystalline protein. Educated at a coeducational. But it was their mother who especially encouraged Dorothy to pursue the passionate interest in crystals that she first displayed at age 10. John and Molly Crowfoot. In 1937 she married the left-wing historian Thomas Hodgkin. Hodgkin moved to the University of Cambridge in 1932 to carry out doctoral research with British physicist John Desmond Bernal. Offered a temporary research fellowship at Somerville. including sterols (the subject of her thesis). one of Oxford's few colleges for women. University of Oxford. and helped him to make the first X-ray diffraction studies of pepsin. She succeeded and was accepted in 1928 to read for a degree in chemistry at Somerville College. She was also highly receptive to his strongly pro-Soviet views and belief in the social function of science. the girls spent much of their childhood apart from their parents. Hodgkin was the eldest of four sisters whose parents. she was one of the first to study the structure of an organic compound using X-ray crystallography. worked in North Africa and the Middle East in colonial administration and later as archaeologists. who was to be a lifelong influence. In his laboratory. Sent to England for their education. she extended work that he had begun on biological molecules.
smaller than a grain of salt. Her achievements led to her election in 1960 as the first Wolfson Research Professor of the Royal Society. Britain's premier scientific academy. she made extensive use of computers to carry out the complex computations involved. moreover. in 1947. Scientific Achievements Hodgkin's insulin research was put to one side in 1939 when Australian pathologist Howard Florey and his colleagues at Oxford succeeded in isolating penicillin and asked her to solve its structure. This left her hands swollen and distorted. Penicillin was at that time the largest molecule to have succumbed to X-ray methods. By 1945 she had succeeded.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 in mining and industrial communities in the north of England. 1941. notably. only two years after a woman had been elected for the first time. the technique had resolved a dispute between eminent organic chemists about its structure. returning on weekends to Oxford where his wife remained working on penicillin. Hodgkin's work on penicillin was recognized by her election to the Royal Society. Hodgkin discovered the structure of vitamin B12. yet she continued to carry out the delicate manipulations necessary to mount and photograph the tiny crystals. he continued this work throughout World War II. They had three children. a post 284 . Thomas Hodgkin subsequently spent extended periods of time in West Africa. Following an infection after the birth of her first child. that she used in her studies. Dorothy Hodgkin developed chronic rheumatoid arthritis at age 28. In the mid-1950s. where he was an enthusiastic supporter and chronicler of the emerging postcolonial states. and 1946. describing the arrangement of its atoms in three dimensions. As his health was too poor for active military service. born in 1938.
and modest demeanour hid a steely determination to achieve her ends. she discovered its structure in 1969. whatever obstacles might stand in her way. an honorary position in which she nevertheless fought vigorously for improved education funding at a time of government cutbacks. Social Activism Hodgkin devoted much of the latter part of her life to the cause of scientists in developing countries. Her structural studies of 285 . she won in 1964 for her work on penicillin and vitamin B12. 34 years after she had taken her first X-ray photograph of an insulin crystal. and to improved East-West relations and disarmament. From 1975 to 1988 she was president of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. She also accepted the post of chancellor of the University of Bristol (1970–88). a large. and public life. Only the steadily increasing pain and infirmity from her arthritis eventually forced her to curtail her public activities. complex protein molecule that could not be understood until both the techniques of X-ray diffraction and high-speed computing were sufficiently advanced. even the most junior of whom knew her simply as Dorothy. Britain's highest honour for achievement in science. Hodgkin's soft-spoken. The following year she was made a member of the Order of Merit. gentle. Eventually her patience was rewarded: working with an international team of young researchers. especially China and India. She inspired devotion in her students and colleagues. an organization that brings together scientists from around the world to discuss peaceful progress toward international security and development. Nominated more than once for the Nobel Prize. Hodgkin never gave up on discovering the structure of insulin. the arts.7 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin 7 she held while remaining in Oxford.
She was the recipient of numerous honours. near the sacred temple of Kali. MOTHER TERESA (baptized Aug. and her Indian nuns all donned the sari as their habit. Ottoman Empire [now in Republic of Macedonia]—d. Macedonia. where she founded her order in 1948." which she considered divine inspiration to devote herself to caring for the sick and poor. beatified Oct. Skopje. She taught for 17 years at the order's school in Calcutta (Kolkata). In 1946 Sister Teresa experienced her "call within a call. including the 1979 Nobel Prize for Peace. Mother Teresa adopted Indian citizenship. upon her petition. She then moved into the slums she had observed while teaching. In 1950 her order received canonical sanction from Pope Pius XII. Municipal authorities. Dispensaries and outdoor schools were organized. India. particularly to the destitute of India. 2003) M other Teresa of Calcutta was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity. In 1928 she went to Ireland to join the Sisters of Loretto at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary and sailed only six weeks later to India as a teacher. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. the daughter of an ethnic Albanian grocer. 1910. 19. 5. Sept. and in 1965 it became a pontifical congregation (subject only to 286 . a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to the poor. and she made fundamental contributions to our understanding of how these molecules carry out their tasks in living systems. 1997.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 biologically important molecules set standards for a field that was very much in development during her working life. 27. gave her a pilgrim hostel. Calcutta [Kolkata]. Sympathetic companions soon flocked to her aid.
She also suffered ill health and had a heart attack in 1989. In recognition of her apostolate. In her later years Mother Teresa spoke out against divorce. In 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work. near Asansol. and Pope John Paul II issued a special dispensation to expedite the process of canonization. the aged. and the order chose the Indian-born Sister Nirmala as her successor in 1997. the Missionaries of Charity built a leper colony. her letters 287 . staffed primarily with Indian nuns. 6.7 Mother Teresa 7 the pope). reaching the ranks of the blessed in the shortest time in the history of the church.000 nuns and hundreds of thousands of lay workers. by Pope Paul. Although Mother Teresa displayed cheerfulness and a deep commitment to God in her daily work. which she immediately raffled to help finance her leper colony. and abortion. In 1963 the Indian government awarded Mother Teresa the title Padmashri ("Lord of the Lotus") for her services to the people of India. A worsening heart condition forced her retirement. She was beatified on Oct. 1971. Within two years of Mother Teresa's death. In 1968 she was summoned to Rome to found a home there. At the time of Mother Teresa's death. Under Mother Teresa's guidance. her order included hundreds of centres in more than 90 countries with some 4. who awarded her the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize. called Shanti Nagar ("Town of Peace"). In 1964. In 1952 she established Nirmal Hriday ("Place for the Pure of Heart"). and the disabled. Pope Paul VI gave her his ceremonial limousine. on his trip to India. 2003. the process to declare her a saint was begun. In 1990 she resigned as head of the order but was returned to office by a near unanimous vote—the lone dissenting voice was her own. 19. Her order also opened numerous centres serving the blind. India. she was honoured on Jan. contraception. a hospice where the terminally ill could die with dignity.
Ball determined at an early age to become an actress and left high school at age 15 to enroll in a drama school in New York City. April 26. For 10 years they conducted 288 T . Blood Money (1933). N. why have you forsaken me?" Despite this hardship. Ball remained in Hollywood and appeared in increasingly larger roles in a succession of movies—Carnival (1935). 1911. my God.Y. "My God. A poster on which she appeared brought her to the attention of the Hollywood studios and won her spots in Roman Scandals (1933).—d. Room Service (1938). Calif. Stage Door (1937). Her early attempts to find a place in the theatre all met with rebuffs.S. Mother Teresa integrated the feeling of absence into her daily religious life and remained committed to her faith and her work for Christ. 6. U. The letters reveal the suffering she endured and her feeling that Jesus had abandoned her at the start of her mission. and she took a job as a model under the name Diane Belmont. she came to believe that she was sharing in Christ's Passion.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 (which were collected and published in 2007) indicate that she did not feel God's presence in her soul during the last 50 years of her life. Los Angeles. Kid Millions (1934).) he radio and motion-picture actress Lucille Ball (in full Lucille Désirée Ball) was a longtime comedy star of American television.. Five Came Back (1939). she starred in Too Many Girls. Celoron. which also featured the popular Cuban bandleader and actor Desi Arnaz. whom she married in 1940. In 1940. best remembered for her classic television comedy series I Love Lucy. Aug. She was moderately successful as a model. Continuing to experience a spiritual darkness. particularly the moment in which Christ asks. LUCILLE BALL (b. near Jamestown. and other movies. 1989.
7 Lucille Ball 7 Lucille Ball and Bob Hope in Fancy Pants (1950). © 1950 Paramount Pictures Corporation. photograph from a private collection 289 .
he as a bandleader and she as a movie actress who was usually seen in B-grade comedies. Ball returned to television in The Lucy Show (1962–68). under the title The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show. and range of characterization. 1957–58) during which fresh episodes were produced. As the character Lucy. launched in October 1951 a television comedy series entitled I Love Lucy. and became one of the major companies in a highly competitive field. and Sorrowful Jones (1949) and Fancy Pants (1950). Ziegfeld as Follies (1946). All of her comedies were box office successes. but they failed to make the most of her wide-ranging talents. Without Love (1945). which. For the six years (1951–56 and. physical comedy. Starring the two of them in a comedy version of their real lives. the show was an instant hit. Mine and Ours (1968) and 290 . She won major roles in The Big Street (1942) with Henry Fonda. The show also introduced several technical innovations to television broadcasting (notably the use of three cameras to film the show) and set the standard for situation comedies. Du Barry W a Lady (1943). began producing other shows for television. and two years later she succeeded him as president of Desilu. after experimenting with a radio program. becoming the only woman at that time to lead a major Hollywood production company. I Love Lucy proved to be an outstanding vehicle for Ball's exceptional comedic talents. In 1950 Ball and her husband formed Desilu Productions. it remained at or near the top of the TV ratings. a wisecracking housewife who regularly concocted schemes to get herself out of the house. Meanwhile Desilu acquired RKO Pictures. After starring in the Broadway show Wildcat in 1961. Ball and Arnaz were divorced in 1960.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 separate careers. Ball showcased her expertise for timing. She resumed movie work with Yours. thriving in reruns for decades. both with Bob Hope.
precipitating the 1955–56 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama. 1. Tuskegee. Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision declaring Montgomery's segregated seating unconstitutional. 24. ROSA PARKS (b. On Dec. 2005. 4. In 1985 she played a Manhattan bag lady in the television film Stone Pillow. Oct. a violation of the city's racial segregation ordinances. Lucille Ball Productions. Feb. Ala. the U. and she served as its secretary until 1956. aired for two months in 1986. Life with Lucy. a boycott of the municipal bus company was begun on December 5.. U.) On Nov. Under the aegis of the Montgomery Improvement Association and the leadership of the young pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Her act is recognized as the spark that ignited the U. She later made her living as a seamstress. In 1943 Rosa Parks became a member of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). For her role in igniting the 291 T . she was arrested for refusing to give her bus seat to a white man.7 Lucille Ball 7 Mame (1974).. Her fourth television series. Jr.—d. (African Americans constituted some 70 percent of the ridership. Detroit. Here's Lucy (1968–74). She continued to appear thereafter in special productions and as a guest star.S. 13. In 1967 she sold Desilu and formed her own company. the boycott ended the following day. Mich. 1955. and the court order was served on December 20. which produced her third television series. 1913. civil rights movement. 1956. In 1932 Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks. Martin Luther King.) he African American civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to relinquish her seat on a public bus to a white man.S. who encouraged her to return to high school and earn a diploma.S.
who was reared by her relatives. She was arrested again in Shanghai in 1934 and left for Beijing after her release. Upon her release she went to Shanghai. Lan Ping. When the Japanese attacked Shanghai in 1937. China—d. Her activity in a communist-front organization in 1933 led to her arrest and detainment. JIANG QING (b. In 1987 she cofounded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development to provide career training for young people. after Mao's death. Zhucheng. born LiMao Zedongthe third mostof Chinese communist leader and the influential . Jiang fled to the Chinese Nationalist wartime capital at Chongqing. Jr. 1991) woman in the People's Republic of China for a while until her downfall in 1976. Jiang. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference established the annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award in her honour. became a member of a theatrical troupe in 1929. but she later returned to Shanghai.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 successful campaign." In 1957 Parks moved with her husband and mother to Detroit. She was the recipient of numerous awards. where she worked for the government-controlled Central 292 Jinhai. Parks became known as the "mother of the civil rights movement. from 1965 to 1988. Shandong province. May 14. She also remained active in the NAACP. which brought King to national prominence. was wife J iang Qing. she was a member of the staff of Michigan Congressman John Conyers. where. As a member of the Gang of Four she was convicted in 1981 of "counterrevolutionary crimes" and imprisoned. including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1996) and the Congressional Gold Medal (1999). where she played minor roles for the left-wing Diantong Motion Pictures Company under her new stage name. March 1914.
7 Jiang Qing 7 Jiang Qing and Mao Zedong. D. 1945. LC-USZ62-126856) 293 . Library of Congress. Washington. no.C. (neg.
One of the few people whom Mao trusted. Jiang's cultural reform movement gradually grew into a prolonged attack on many of the leading cultural and intellectual figures in China and culminated in the Cultural Revolution that by 1966 had begun to sweep the country. however. Party leaders agreed to the marriage on condition that Jiang stay out of politics for the next 20 years. she became more politically active. he had an arranged marriage in his youth but never acknowledged it). Jiang remained out of public view except to serve as Mao's hostess for foreign visitors or to sit on various cultural committees. They were married in 1939 (technically. Jiang reached the height of her power and influence in 1966. she was Mao's fourth wife. As the revolution's initial fervour waned in the late 1960s. especially since the woman whom Mao divorced (one of the few women to survive the communists' Long March of 1934–35) was then hospitalized in Moscow. The marriage was criticized by many party members. While a drama instructor at the Lu Xun Art Academy. sponsoring a movement in the theatrical form jingxi (Peking opera) and in ballet aimed at infusing traditional Chinese art forms with proletarian themes. She went through Xi'an to join the communist forces in Yan'an and started to use the name Jiang Qing. she became the first deputy head of the Cultural Revolution and acquired far-reaching powers over China's cultural life. winning renown for her fiery speeches to mass gatherings and her involvement with the radical young Red Guard groups of the revolution.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Movie Studio until she crossed the Nationalist lines. however. so did Jiang's 294 . After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. In 1963. She oversaw the total suppression of a wide variety of traditional cultural activities during the decade of the revolution. she met Mao for the first time when he gave a talk at the school.
Jiang and the other members of the Gang of Four were soon afterward arrested..) he Canadian-born American pathologist Elizabeth Stern is noted for her work on the stages of a cell's progression from a normal to a cancerous state. but in 1983 it was commuted to life imprisonment. Los Angeles. ELIZABETH STERN (b.7 Jiang Qing 7 prominence. and the attacks grew progressively more hostile. She received a suspended death sentence. wall posters appeared attacking Jiang and three other radicals as the Gang of Four. the study of diseased cells. and the radicals in the party lost their protector. instead. A month later. but she refused to confess her guilt. Jiang was accused of fomenting the widespread civil unrest that had gripped China during the Cultural Revolution. Can. where she became a naturalized citizen in 1943. She was one of the first specialists in cytopathology. 1915." Mao died on Sept. 18. Aug. Los Angeles. 1980. Stern received a medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1939 and the following year went to the United States. T 295 . U. Her death in prison was officially reported as a suicide.S. In 1980–81 at her public trial as a member of the Gang of Four. From 1963 she was professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the University of California. She was expelled from the Communist Party in 1977. She received further medical training at the Pennsylvania Medical School and at the Good Samaritan and Cedars of Lebanon hospitals in Los Angeles..—d. she denounced the court and the country's leaders. 9. Ont. Sept. She reemerged in 1974 as a cultural leader and spokeswoman for Mao's new policy of "settling down. Calif. 19. Cobalt. 1976.
BANDARANAIKE (b. This prompted the development of diagnostic techniques and screening instruments to detect the cancer in its early stages.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 While at UCLA. April 17. Ceylon [now Sri Lanka]—d. D.. In her most noted work in this field. and she began to focus her research solely on its causes and progression. SIRIMAVO R. Stern continued her teaching and research into the late 1970s. Her research connected the use of contraceptive pills containing steroids with cervical dysplasia. Oct. 1916. She died of the disease in 1980. one of the types of cancer that can be successfully treated by prophylactic measures (i. Stern became interested in cervical cancer.e. with its slow rate of metastasis. 10. 2000. Stern studied cells cast off from the lining of the cervix and discovered that a normal cell goes through 250 distinct stages of cell progression before reaching an advanced stage of cervical cancer. Stern became the first person to report a definite link between the prolonged use of oral contraceptives and cervical cancer. Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike became 296 . In a 1973 article in the journal Science. despite undergoing chemotherapy for stomach cancer. Colombo. Her research helped make cervical cancer. The discoveries she made during this period led her to publish in 1963 what is believed to be the first case report linking a specific virus (herpes simplex virus) to a specific cancer (cervical cancer). Sri Lanka) U pon her party's victory in the 1960 Ceylon general election. excision of abnormal tissue). For another phase of her research she studied a group of more than 10. Ratnapura. which is often a precursor of cervical cancer.000 Los Angeles county women who were clients of the county's public family planning clinics.
Bandaranaike in 1940 and began to interest herself in social welfare. Bandaranaike 7 the world's first woman prime minister. Bandaranaike carried on her husband's program of socialist economic policies.R. which was resoundingly defeated in the general election of 1965. The failure to deal with ethnic rivalries 297 . the United Front. however. and promulgated a new constitution that created an executive presidency and made Ceylon into a republic named Sri Lanka.W.R. As prime minister. who became prime minister in 1956. regained power.7 Sirimavo R. By 1964 a deepening economic crisis and the SLFP's coalition with the Marxist Lanka Sama Samaja Party ("Ceylon Socialist Party") had eroded popular support for her government. Born into a wealthy family. her socialist coalition.D.W. While reducing inequalities of wealth. Bandaranaike pursued more radical policies. she was induced by his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to become the party's leader. nationalized industries. she married the politician S. was assassinated in 1959. The SLFP won a decisive victory at the general election in July 1960. Her government nationalized various economic enterprises and enforced a law making Sinhalese the sole official language. After her husband. Her government further restricted free enterprise. S. In 1970. neutrality in international relations. Bandaranaike. and she became prime minister. and the active encouragement of the Buddhist religion and of the Sinhalese language and culture. D. rose to great prominence in Sri Lankan politics. carried out land reforms. Bandaranaike's socialist policies had once again caused economic stagnation. She left office in 1965 but returned to serve two more terms (1970–77. and her government's support of Buddhism and the Sinhalese language had helped alienate the country's large Tamil minority. 1994– 2000) as prime minister. The family she founded with her late husband.D.
Anura defected from the SLFP and joined the rival United National Party (UNP) in 1993. In 1980 the Sri Lanka parliament stripped Bandaranaike of her political rights and barred her from political office.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 and economic distress led. to serve as prime minister in her new government. and a string of electoral victories propelled her to the leadership of an SLFP-based coalition that won the parliamentary elections of August 1994. she suffered a heart attack and died. by his sister Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (b. He was frustrated in his bid to become the party's leader. Chandrika had been active in the SLFP before marrying the film actor Vijaya Kumaratunga in 1978. and in November of that year she won the presidential election over the UNP candidate. Chandrika appointed her mother. 1945). but in 1986 President J. who held left-wing views and was favoured by their mother for the leadership. however. Jayawardene granted her a pardon that restored her rights. 298 . She ran unsuccessfully as the SLFP's candidate for president in 1988. Bandaranaike's children. had become major political figures within the SLFP. and after his assassination in 1988 she rejoined her mother's party.D. Chandrika became prime minister. in the meantime. Anura P. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. and after regaining a seat in parliament in 1989 she became the leader of the opposition. was first elected to parliament in 1977 and had become the leader of the SLFP's rightwing faction by 1984. She soon came to head its left-wing faction. Failing health forced Bandaranaike to resign her post in August 2000. 1949). in the election of July 1977. Her son. and Bandaranaike was replaced as prime minister. to the SLFP's retaining only 8 of the 168 seats in the National Assembly.S. which mounted a major military campaign against Tamil separatists in 1995. Bandaranaike (b. Shortly after voting in the October parliamentary elections. In response. R.
She was assassinated by Sikh extremists.7 Indira Gandhi 7 INDIRA GANDHI (b. In 1971. 19. New Delhi) I ndira Gandhi served as prime minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term (1980–84). Gandhi became leader of the Congress Party—and thus also prime minister—in a compromise between the right and left wings of the party. Indira Priyadarshini Nehru was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru. a fellow member of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party). and in 1959 she was elected to the largely honorary post of party president. the first prime minister of independent India. and India's armed forces achieved a swift and decisive victory over Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh. Gandhi strongly supported East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in its secessionist conflict with Pakistan in late 1971. and the University of Oxford. She was a member of the working committee of the ruling Congress Party from 1955. and in 1942 she married Feroze Gandhi (died 1960). who succeeded Nehru as prime minister in 1964. however. Shortly afterward her defeated Socialist Party opponent charged that she 299 . Allahabad. came under continual challenge from the right wing of the party. she won a sweeping electoral victory over a coalition of conservative parties. led by a former minister of finance. Gandhi again led her new Congress Party to a landslide victory in national elections. 31. named her minister of information and broadcasting in his government. In March 1972. Nov. 1917. buoyed by the country's success against Pakistan. 1984. On Shastri's sudden death in January 1966. She attended Visva-Bharati University. India—d. Morarji Desai. In the election of 1967 she won a slim majority and had to accept Desai as deputy prime minister. however. Lal Bahadur Shastri. Her leadership. Oct. West Bengal.
When new During her four terms as India's elections for the Lok prime minister. In June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad ruled against her. Early in 1978 Gandhi's supporters split from the Congress Party and formed the Congress (I) Party— the "I" signifying Indira. When long-postponed national elections were held in 1977. she won a new seat in Parliament in November 1978. Gandhi Hulton Archive/Getty Images 300 . passing many laws limiting personal freedoms. Indira Gandhi faced Sabha (lower house of challenges from outside the country Parliament) were held in and inside her own party. and assumed emergency powers. During this period she implemented several unpopular policies. whereupon she left office. In response. Despite these setbacks. Gandhi and her party were soundly defeated. Keystone/ January 1980. Dissension within the ruling Janata Party led to the fall of its government in August 1979. including large-scale sterilization as a form of birth control.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 had violated the election laws. The Janata Party took over the reins of government. she declared a state of emergency throughout India. She was briefly imprisoned (October 1977 and December 1978) on charges of official corruption. which meant that she would be deprived of her seat in Parliament and would have to stay out of politics for six years. and her Congress (I) Party began to gather strength. imprisoned her political opponents.
who had become her chief political adviser. Buenos Aires) E va Duarte de Perón was the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. During the early 1980s Gandhi was faced with threats to the political integrity of India. She established closer relations with the Soviet Union. she groomed her other son. Indira Gandhi adhered to the quasi-socialist policies of industrial development that had been begun by her father. the Sikhs' holiest shrine. During her husband's first term as president (1946–52). 301 . EVA PERÓN (b. which led to the deaths of more than 450 Sikhs.7 Indira Gandhi 7 and her Congress (I) Party were swept back into power in a landslide victory. also won a seat in the Lok Sabha. Arg. for the leadership of her party. Rajiv. she became a powerful though unofficial political leader. as well as against her son. In response. Gandhi ordered an army attack in June 1984 on the Harimandir (Golden Temple) at Amritsar. 1952. After Sanjay's death. May 7. Her son Sanjay Gandhi. Sanjay Gandhi's death in an airplane crash in June 1980 eliminated Indira's chosen successor from the political leadership of India. Several states sought a larger measure of independence from the central government. Five months later Gandhi was killed in her garden by a fusillade of bullets fired by two of her own Sikh bodyguards in revenge for the attack on the Golden Temple. were withdrawn. July 26. depending on that nation for support in India's long-standing conflict with Pakistan. All legal cases against Indira.—d. Los Toldos. revered by the lower economic classes. and Sikh extremists in Punjab state used violence to assert their demands for an autonomous state. 1919. who knew her as Evita.
She participated in her husband's 1945–46 presidential campaign. These resources were used to establish thousands of hospitals. hoping to gain favour among the populace.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Eva Duarte (in full María Eva Duarte) married Col. in an effort to exorcise her as a national symbol of Peronism. awarding generous wage increases to the unions. She also introduced compulsory religious education into all Argentine schools. stole her embalmed body in 1955 after Juan Perón was overthrown and secreted it in Italy for 16 years. she obtained the nomination for vice president. Although she never held any government post. repatriated the remains and installed them next to the deceased leader 302 . but the army forced her to withdraw her candidacy. bowing to Peronist demands. although dying of cancer. his third wife. and other charitable institutions. After Juan Perón died in office in 1974. Juan Perón. Isabel Perón. who responded with political support for Perón. After her death. turned over her remains to her exiled widower in Madrid. a widower. schools. which was supported by "voluntary" union and business contributions plus a substantial cut of the national lottery and other funds. thereby making more enemies among the traditional elite. and her enemies. in 1945 after an undistinguished career as a stage and radio actress. After cutting off government subsidies to the traditional Sociedad de Beneficencia (Spanish: "Aid Society"). Evita acted as de facto minister of health and labour. Her working-class followers tried unsuccessfully to have her canonized. Evita was largely responsible for the passage of the woman suffrage law and formed the Peronista Feminist Party in 1949. she replaced it with her own Eva Perón Foundation. In 1951. whom she addressed as los descamisados (Spanish: "the shirtless ones"). homes for the aged. Evita remained a formidable influence in Argentine politics. In 1971 the military government. winning the adulation of the masses. orphanages.
Nevertheless. London) he British scientist Rosalind Franklin was an unacknowledged contributor to the discovery of the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). a constituent of chromosomes that serves to encode genetic information. In 1951 Franklin joined the Biophysical Laboratory at King's College. she was able to use this research for her doctoral thesis.7 Eva Perón 7 in a crypt in the presidential palace. ROSALIND FRANKLIN (b. where she investigated the physical chemistry of carbon and coal for the war effort. That work led to her research on the structural changes caused by the formation of graphite in heated carbons—work that proved valuable for the coking industry. 1920. Cambridge. studying X-ray diffraction technology. Two years later a new military junta hostile to Peronism removed the bodies. London. When she began her research at King's College. 1958. But the advance of World War II changed her course of action: not only did she serve as a London air raid warden. From 1947 to 1950 she worked with Jacques Méring at the State Chemical Laboratory in Paris. very little was known about the chemical makeup or structure of DNA. London. Rosalind Elsie Franklin attended St. and in 1945 she received a doctorate from Cambridge. but in 1942 she gave up her fellowship in order to work for the British Coal Utilisation Research Association. she received a fellowship to conduct research in physical chemistry at Cambridge. After graduating in 1941. as a research fellow. April 16. Paul's Girls' School before studying physical chemistry at Newnham College.—d. Eng. July 25. However. There she applied X-ray diffraction methods to the study of DNA. Evita's remains were finally interred in the Duarte family crypt in Recoleta cemetery. she soon discovered the density of DNA 303 T .
D. She collaborated on studies showing that the ribonucleic acid (RNA) in that virus was embedded in its protein rather than in its central cavity and that this RNA was a single-strand helix.S. awarded for her development of the radioimmunoassay (RIA). From 1953 to 1958 Franklin worked in the Crystallography Laboratory at Birkbeck College.) he American medical physicist Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was a joint recipient (with Andrew V.Y. While there she completed her work on coals and on DNA and began a project on the molecular structure of the tobacco mosaic virus. New York. N. and in 1947 she became a consultant in nuclear physics to the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital. Franklin's involvement in cutting-edge DNA research was halted by her untimely death from cancer in 1958. Schally and Roger Guillemin) of the 1977 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. rather than the double helix found in the DNA of bacterial viruses and higher organisms. Yalow graduated with honours from Hunter College of the City University of New York in 1941 and four years later received her Ph. 1921. established that the molecule existed in a helical conformation. July 19. more important. London. YALOW (b. ROSALYN S. T 304 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 and. in physics from the University of Illinois. U. Her work to make clearer X-ray patterns of DNA molecules laid the foundation for James Watson and Francis Crick to suggest in 1953 that the structure of DNA is a double-helix polymer.. a spiral consisting of two DNA strands wound around each other. an extremely sensitive technique for measuring minute quantities of biologically active substances. From 1946 to 1950 she lectured on physics at Hunter.
In the 1950s it was known that individuals treated with injections of animal insulin developed resistance to the hormone and so required greater amounts of it to offset the effects of the disease. This made possible such practical applications as the screening of blood in blood banks for hepatitis virus and the determination of effective dosage levels of drugs and antibiotics. however. drugs. In 1976 she was the first female recipient of the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award. Berson.7 Rosalyn S. which became bound to the insulin and prevented the hormone from entering cells and carrying out its function of metabolizing glucose. and the RIA was born. Berson Distinguished Professor at Large at 305 . Yalow 7 where from 1950 to 1970 she was physicist and assistant chief of the radioisotope service. Yalow and Berson theorized that the foreign insulin stimulated the production of antibodies. the American physician Solomon A. Yalow began using radioactive isotopes to examine and diagnose various disease conditions. such as viruses. In order to prove their hypothesis to a skeptical scientific community. In 1970 Yalow was appointed chief of the laboratory later renamed the Nuclear Medical Service at the Veterans Administration Hospital. and other proteins. It was soon apparent that this method could be used to measure hundreds of other biologically active substances. Yalow and Berson's investigations into the mechanism underlying type II diabetes led to their development of RIA. Yalow became a distinguished professor at large at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in 1979 and left in 1985 to accept the position of Solomon A. a satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon had not been put forth. the researchers combined techniques from immunology and radioisotope tracing to measure minute amounts of these antibodies. With a colleague.
Later novels include Burger's Daughter (1979). and the refusal of exile. The Lying Days. and unsentimental technique that became her hallmark. 20. Never an outstanding scholar. 1923. Gordimer was born into a privileged white middleclass family and began reading at an early age. A Sport of Nature (1987). controlled. the inability to change it.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.) he South African novelist and short-story writer Nadine Gordimer examined the theme of exile and alienation in her works. she lectured and taught at various schools in the United States during the 1960s and '70s. In 1953 a novel. Both exhibit the clear.Af. NADINE GORDIMER (b. Gordimer's first book was The Soft Voice of the Serpent (1952). was published. In 1974 Gordimer won the Booker Prize for The Conservationist (1974). she attended the University of Witwatersrand for one year. the numbness caused by the unwillingness to accept apartheid. Nov. a collection of short stories. In addition to writing. and My T 306 . July's People (1981). Springs. Her stories concern the devastating effects of apartheid on the lives of South Africans—the constant tension between personal isolation and the commitment to social justice. Her wide reading informed her about the world on the other side of apartheid—the official South African policy of racial segregation—and that discovery in time developed into strong political opposition to apartheid. and she published her first story in a magazine when she was 15. she received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. S. She was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1988. By the age of 9 she was writing. Transvaal.
7 Nadine Gordimer
Son's Story (1990). Gordimer addressed environmental issues in Get a Life (2005), the story of a South African ecologist who, after receiving thyroid treatment, becomes radioactive to others. She also wrote a number of short-story collections, including A Soldier's Embrace (1980), Crimes of Conscience (1991), and Loot and Other Stories (2003). Living in Hope and History: Notes from Our Century (1999) is a collection of essays, correspondence, and reminiscences. In 2007 Gordimer was awarded the French Legion of Honour.
(b. April 21, 1926, London, Eng.)
lizabeth II reigned as the queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from Feb. 6, 1952. Elizabeth II, born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, was the elder daughter of Albert, duke of York, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As the child of a younger son of King George V, the young Elizabeth had little prospect of acceding to the throne until her uncle, Edward VIII (afterward duke of Windsor), abdicated in her father's favour on Dec. 11, 1936, at which time her father became King George VI and she became heir presumptive. The princess's education was supervised by her mother, who entrusted her daughters to a governess, Marion Crawford; the princess was also grounded in history by C.H.K. Marten, afterward provost of Eton College, and had instruction from visiting teachers in music and languages. During World War II she and her sister, Princess Margaret Rose, perforce spent much of their time safely away from the London blitz and separated from their parents, living mostly at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, and Windsor Castle.
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Early in 1947 Princess Elizabeth went with the king and queen to South Africa. After her return there was an announcement of her betrothal to her distant cousin Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten of the Royal Navy, formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. The marriage took place in Westminster Abbey on Nov. 20, 1947. On the eve of the wedding her father, the king, conferred upon the bridegroom the titles of duke of Edinburgh, earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. They took residence at Clarence House in London. Their first child, Prince Charles (Charles Philip Arthur George), was born Nov. 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace. In the summer of 1951 the health of King George VI entered into a serious decline, and Princess Elizabeth represented him at the Trooping the Colour and on
Elizabeth II and coronation guests, June 2, 1953. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 308
7 Elizabeth II
various other state occasions. On October 7 she and her husband set out on a highly successful tour of Canada and Washington, D.C. After Christmas in England she and the duke set out in January 1952 for a tour of Australia and New Zealand, but en route, at Sagana, Kenya, news reached them of the king's death on Feb. 6, 1952. Elizabeth, now queen, at once flew back to England. The first three months of her reign, the period of full mourning for her father, were passed in comparative seclusion. But in the summer, after she had moved from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace, she undertook the routine duties of the sovereign and carried out her first state opening of Parliament on Nov. 4, 1952. Her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953. Beginning in November 1953, the queen and the duke of Edinburgh made a six-month round-the-world tour of the Commonwealth, which included the first visit to Australia and New Zealand by a reigning British monarch. In 1957, after state visits to various European nations, she and the duke visited Canada and the United States. In 1961 she made the first royal British tour of the Indian subcontinent in 50 years, and she was also the first reigning British monarch to visit South America (in 1968) and the Persian Gulf countries (in 1979). During her "Silver Jubilee" in 1977, she presided at a London banquet attended by the leaders of the 36 members of the Commonwealth, traveled all over Britain and Northern Ireland, and toured overseas in the South Pacific and Australia, in Canada, and in the Caribbean. On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, her son Prince Charles became heir apparent; he was named prince of Wales on July 26, 1958, and was so invested on July 1, 1969. The queen's other children were Princess Anne (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise), born Aug. 15, 1950; Prince Andrew (Andrew Albert Christian Edward), born Feb. 19, 1960,
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time
and created duke of York in 1986; and Prince Edward (Edward Anthony Richard Louis), born March 10, 1964. All these children have the surname "of Windsor," but in 1960 Elizabeth decided to create the hyphenated name Mountbatten-Windsor for other descendants not styled prince or princess and royal highness. Elizabeth's first grandchild (Princess Anne's son) was born on Nov. 15, 1977. The queen seemed increasingly aware of the modern role of the monarchy, allowing, for example, the televising of the royal family's domestic life in 1970 and condoning the formal dissolution of her sister's marriage in 1978. However, after the failed marriage of her son and Diana, princess of Wales, and Diana's death in 1997, popular feeling in Britain turned against the royal family, which was thought to be out of touch with contemporary British life. In line with her earlier attempts at modernizing the monarchy, the queen, after 1997, sought to present a lessstuffy and less-traditional image of the monarchy. These attempts have met with mixed success. Queen Elizabeth has been known to favour simplicity in court life and take a serious and informed interest in government business, aside from the traditional and ceremonial duties. Privately she has become a keen horsewoman; she has kept racehorses, frequently attended races, and periodically visited the Kentucky stud farms in the United States. Her financial and property holdings have made her one of the world's richest women.
(b. June 12, 1929, Frankfurt am Main, Ger.—d. March 1945, BergenBelsen concentration camp, near Hannover)
nne Frank, a young Jewish girl who wrote a diary of her family's two years in hiding during the German
7 Anne Frank
occupation of The Netherlands, personalized the Holocaust for generations of readers. The Diary of a Young Girl (published posthumously) has become a classic of war literature. Early in the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler, Anne's father, Otto Frank (1889–1980), a German businessman, took his wife and two daughters to live in Amsterdam. In 1941, after German forces occupied The Netherlands, Anne was compelled to transfer from a public to a Jewish school. Faced with deportation (supposedly to a forced-labour camp), the Franks went into hiding on July 9, 1942, with four other Jews in the back-room office and warehouse of Otto Frank's food-products business. With the aid of a few non-Jewish friends who smuggled in food and other supplies, they lived confined to their secret annex until Aug. 4, 1944, when the Gestapo, acting on a tip from Dutch informers, discovered them. The family was transported to Westerbork, a transit camp in The Netherlands, and from there to Auschwitz in German-occupied Poland on Sept. 3, 1944, on the last transport to leave Westerbork for Auschwitz. Anne (in full Annelies Marie) and her sister Margot were transferred to Bergen-Belsen the following month. Anne's mother died in early January, just before the evacuation of Auschwitz on Jan. 18, 1945. Both Anne and Margot died in a typhus epidemic in March 1945, only weeks before the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Otto Frank was found hospitalized at Auschwitz when it was liberated by Russian troops on Jan. 27, 1945. Friends who had searched the family's hiding place after their capture later gave Otto Frank the papers left behind by the Gestapo. Among them he found Anne's diary, which was published as The Diary of a Young Girl (originally in Dutch, 1947). Precocious in style and insight,
7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time
it traces her emotional growth amid adversity. In it she wrote, "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." The diary has been translated into more than 65 languages and is the most widely read diary of the Holocaust, and Anne is probably the best-known of Holocaust victim. A new English translation, published in 1995, contained material edited out of the original version, making the new work nearly one-third longer. The Frank family's hiding place on the Prinsengracht—a canal in Amsterdam—has become a museum.
(b. Oct. 18, 1929, Rivas, Nic.)
ewspaper publisher and politician Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was Central America's first woman president and served as leader of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. Violeta Barrios was born into a wealthy Nicaraguan family (her father was a cattle rancher). She received much of her early education in the U.S. states of Texas and Virginia. In 1950, shortly after the death of her father, she returned to Nicaragua, where she married Pedro Joaquim Chamorro Cardenal, editor of the newspaper La Prensa, which was often critical of the Somoza family dictatorship. The Chamorros were forced into exile in 1957 and lived in Costa Rica for several years before returning to Nicaragua after the Somoza government declared an amnesty. On Jan. 10, 1978, Pedro Chamorro, who had continued to criticize the Somozas and had been imprisoned several times during the 1960s and '70s, was assassinated. His death helped to spark a revolution, led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, which toppled the government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979. A member of
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro
the Sandinista ruling junta in 1979–80, Violeta Chamorro soon became disillusioned with the Sandinistas' Marxist policies, and later she became an outspoken foe. She took over La Prensa, which was frequently shut down during the 1980s and was banned completely for a period in 1986– 87. During the 1980s she was accused by the Sandinistas of accepting money from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, which was then providing support to opposition groups and directing the Contra rebels in their guerrilla war against the Sandinista government. An end to the guerrilla war was negotiated in the late 1980s, and free elections were scheduled for 1990. Chamorro, drafted as the presidential candidate of the 14-party National Opposition Union (Unión Nacional Opositor; UNO) alliance, won a surprisingly easy victory over President Daniel Ortega Saavedra, head of the Sandinistas. She was inaugurated on April 25, 1990, becoming Central America's first woman president. During her presidency Chamorro reversed a number of Sandinista policies. Several state-owned industries were privatized, censorship was lifted, and the size of the army was reduced. At the same time, she retained a number of Sandinistas in the government and attempted to reconcile the country's various political factions. Many credit her conciliatory policies with helping to maintain the fragile peace that had been negotiated. Barred from running for a second term, she retired from politics after her term ended in January 1997.
(b. March 26, 1930, El Paso, Texas, U.S.)
andra Day O'Connor was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to
becoming an assistant attorney general for the state (1965–69). a decisive swing vote in the Supreme Court's decisions. 25. After a brief tenure. She received undergraduate (1950) and law (1952) degrees from Stanford University. 1981.S. Upon her return to the United States. with Justice Anthony Kennedy. she and her husband. a member of the U." O'Connor was confirmed unanimously by the Senate and was sworn in as the first female justice on Sept. In 1969 she was elected as a Republican to the Arizona Senate (1969–74). where she met the future chief justice of the United States William Rehnquist. Army Judge Advocate General Corps. Described by Reagan as a "person for all seasons. California. O'Connor pursued private practice in Maryville. moved to Germany. she was known for her dispassionate and meticulously researched opinions. where she served as a civil attorney for the army (1954–57). O'Connor grew up on a large family ranch near Duncan. she 314 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 2006. In 1974 she was elected a Superior Court judge in Maricopa county. A moderate conservative. and in 1979 she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals in Phoenix. Upon her graduation she married a classmate. John Jay O'Connor III. Unable to find employment in a law firm because she was a woman—despite her academic achievements. She was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. one firm offered her a job as a secretary—she became a deputy district attorney in San Mateo county. In such disparate fields as election law and abortion rights. O'Connor quickly became known for her pragmatism and was considered. In July 1981 President Ronald Reagan nominated her to fill the vacancy left on the Supreme Court by the retirement of Justice Potter Stewart. Arizona. rising to the position of majority leader—the first woman in the United States to occupy such a position. Arizona.
often over the course of several cases. which O'Connor wrote with Justices Anthony Kennedy and David Souter. Reproductive Health Services (1989)—in which the court upheld a Missouri law that prohibited public employees from performing or assisting in abortions not necessary to save a woman's life and that required doctors to determine the viability of a fetus if it was at least 20 weeks old—she reduced the court's opinion to a plurality. In her decisions in election law she emphasized the importance of equal-protection claims (Shaw v. In similar fashion. Through her stewardship in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. the court refashioned its position on the right to abortion. O'Connor's views on abortion rights were articulated gradually. [1993]). Cromartie. 315 . and sided with the court's more liberal members in upholding the configuration of a congressional district in North Carolina created on the basis of variables including but not limited to race (Easley v. By "defecting" in part from the conservative majority in Webster v. declared unconstitutional district boundaries that are "unexplainable on grounds other than race" (Bush v. Wade (1973) but also lowered the standard that legal restrictions on abortion must meet in order to pass constitutional muster. [2001]). In 2006 O'Connor retired from the Supreme Court and was replaced by Samuel Alito. Reno. she signaled a reluctance to support any decision that would deny women the right to choose a safe and legal abortion. such laws would be considered unconstitutional only if they constituted an "undue burden" on women seeking to obtain an abortion. [1996]). The court's opinion. After Casey.7 Sandra Day O'Connor 7 attempted to fashion workable solutions to major constitutional questions. reaffirmed the constitutionally protected right to abortion established in Roe v. Casey (1992). Vera. In a series of rulings.
Liberia) he Liberian politician and economist Ellen JohnsonSirleaf was president of Liberia from 2006. During 12 years of exile in Kenya and the United States. Citibank. After obtaining a master's degree (1971) in public administration from Harvard University. she entered government service in Liberia. Doe's military dictatorship. representing the Unity Party. At age 17 she married James Sirleaf (they were later divorced). Ellen Johnson was the daughter of the first indigenous Liberian to sit in the national legislature. Johnson-Sirleaf became known for her personal financial integrity and clashed with both heads of state. She served as assistant minister of finance (1972–73) under President William Tolbert and as finance minister (1980–85) in Samuel K. Oct. Of mixed Gola and German heritage.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF (b. In 1961 Johnson-Sirleaf went to the United States to study economics and business administration. Johnson-Sirleaf ran for president in the 1997 election. In the 1985 national election she campaigned for a seat in the Senate and openly criticized the military government. she became an influential economist for the World Bank. She was released after a short time and allowed to leave the country. Monrovia. During Doe's regime she was imprisoned twice and narrowly avoided execution. From 1992 to 1997 she was the director of the Regional Bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme. She finished second to Charles Taylor and was forced back into exile when his government charged her with treason. By 1999 Liberia 316 T . which led to her arrest and a 10-year prison sentence. 1938. and other international financial institutions. She was the first woman to be elected head of state of an African country. 29.
vowing to end civil strife and corruption." she placed second in the first round of voting. Johnson-Sirleaf was sworn in as president of Liberia on Jan.000 United Nations peacekeepers in the country and unemployment running at 80 percent. which oversaw preparations for democratic elections.7 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf 7 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf 's influence on Liberian politics stemmed from terms as finance minister and her election as president in 2006. 8. Jim Watson/AFP/ Getty Images had collapsed into civil war. 2005. 16. defeating football (soccer) legend George Weah. Known as the "Iron Lady. and rebuild the country's devastated infrastructure. After Taylor went into exile in 2003. In 2005 she again ran for president. she won the runoff election. Johnson-Sirleaf returned to Liberia to chair the Commission on Good Governance. and on Nov. establish unity. 2006. With more than 15. 317 .
April 20. she established a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to probe corruption and heal ethnic tensions.) H aving served three terms as prime minister of Norway in the 1980s and '90s. the youngest person and first woman to become prime minister of Norway. In addition. 1939. GRO HARLEM BRUNDTLAND (b. Gro Harlem Brundtland later was director general of the World Health Organization (WHO. 318 . is credited with securing better educational and economic opportunities for women in Norway. In 1983 she became chair of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development. Brundtland never had fewer than 8 women in her 18-member cabinet and. A member of the Labour Party. Oslo. and she was first elected to the Storting (parliament) in 1977. The daughter of a physician and politician. Trained as a physician. she received an M. degree from the University of Oslo in 1963 and a master's degree in public health from Harvard University in 1965. In 1975 she was elected deputy leader of the party and in 1981 its leader. Nor.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Johnson-Sirleaf faced serious challenges.D. She returned as prime minister in 1986–89 and served again in 1990–96 until her resignation. She served for only nine months. She then worked as a public health officer for the city of Oslo and for Oslo schools. She immediately sought debt amelioration and aid from the international community. she became identified with public health and environmental issues and with the rights of women. she was minister of the environment from 1974 to 1979. overall. because Labour lost the elections held later that year. 1998–2003). When the Labour prime minister resigned in 1981. Brundtland was appointed to the post.
Her work often has been considered both unwelcome and subversive in her own country. the report that introduced the idea of "sustainable development" and led to the first Earth Summit. In 2007.S. a former president of Chile. April 1. In 1971 she received a Ph. and in 1977 she became chair of the department. in biology. effectively becoming the first woman in either East or Central Africa to earn a doctorate.S. Maathai was educated in the United States at Mount St. Kenya) I n 2004 the Kenyan politician and environmental activist Wangari Muta Maathai was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize for Peace. where her outspokenness has constituted stepping far outside traditional gender roles. the secretary-general of the United Nations. together with Han Seung-soo. where she tackled global pandemics such as AIDS and SARS. B. 1940. Maathai developed the idea that village women could improve the environment by planting trees to provide a fuel source and to slow the processes of deforestation and desertification. an 319 . Nyeri.7 Gro Harlem Brundtland 7 which in 1987 issued Our Common Future. She began teaching in the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Nairobi after graduation. 1966). 1964) and at the University of Pittsburgh (M. In 1998 she became director general of the WHO. The Green Belt Movement.D.. her term ended in 2003. becoming the first black African woman to win the award. While working with the National Council of Women of Kenya. former minister of foreign affairs of South Korea. Scholastica College (now Benedictine College. she was appointed a special envoy on climate change to Ban Ki-moon. and Ricardo Lagos Escobar. at the University of Nairobi. WANGARI MAATHAI (b.
Unbowed. including Tanzania.S. built a catering 320 . She was elected to Kenya's National Assembly in 2002 with 98 percent of the vote.J. Aug. As a result of the movement's activism. She published an autobiography.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 organization she founded in 1977. human rights. The Challenge for Africa (2009). 3. 2003). 1941. the committee commended her "holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy. in 2007." Her first book. N. and she frequently represented these concerns at meetings of the United Nations General Assembly. In addition to her conservation work. rev.) M artha Stewart. natural resources. and in 2003 she was appointed assistant minister of environment. MARTHA STEWART (b. Maathai also has been a frequent contributor to international publications such as the Los Angeles Times and the Guardian. AIDS prevention. detailed the history of the organization. and women's rights in particular. had by the early 21st century planted some 30 million trees. Another volume. The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience (1988. Maathai also has been an advocate for human rights. and wildlife. Ethiopia. criticized Africa's leadership as ineffectual and urged Africans to try to solve their problems without Western assistance. and women's issues.. ed. similar initiatives were begun in other African countries. Leaders of the Green Belt Movement established the Pan African Green Belt Network in 1986 in order to educate world leaders about conservation and environmental improvement. When she won the Nobel Prize in 2004. an American entrepreneur and domestic lifestyle innovator. U. Jersey City. and Zimbabwe.
She married law student Andrew Stewart (1961. Inc. cocktail party.. with Elizabeth Hawes). and she paid her college tuition by taking modeling jobs in New York City. Stewart's talent for innovation and presentation attracted a string of prestigious clients. she oversaw the CBS Masterworks Dinner Classics. set the tone for subsequent publications: superb art direction. sewing. Martha Helen Kostyra grew up in a Polish American household where the traditional arts of cooking. Time Publishing Ventures.J. With yeoman labour they gardened. restored. and turned their ambitions toward restoring Turkey Hill. Sunday brunch. teamed with Stewart (1990) to publish a monthly magazine.. their daughter. canning and preserving. housekeeping. a series of music compilations that could provide the appropriate background music for a picnic. After launching a catering business (1976) with a partner. or exotic meal.. Martha Stewart Living. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. they divorced in 1990) while studying at Barnard College (B. Her first book. Connecticut. In addition. and decorated. European history and architectural history. Alexis.A. gorgeous settings. and gardening were practiced.7 Martha Stewart 7 business into an international media and home furnishing corporation. Following continued success with such books as Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres (1984) and Weddings (1987). Raised in Nutley. with Stewart not only as editor in chief but as the 321 . Stewart worked as a stockbroker at a small Wall Street firm (1965–72) until she and her family moved to Westport. Inc. a Federal-style farmhouse. She started planning birthday parties for neighbour children while she was in grammar school. was born in 1965. 1963). Entertaining (1982. acquiring the skills and the setting for books and TV shows. N. Norma Collier. labour-intensive recipes and decorating projects.
and bottomless capacity for work were not universally admired. As she built her business. with Stewart as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO).7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 featured personality within its pages. and many criticisms were swept away by the personal appeal that made her company a commercial success. and her glorification of a home-centred existence seemed to some a step backward for women.000 shares of ImClone Systems. She was censured for setting an impossible model for harried working mothers. a biomedical firm owned by family friend Samuel Waksal. however briefly. occurring one day before public information about ImClone caused the stock price to drop. Convicted in 2004 and sentenced to serve five months in prison followed by five months of home detention. She began a syndicated television show of the same name (1993) and eventually bought the magazine from Time Warner Inc. In December 2001 Stewart ordered the sale of 4. Stewart stepped down as CEO of her firm in 2003. sparked accusations of insider trading. But her fans were legion. funding the purchase with proceeds from her merchandising arrangement with Kmart. comprehensive knowledge. Stewart's perfectionism. which debuted as the Martha Stewart Everyday line of household furnishings. assuming the title of chief creative officer and appearing to distance herself from daily operations as she focused on defending herself against charges of lying and obstructing justice. 322 . Each of these business moves took her closer to her ultimate goal of creating a multichannel media and marketing firm. That goal was fully realized when Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (1999). with the public launch of her company. (1997). The sale of her shares. She became a billionaire. Stewart urged her fans to continue supporting her company.
in 1985. In 1981 she returned to Tübingen. she joined Wieschaus as a group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg in 1978.000 fruit fly families and systematically examining their genetic makeup at a dual microscope. Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus spent more than a year crossbreeding 40. which establish repeating structures within each segment. she became director of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology. where. 20. including humans. T 323 . Their trial-and-error methods resulted in the discovery that of the fly's 20. At Heidelberg.000 are deemed important to early development and about 140 are essential. They assigned responsibility for the fruit fly's embryonic development to three genetic categories: gap genes. pairrule genes. Lewis for their research concerning the mechanisms of early embryonic development. as an experimental subject.7 Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard 7 CHRISTIANE NÜSSLEIN-VOLHARD (b. NüssleinVolhard received a diploma in biochemistry in 1968 and a doctorate in genetics in 1973. working in tandem with Wieschaus. After holding fellowships in Basel and Freiburg. or vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster). which lay out the head-to-tail body plan. which determine body segmentation. Wieschaus and Edward B. At Eberhard-Karl University of Tübingen. and segment-polarity genes. expanded upon the pioneering work of Lewis. Ger. Her work has relevance to the development of all multicellular organisms.000 genes. Oct. Magdeburg. Nüsslein-Volhard. 1942.) he German developmental geneticist Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard was jointly awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with geneticists Eric F. about 5. who used the fruit fly.
and are closely related to other vertebrates. 1967–68. Nüsslein-Volhard received the Leibniz Prize (1986) and the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (1991). She also published several books.. 1970–73. King was athletically inclined from an early age. Her investigations in zebra fish have helped elucidate genes and other cellular substances involved in human development and in the regulation of normal human physiology. women's doubles 1961–62. 22. mixed doubles 1967.) he American athlete and tennis player Billie Jean King (née Billie Jean Moffitt) is noteworthy for having elevated the status of women's professional tennis through her influence and playing style. These organisms are ideal models for investigations into developmental biology because they have clear embryos. 1965. written with Ralf Dahm) and Coming to Life: How Genes Drive Development (2006). in addition T 324 . including Zebrafish: A Practical Approach (2002. 1972–73. beginning in the late 1960s. Nov. 1973–74). Long Beach. 1979. 1943. 1971. U. theirs was the youngest team to win. Nüsslein-Volhard studied the migration of cells from their sites of origin to their sites of destination within zebra fish embryos. and 1975. have a rapid rate of reproduction. Calif. She went on to capture a record 20 Wimbledon titles (singles 1966–68.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 In the early 1990s Nüsslein-Volhard began studying genes that control development in the zebra fish Danio rerio. competing in both singles and doubles. She first attracted international attention in 1961 by winning the Wimbledon doubles championship with Karen Hantz.S. In addition to the Nobel Prize. In her career she won 39 major titles. BILLIE JEAN KING (b.
Billie Jean King made women's tennis a sport distinct from the men's game and increased winners' purses on the ladies' tour.7 Billie Jean King 7 In addition to winning many titles. Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images 325 .
her Wimbledon record was tied by Martina Navratilova in 2003. and obtained financial backing from commercial sponsors. King remained active in tennis and since the mid-1990s served as coach for several Olympic and Federation Cup teams. but King revived the competition in 1981. and mixed doubles titles in a single year. 1971–72. were part of a group that founded World TeamTennis (WTT) in 1974.S.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 to U. 326 . She was one of the founders and the first president (1974) of the Women's Tennis Association.000 in one season (1971). the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. Larry King (married 1965). The match set a record for the largest tennis audience and the largest purse awarded up to that time. she was the first woman since 1938 to sweep the U. She was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1980. doubles. 1974). With her victories in 1967. and the Australian title (1968). and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1990. when it renamed the National Tennis Center. King and her husband. winning 27 major titles. King retired from competitive tennis in 1984 and the same year became the first woman commissioner in professional sports in her position with the World Team Tennis League. King turned professional after 1968 and became the first woman athlete to win more than $100. home of the U. She pushed relentlessly for the rights of women players. She was perhaps one of the greatest doubles players in the history of tennis.S. singles (1967. The WTT folded after 1978 because of financial losses.S. helped to form a separate women's tour. thus becoming one of the first women to coach professional male athletes. King served as the player-coach of the Philadelphia Freedoms. French singles (1972). and British singles. In 1973 she beat the aging Bobby Riggs in a much-publicized "Battle of the Sexes" match. The United States Tennis Association honoured King in August 2006.
she was elected to the Royal Irish Academy and was a member of the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva (1987– 90). She published two autobiographies. 1997–2002). 327 T . and diplomat Mary Robinson served as president of Ireland (1990–97) and as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR. politician. as well as We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis (1988. MARY ROBINSON (b. She served at Trinity College (University of Dublin) as Reid Professor of penal legislation. with Kim Chapin) and The Autobiography of Billie Jean King (1982. the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. and the law of evidence (1969–75) and lecturer in European Community law (1975–90). May 21. In 1988 she established (with her husband) at Trinity College the Irish Centre for European Law.7 Billie Jean King 7 Open. Billie Jean (1974. was educated at Trinity College and King's Inns in Dublin and at Harvard University in the United States. Robinson. with Frank Deford). 1944. constitutional and criminal law. Ballina. She was also a member of the Dublin City Council (1979–83) and ran unsuccessfully in 1977 and 1981 for Dublin parliamentary constituencies.) he Irish lawyer. A distinguished constitutional lawyer and a renowned supporter of human rights. which she felt ignored unionist objections. with Christine Brennan). born Mary Teresa Winifred Bourke. Ire. with Cynthia Starr) and Pressure Is a Privilege: Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes (2008. County Mayo. She sat in the Seanad (upper chamber of Parliament) for the Trinity College constituency (1969–89) and served as whip for the Labour Party until resigning from the party over the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985.
and corporate responsibility. In 1998 she was elected chancellor of Trinity College. she was the first UNHCHR to visit China. After leaving her post at the UN. women's leadership. Robinson founded the nongovernmental organization Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative. Its central concerns included equitable international trade. In 2004 Amnesty International 328 . Robinson became Ireland's first woman president in 1990 by mobilizing a liberal constituency and merging it with a more conservative constituency opposed to the Fianna Fáil party. She was also a founding member of the Council of Women World Leaders. she was the first head of state to visit Somalia after it suffered from civil war and famine in 1992 and the first to visit Rwanda after the genocide in that country in 1994. Shortly before her term as president expired.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Nominated by the Labour Party and supported by the Green Party and the Workers' Party. access to health care. As high commissioner. in 2002. South Africa. Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. and she also helped to improve the monitoring of human rights in Kosovo. Racial Discrimination. served as honorary president of Oxfam International (a private organization that provides relief and development aid to impoverished or disaster-stricken communities worldwide). Robinson adopted a much more prominent role than her predecessors. migration. Robinson changed the priorities of her office to emphasize the promotion of human rights at the national and regional levels. and was a member of the Club of Madrid (which promotes democracy). and she did much to communicate a more modern image of Ireland. she took up the post of UNHCHR. Strongly committed to human rights. held in Durban. In 2001 Robinson served as secretary-general of the World Conference against Racism. As president.
she attended the University of Oxford. won more than 80 percent of the parliamentary seats that were contested in 1990. and winner in 1991 of the Nobel Prize for Peace. The newly formed group with which she became affiliated. Burma [now Yangon. She attended schools in Burma until 1960. Rangoon.7 Mary Robinson 7 awarded her its Ambassador of Conscience award for her human rights work. June 19. The military offered to free her if she agreed to leave Myanmar. T 329 . After further study in India. There the mass slaughter of protesters against the brutal and unresponsive rule of the military strongman U Ne Win led her to speak out against him and to begin a nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights. when her mother was appointed ambassador to India. 1945. was assassinated. Aung San Suu Kyi was 2 years old when her father. then the de facto prime minister of what would shortly become independent Burma. AUNG SAN SUU KYI (b. In July 1989 the military government of the newly named Union of Myanmar placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest and held her incommunicado. but the results of that election were ignored by the military government. Myanmar]) he Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San (a martyred national hero of independent Burma) and Khin Kyi (a prominent Burmese diplomat). She had two children and lived a rather quiet life until 1988. where she met her future husband. when she returned to Burma to nurse her dying mother. but she refused to do so until the country was returned to civilian government and political prisoners were freed. the National League for Democracy (NLD).
The following year she attended the NLD party congress. from the University of Tehrān (1969). Hamadan. her family moved to Tehrān. When she was an infant. Ebadi attended Anoshiravn Dadgar and Reza Shah Kabir schools before earning a law degree. It is widely believed that the new conviction was designed to prevent Aung from participating in elections scheduled for 2010. Iran) F or her efforts to promote democracy and human rights. While serving as a judge. Following clashes between the NLD and pro-government demonstrators in 2003. She was the first Muslim woman and the first Iranian to receive the award. In 1998 she announced the formation of a representative committee that she declared was the country's legitimate ruling parliament. in only three and a half years.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest in July 1995. Calls for her release continued throughout the international community in the face of her sentence's annual renewal. her father was an author and a lecturer in commercial law. June 21. SHIRIN EBADI (b. especially those of women and children in Iran. she also earned a doctorate in 330 . 1947. Ebadi was born into an educated Iranian family. Shirin Ebadi received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2003. but the military government continued to harass both her and her party. That same year she took an apprenticeship at the Department of Justice and became one of the first women judges in Iran. In August 2009. the government returned her to house arrest. she was convicted of breaching the terms of her house arrest and sentenced to an additional 18 months. The military junta once again placed her under house arrest from September 2000 to May 2002.
She also was founder and head of the Association for Support of Children's Rights in Iran. From 1975 to 1979 she was head of the city court of Tehrān." she was given a prison term. Ebadi reflected on her own experiences in Iran Awakening: From Prison to Peace Prize. Ebadi wrote a number of books on the subject of human rights. and fined. like her. Ebadi was subsequently forced to become a clerk of the court. also published as Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope). women were deemed unsuitable to serve as judges because the new leaders believed that Islam forbids it.7 Shirin Ebadi 7 private law from the University of Tehrān (1971). She also taught at the University of Tehrān and became an advocate for civil rights. Ebadi resigned in protest. She also distributed evidence implicating government officials in the 1999 murders of students at the University of Tehrān. for which she was jailed for three weeks in 2000. barred from practicing law for five years. had run afoul of the Iranian government. In addition to writing books on human rights. These include The Rights of the Child: A Study of Legal Aspects of Children's Rights in Iran (1994). After she and other female judges protested this action. they were given higher roles within the Department of Justice but were still not allowed to serve as judges. she finally obtained a license to practice law and began to do so. After the 1979 revolution and the establishment of an Islamic republic. Found guilty of "disturbing public opinion. although her sentence was later suspended. with Azadeh Moaveni. after years of struggle. She then chose to practice law but was initially denied a lawyer's license. 331 . In court Ebadi defended women and dissidents and represented many people who. In 1992. and The Rights of Women (2002). History and Documentation of Human Rights in Iran (2000). One Woman's Struggle at the Crossroads (2006.
Chicago. She campaigned for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964 and chaired the local chapter of the Young Republicans. The first president's wife born after World War II. where she came under the influence of Yale alumna Marian Wright Edelman. where her father's textile business provided the family with a comfortable income. Hillary Diane Rodham was the eldest child of Hugh and Dorothy Rodham. Illinois. Bill Clinton. A year later. Ill. Her parents' emphasis on hard work and academic excellence set high standards.. 1947. A student leader in public schools. Oct. she was active in youth programs at the First United Methodist Church. she developed a strong interest in family law and issues affecting children. T 332 . Clinton entered Yale Law School. after she enrolled at Wellesley College. during this time she adhered to the Republican Party of her parents. 26. and Martin Luther King. She grew up in Park Ridge. senator (2001–09) and secretary of state (2009– ) in the administration of Pres. Although she later became associated with liberal causes.S.. Jr.S. a Chicago suburb. a lawyer and children's rights advocate. U.) he American lawyer and politician Hillary Rodham Clinton served as a U.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (b. she joined the Democratic Party and volunteered in the presidential campaign of antiwar candidate Eugene McCarthy. After her graduation from Wellesley in 1969. Robert F. 42nd president of the United States. Influenced by the assassinations of Malcolm X. her political views began to change. Barack Obama. Kennedy. Through her work with Edelman. She also served as first lady (1993–2001) during the administration of her husband.
Arkansas. was born in 1980. she also maintained a successful law practice. She taught at the University of Arkansas School of Law. In Bill's 1992 presidential campaign. bringing considerable criticism from voters who felt that her failure to change her name indicated a lack of commitment to her husband. she joined the prominent Rose Law Firm in Little Rock. Throughout Bill's tenure as governor (1979–81. 11. Nixon. She also served as chair of the Arkansas Education Standards Committee and founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. She served on the boards of several high-profile corporations and was twice named one of the nation's 100 most influential lawyers (1988. She was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Young Mother of the Year in 1984. 1975. and serving as one of her husband's chief advisers. 1991) by the National Law Journal. Hillary played a crucial role by greeting voters. Her appearance with him on the television news program 60 Minutes in 333 . After Bill was elected governor of Arkansas in 1978. 1983– 92). When her assignment ended with Nixon's resignation in August 1974. Hillary worked on programs that aided children and the disadvantaged. they took separate paths after graduation in 1973. Their only child. giving speeches.7 Hillary Rodham Clinton 7 Although Hillary met Bill Clinton at Yale. following her marriage to Bill Clinton on Oct. she made what some people consider the crucial decision of her life—she moved to Arkansas. where she later became a partner. and she worked with Edelman in Massachusetts for the Children's Defense Fund. Chelsea Victoria. and. she continued to pursue her career and retained her maiden name (until 1982). He returned to his native Arkansas. In 1974 Hillary participated in the Watergate inquiry into the possible impeachment of President Richard M.
Bill and Hillary discussed their marital problems. and her commodities trading in 1978–79—through which she reportedly turned a $1. then." With a professional career unequaled by any previous presidential candidate's wife. She appointed an experienced staff and set up her own office in the West Wing. an unprecedented move. a centrepiece of his legislative agenda. Hillary was heavily scrutinized. Conservatives complained that she had her own agenda. if they did not like what they saw.000 investment into $100. During the 1992 campaign. "heck. and Hillary told voters to judge her husband by his record—adding that. Gennifer Flowers. a real estate development in Arkansas. Early indications from the Clinton White House supported this interpretation.000 in a few months— came under close scrutiny. don't vote for him. implying that Hillary would play an important role in his administration. she defended herself from such criticism by asserting that she could have "stayed home and baked cookies. because she had worked for some liberal causes. Bill Clinton sometimes spoke of a "twofer" ("two for the price of one") presidency. Her husband appointed her to head the Task Force on National Health Care. Her investment in Whitewater. Responding to questions about Bill's alleged 12-year sexual relationship with an Arkansas woman. She encountered sharp criticism when she closed the sessions of the task force to the public. and doctors and other health care professionals objected that she was not a "government 334 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 January 1992 made her name a household word." This impromptu remark was picked up by the press and used by her critics as evidence of her lack of respect for women who are full-time homemakers. During one campaign stop. Some of Hillary's financial dealings raised suspicions of impropriety and led to major investigations after she became first lady.
In 1999 Hillary made history of a different sort when she launched her candidacy for the U.7 Hillary Rodham Clinton 7 official" and had no right to bar them from the proceedings. . Her first book. New York. ruling that presidents' wives have "a longstanding tradition of public service . Hillary was criticized on other matters as well. . It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us (1996). D. she was less visible and played a more traditional role as first lady. 2000. described her views on child rearing and prompted accolades from supporters and stark criticism from her opponents. She stood faithfully by her husband during the scandal—in which her husband first denied and then admitted to having had a sexual relationship with Lewinsky—and throughout his ensuing impeachment and trial in the Senate. act[ing] . including her role in the firing of seven staff members from the White House travel office ("Travelgate") and her involvement in legal maneuvering by the White House during the Whitewater investigation. on Jan. . she moved out of Washington. To meet the state's residency requirement. As the 1996 election approached." To promote the findings of the task force. An appeals court later supported her stand. Revelations about President Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky brought the first lady back into the spotlight in a complex way. But Congress ultimately rejected the task force's recommendations. to a house that she and the president purchased in Chappaqua. 5. and her role in the health care debate galvanized conservatives and helped Republicans recapture Congress in the 1994 elections. she appeared before five congressional committees and received considerable and mostly favourable press coverage for her expertise on the subject.. After a 335 . as advisers and personal representatives of their husbands. .S.C. Senate seat from New York being vacated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Michael Gross/U. she supported the U.S.led invasion of Afghanistan but grew highly critical of Hillary Rodham Clinton (left) being sworn in as secretary of state by Joe Biden (right) as Bill Clinton. 2009. Hillary continued to push for health care reform.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 bitter campaign. including the Committee for Armed Services. Sworn into office on Jan. She served on several senatorial committees.S. 2. 3. Although often a subject of controversy. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001. she defeated Republican Rick Lazio by a substantial margin to become the first first lady to win elective office. and Dorothy Rodham look on. Hillary showed that the ceremonial parts of the first lady's job could be merged with a strong role in public policy and that the clout of the first lady could be converted into a personal political power base. 2001. Feb. Chelsea Clinton. and she remained an advocate for children. Department of State 336 .
and she won the New Hampshire primary five days later. her narrow victory in Indiana and substantial loss in North Carolina in early May severely limited the possibility of her garnering enough delegates to overtake Obama before the final primaries in June. He officially secured the party's nomination on August 27 at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and went on to win the general election on November 4. However. In December 2008. but she failed to gain a significant lead over Barack Obama in the number of pledged convention delegates. Living History. following the final primaries in Montana and South Dakota. Obama won 11 consecutive states following Super Tuesday to take over the delegate lead and become the new favourite for the nomination. Massachusetts. On Super Tuesday. 3. the Iowa caucus. and in April she added to her momentum by winning the Pennsylvania primary. she had received an advance of about $8 million for the book. on Jan. and New York. 337 . She began the primary season as the front-runner for the nomination but placed a disappointing third in the first contest. In 2003 Hillary's much-anticipated memoir of her White House years. On June 3.7 Hillary Rodham Clinton 7 President George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq War. 2008. Obama selected Hillary to serve as secretary of state. February 5. Her campaign quickly rebounded. Obama passed the delegate threshold and became the presumptive Democratic nominee. but Hillary rebounded in early March with key victories in Ohio and Texas. The following year Hillary announced that she would seek the Democratic Party's presidential nomination for 2008. was published and set sales records. and she was easily confirmed by the Senate in January 2009. In 2006 she was easily reelected to the Senate. she won important states such as California.
and in 1985 it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Each book chosen quickly rose to the top of the best-seller charts. Winfrey excelled in the casual and personal talk-show format. and Winfrey's effect on the publishing industry was significant. In her early teens she was sent to Nashville. and in 1984 she moved to host the faltering talk show AM Chicago. the program became the highest-rated television talk show in America and earned several Emmy Awards. the Oprah magazine in 2000 and with O at Home. Jan. Tenn. she was made a reporter and coanchor for the ABC news affiliate in Baltimore. and in 1977 she became cohost of the Baltimore morning show People Are Talking.. Kosciusko. Winfrey's honest and engaging personality quickly turned the program into a success. to live with her father. Wis. Miss. Her syndicated daily talk show was among the most popular of the genre. 29. and entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey. Maryland. Syndicated nationally in 1986.S. Winfrey moved to Milwaukee. Winfrey further expanded her presence in the publishing industry with the highly successful launch of O.. Winfrey became a news anchor for the local CBS television station. Winfrey broke new ground in 1996 by starting an onair book club. 1954. 338 .7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 OPRAH WINFREY (b. She found herself constrained by the objectivity required of news reporting. actress.. who proved to be a positive influence in her life. At age 19. Following her graduation from Tennessee State University in 1976. at age six to live with her mother. She announced selections two to four weeks in advance and then discussed the book on her show with a select group of people. U.) O ne of the richest and most influential women in the United States is the American television personality. launched in 2004.
photograph from a private collection 339 . Gordon Parks/© 1985 Warner Bros.. Inc..7 Oprah Winfrey 7 Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple (1985).
in 1986. In 1998 Winfrey expanded her media entertainment empire when she cofounded Oxygen Media. She brokered a partnership with Discovery Communications in 2008. Inc. Her critically acclaimed performance led to other roles.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 In 1985 Winfrey appeared in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 novel The Color Purple. Winfrey formed her own television production company. which appeared as a televised movie in 1997 with Winfrey as both star and producer. including a performance in the television miniseries The Women of Brewster Place (1989).. Jan. spent her 340 T . which appeared on the big screen in 1998. in 1990. Winfrey has engaged in numerous philanthropic activities. Menchú. In 2006 the Oprah & Friends channel debuted on satellite radio. The companies began buying film rights to literary works. through which the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) was scheduled to replace the Discovery Health Channel in 2009. including Connie May Fowler's Before Women Had Wings. She is an outspoken crusader against child abuse and has received many honours and awards from civic. which operates a cable television network for women. and entertainment organizations. Harpo Films. In 2007 she opened a $40-million school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa. and Toni Morrison's Beloved. including the creation of Oprah's Angel Network. Harpo Productions. also with Winfrey in a starring role. Guatemala) he Guatemalan Indian-rights activist Rigoberta Menchú was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1992. which sponsors charitable initiatives worldwide. and a film production company. philanthropic. RIGOBERTA MENCHÚ (b. 1959. of the Quiché Maya group. 9.
a leader of a peasant organization opposed to the government. was accused of guerrilla activities. As a young woman. and killed by a military death squad in 1979. and murdered by soldiers the following year. Menchú gained international prominence in 1983 with her widely translated book I. becoming a skilled public speaker and organizer in the course of her efforts. The activism of Menchú and her family led to persecution by Guatemala's military government. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for her continuing efforts to achieve social justice and mutual reconciliation in Guatemala. she became an activist in the local women's rights movement and joined with the Catholic church to advocate for social reform. raped. and her mother was kidnapped. most notably by David Stoll in Rigoberta Menchú and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans (1999). he died in a fire while protesting human rights abuses by the military. mutilated. an Indian advocacy organization. She soon joined international efforts to make the Guatemalan government cease its brutal counterinsurgency campaigns against Indian peasants. Menchú's younger brother was kidnapped.7 Rigoberta Menchú 7 childhood helping with her family's agricultural work. she also likely worked on coffee plantations. tortured. Despite alleged inaccuracies in her story. Rigoberta Menchú. During Guatemala's ensuing civil war. she used the prize money to found the Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation. in which she tells the story of her impoverished youth and recounts in horrifying detail the torture-murders of her brother and mother. Menchú fled to Mexico in 1981 and was cared for there by members of a liberal Roman Catholic group. her father. In the late 1990s her autobiography became the centre of controversy after its veracity was questioned. Menchú continued to earn praise 341 . When a guerrilla organization became active in their region.
31. Viscount Althorp. Norfolk) and West Heath School (Sevenoaks. France) O ne of the best-loved women of the 20th century was Diana. 1997. If formed.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 for bringing international attention to the situation in Guatemala. In 2004 she accepted President Óscar Berger's offer to help implement the country's peace accords. and his first wife. PRINCESS OF WALES (b. Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Kent) provided the young Diana's schooling. July 1. DIANA. and mother of the heir second in line to the British throne. Frances Ruth Burke Roche (daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy). it would be the first Guatemalan political party to represent indigenous groups directly. Prince William of Wales. The following year Menchú began the legal process of creating a formal Winaq political party. the former consort (1981– 96) of Charles. Eng. Switz. Paris. Riddlesworth Hall (near Thetford. She became Lady Diana Spencer when her father succeeded to the earldom in 1975. Menchú created the Indian-led political movement Winaq (Mayan: "The Wholeness of the Human Being") in February 2007. princess of Wales. the home that her parents rented on Queen Elizabeth II's estate at Sandringham and where her childhood playmates were the queen's younger sons. Norfolk. as the candidate of a coalition between Winaq and the left-wing Encounter for Guatemala party. After attending the finishing school of Chateau d'Oex at Montreux. 1961. heir to the 7th Earl Spencer. Sandringham.. she ran for president of Guatemala but earned less than 3 percent of the vote. Diana Frances Spencer was born at Park House. prince of Wales. Diana returned to 342 . Aug.—d. That September. She was the third child and youngest daughter of Edward John Spencer.
their engagement was announced. It was while attempting to evade journalists that Diana was killed. On Feb. along with her companion. and their second. 28. and she became one of the most photographed women in the world. with Diana receiving a substantial settlement. Dodi Fayed. Though the photographers were initially blamed for causing the accident. Prince Henry Charles Albert David. attracted considerable attention from the press. Paul's Cathedral in a globally televised ceremony watched by an audience numbering in the hundreds of millions. instead faulting the driver. on Sept. was born on June 21. Marital difficulties led to a separation between Diana and Charles in 1992. who was found to have had a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit at the time of the crash and to have taken prescription 343 . Although she used that celebrity to great effect in promoting her charitable work. 1981. though they continued to carry out their royal duties and jointly participate in raising their two children. children's issues. She renewed her contacts with the royal family. both in Britain and throughout the world. and AIDS patients. Their first child. Her unprecedented popularity as a member of the royal family. They divorced on Aug. 1981. 1982. 1984. Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales. 24. the media (in particular the aggressive freelance photographers known as paparazzi) were often intrusive. 15. Diana maintained her high public profile and continued many of the activities she had earlier undertaken on behalf of charities. a French judge in 1999 cleared them of any wrongdoing. supporting causes as diverse as the arts.7 Diana. and their driver. they were married in St. in an automobile accident in a tunnel under the streets of Paris. After the divorce. 1996. and her friendship with Charles grew in 1980. and on July 29. Princess of Wales 7 England and became a kindergarten teacher at the fashionable Young England school in Pimlico.
Jayne Fincher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images drugs incompatible with alcohol. in which Diana herself was a central figure. an accusation long made by Fayed's father. however. which appeared antiquated and unfeeling in a populist age of media celebrity. Diana's death and funeral produced unprecedented expressions of public mourning. testifying to her enormous hold on the British national psyche. a British inquest jury ruled both the driver and the paparazzi guilty of unlawful killing through grossly negligent driving. and her death. In April 2008. about the British identity). Her life. in a sense. polarized national feeling about the existing system of monarchy (and.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 Diana. In 2006 a Scotland Yard inquiry into the incident also concluded that the driver was at fault. 344 . though it found no evidence of a conspiracy to kill Diana or Fayed. Princess of Wales.
and personal affectations as a sign of spiritual devoutness. frequently under oath. extant Still in existence. Enlightenment A 17th. equerry A worker in the British royal household who took care of horses and stables. 345 . ascetic Denying oneself pleasure. consort A companion or partner.. alcalde The administrative and judicial head of a town or village in Spain or in areas under Spanish control or influence. goods. apostolic age Early period in the Christian church dominated by the actions of those personally known to Jesus or his disciples. one who has power although not officially being in power is a de facto ruler. courtesan A mistress or prostitute that has members of royalty or nobility as her clientele. concubine A woman who lives with a man as his wife. the spouse of royalty. de facto A Latin phrase meaning "in reality"—e.Glossary abjuration The act of renouncing or giving up.g.and 18th-century philosophical movement that emphasized the use of reason over accepted doctrines and traditions. chattel Objects and people that are considered someone's personal property. without actually being married to him.
the subjective. tapered. or a person on staff at a diplomatic mission. four-sided shaft of stone. showy but shallow. hypostyle hall A building with a roof or ceiling supported by rows of columns.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 feudalism A political and economic system in medieval Europe based on the power of landholders over their tenants. the imaginative. the 346 . parody Imitating a style in such a way as to mock it. legation A diplomatic mission/outpost. governess A woman employed. usually with a pointed pyramidal top. gymnasium A European secondary school that prepares students for university. lyceum A hall in which lectures and concerts are performed. pitchblende A mineral ore of uranium that fascinated Marie Curie and led to the discovery of polonium and radium. foolscap A standard sheet of writing or printing paper in England. to teach someone's children and to act as their nanny. pernicious Causing great harm or death. meretricious Superficially significant. gibbet A cross-like device for displaying the bodies of people who had been executed. who worked the land on which they lived to benefit the landowner. funerary Suitable for or associated with burial. Romanticism An artistic movement of the late 18th century characterized by an emphasis on the individual. obelisk A tall. the irrational. neoclassicism Style reflecting the aesthetic sense of ancient Greece and Rome. usually in a private household. regnal Calculated from the beginning of a monarch's reign.
7 Glossary 7 personal. the emotional. or location. titulary The royal protocol adopted by Egyptian sovereigns. veneration To show profound respect. vicissitude A sudden or unexpected change in one's life. thiasos Greek term for a community of women. the spontaneous. sarcophagus A highly decorated coffin that typically is not buried. triumviral Having to do with one of three people sharing public administration in ancient Rome. stelae Stone slab used as a grave marker or a memorial device. the ability of life to change quickly and without warning. utopian An ideal but impractical situation. 347 . unguent A healing ointment. serf A commoner who is required to perform work for a landowner in exchange for certain rights and privileges. vilify To make hateful or defamatory statements. to make someone or something a villain. and the transcendental. thought. the visionary.
Champaign. Louise W. Chanel and Her World. 2006. Goodman. Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom. New York. Liss. NY: Routledge. The Tale of Murasaki: A Novel. Gordon. NY: Penguin Books. 2000. Rosa Parks: A Life. NY: The Vendome Press. Florence Nightingale: The Making of an Icon. Marie Antoinette: Writings on the Body of a Queen. New York. NY: Harper Perennial. 2005. Edmonde. Charleston. 2002.For Further Reading Aschenbrenner. Leonie. Dena. NY: Anchor Books (Random House). Frieda. Knight. My Double Life: The Memoirs. Sarah. 2008. 2005. Dalby. and Giroux. 2006. 348 . NY: Back Bay Books. New York. PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Bostridge. Joyce. ed. IL: University of Illinois Press. New York. 2005. IL: University of Chicago Press. Strauss. Clinton. 2004. Mark. Charles-Roux. New York. Philadelphia. Peggy K. Katherine Dunham: Dancing a Life. 2006. Brinkley. Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy. Liza. Catherine de Medicis: Renaissance Queen of France. Chicago. NY: Farrar. Lyndall. SC: BiblioBazaar. New York. Isabelle the Queen: Life and Times. Douglas. Vindication: A Life of Mary Wollstonecraft. New York. NY: HarperCollins. Bernhardt. 2003. Catherine. 2007. New York.
New York. 2002. Dulles. CT: Yale University Press. Ward. Ralph V. England: Routledge. NY: Knopf. 2003. The Seeker's Guide to Mary. 2001. New York. 2008. New York. England: Profile Books. IL: Loyola Press. Queen of England. Sojourner. Johannesburg.. Scaperlanda. Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt. 2004. No Cold Kitchen: A Biography of Nadine Gordimer. Ronald Suresh. New Haven. Maria. Tracy. NY: Cosimo Classics. Edinburgh. 2005. 2009. NY: Arrow Books Ltd. June. Radford. Turner. Joyce. The Narrative of Sojourner Truth.7 For Further Reading 7 Maathai. Woo. Empress Dowager Cixi: China's Last Dynasty and the Long Reign of a Formidable Concubine. Anthony. Maria Ruiz. Griselda.L. Wangari. Tyldesley. Ken. 349 . 2008. London. Robert. LLC. Ltd. New York. 2005. Scotland: Westminster John Knox Press. Chicago. Truth. Mary Cassatt. Purvis. 2009. NY: Algora Publishing. X. 2004. Pollock. Montessori. Eleanor. You Learn By Living: Eleven Keys to a More Fulfilling Life. Goddess: Martha Graham's Dancers Remember. and Burns. The Absorbent Mind. London.. South Africa: STE Publishers. VA: Chaucer Press.. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France. New York. VA: Wilder Publications. Unbowed: My Autobiography. Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. NY: Limelight Editions. 2008. Emmeline Pankhurst: A Biography. Roberts. 2009. Roosevelt. Geoffrey C.
247 Attente de Dieu/Waiting for God (Weil). 262 Amurath to Amurath (Bell). Mark. 148. 14. 13–14. The (Montessori). 184 Addams. D. 197–201 Between the Acts (Woolf). Sirimavo R. 211 Bell. 281 Aung San Suu Kyi. 265 Art du théâtre. 229–230. 219 Allegory of Inclination (Gentileschi). 216 Agnes Grey (Anne Brontë). 206–208 Advanced Montessori Method. The (Cassatt). 24. 105 American Journal of Psychoanalysis. 224–225 Antony. 213–214 Bernhardt. 222 Boleyn. 12. 171–173. Jane. 147. 10. Elizabeth. 296–298 Bath. 176. 201 Art of Biography. L' (Christine de Pisan).. 327 Avision de Christine. ode to (Sappho). Gertrude. 329–330 Austen. The (Woolf). Sarah. The (King). 175. 31 Aphrodite. 55 B Ball. 136–144 Autobiography of Alice B. Jane. The (Woolf). 252 Billie Jean (King). 91 350 . 282 Akkumulation des Kapitals. 196 Becquerel. The. Lucille. Toklas. 327 birth control. Henri. 25. Le/The Ripening Seed (Colette). 25 Appalachian Spring. Die/ The Accumulation of Capital (Luxemburg). 14. 288–291 Bandaranaike. 13. The (Stein). 224 Autobiography of Billie Jean King. 151. 230 Blackwell. 210. 233–234 Birth Control Review. 184–186 Blé en herbe. Susan B. 170–177. 81. 27–30 Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare). 214 Anthony. Anne. 251 Art of Fiction. 182–183. 158 Aida. 13. 251. L'/The Art of the Theatre (Bernhardt).Index A abolitionism. 11..
221 Cleopatra. 10. 146–147 Claudine à l'école/Claudine at School (Colette). 195–197 Catherine de Médicis. 11. 26–27. 83–89 Catherine of Aragon. 25–31 Clinton. 192–195 Clark. 224 Conceptions on the Love of God (Teresa of Ávila). Julius. The (Maathai). 64. 135 Contraception: Its Theory. 81. 221 Claudine s'en va: Journal d'Annie/The Innocent Wife (Colette). 80 Conservationist. 151. The. 154. 134. 14. 342 Charles VII. 306 Considérations sur la Révolution française/Considerations on the Principal Events of the French Revolution (Staël). 221 Claudine à Paris/Claudine in Paris (Colette). 66. 252 Composition and Explanation (Stein). 107–110 Christine de Pisan. History and Practice (Stopes). 68. 222 Chéri (Colette). 71. 318–319 7 C Caesar. 312–313 Chanel. Emily. 57–59. 60–62. The (Cassatt). 186 351 . 332–337 Coiffure. 320 Chamorro. 30 Cahiers/Notebooks (Weil). 222 Chiang Kai-shek. Christopher. Violeta Barrios de. 151–159 Brontë. The (Woolf). The: Second Series (Woolf). Anne. Annie Jump. 14. 191 Christina. 309. 11–12. 174 Cave of the Heart. 155. 145. 70 Chatte. 254 Charles. Bill. 91 Catherine II. 80 Brewsie and Willie (Stein). 63.7 Index Book of the Foundations (Teresa of Ávila). The (Gordimer). Carrie Chapman. 9–10. Gro Harlem. 310. 333. Charlotte. 10. 5. Hillary Rodham. 332. 65. La/The Cat (Colette). 252 Common Reader. 186–192 Christian Science Monitor. 151–159 Brundtland. 334. William. 225 Brontë. 222 Challenge for Africa. 80. 267–269 Christian Science. 25. 54–55 Cixi. 158 Brontë. 220–223 Columbus. 196 Colette. 115–125 Catt. 335 Clinton. 308. 208–209 Cassatt. Prince. 234 Corinne (Staël). 265 Ces Plaisirs/Those Pleasures (Colette). Mary. 135 Counsel to Parents on the Moral Education of Their Children (Blackwell). 281 Cannon. 74 Coming to Life (NüssleinVolhard). Coco. 253–254 Chanel No. 221 Claudine amoureuse/The Indulgent Husband (Colette). 324 Common Reader.
229 Feminine Psychology (Horney). 280–281 Entertaining (Stewart). 10–11. 330–331 Eddy. 221 Épistre au Dieu d'amours.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time Curie. 135 De l'Angleterre (Staël). 139. L'/The Need for Roots (Weil). 73. 75. La/The Last of Chéri (Colette). Anne. 123 Elizabeth II. 167. 14–15. 11. 71. 225–229 Dunham. 137. 55 Dix. 134 De l'Allemagne/Germany (Staël). 342–344 Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan. 222 Flush (Woolf). The (Frank). 271 7 E Earhart. 208 Desert and the Sown. 14–15. 211–212. The Modern Prometheus (Shelley). 168. 77 Fin de Chéri. Le (Christine de Pisan). 224 Frank. 130 352 . 214 Diana. 307–310 Emma (Austen). 310. Marie. 45 Diary of a Young Girl. Shirin. L'/ "Letter to the God of Loves" (Christine de Pisan). 186 D De la littérature considérée dans ses rapports avec les institutions sociales/A Treatise of Ancient and Modern Literature and The Influence of Literature upon Society (Staël). 74. 72. Mary Baker. 135 De l'influence des passions sur le bonheur des individus et des nations/A Treatise on the Influence of the Passions upon the Happiness of Individuals and of Nations (Staël). 169 Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc. 134 Democracy and Social Ethics (Addams). 311–312 Dietrich. 265 Essays in Medical Sociology (Blackwell). 89–103. 141. 155 Enracinement. or. Isadora. 14. Princess of Wales. 281–282 Duo (Colette). 262 Ferdinand II. 209–213. L'/Music-Hall Sidelights (Colette). 10. 222 F Family Limitation (Sanger). 210. 271 Curie. 270–271 Ebadi. 186–192 Education for a New World (Montessori). 321 Envers du music-hall. 11. 133 Delphine (Staël). 134 Duncan. Katherine. Dorothea. Pierre. 249 Four Saints in Three Acts (Stein). 216 Eighty Years and More (Stanton). Amelia. 276–279 Disraeli. Marlene. 143 Emma (Charlotte Brontë). 149–150 Dix Années d'exil/Ten Years' Exile (Staël). 140. 54 Errand into the Maze. 310–312 Frankenstein. 47–50 Elizabeth I. Benjamin. 177 Eleanor of Aquitaine. The (Bell).
55–70 Johnson-Sirleaf. Nadine. 306–307 Graham. 151. William. 155. 307 Gigi (Colette). Rigoberta Menchú (Menchú). 103 Justinian I. Rosalind. 14. 36. 131 Fun of It. 43–45 Gentileschi. The (Earhart). 9. 11. 80. 154. 331 History of Woman Suffrage (Anthony. 250 Freud. 96. 232 Henry Draper Catalogue (Cannon). 103–105 Get a Life (Gordimer). 271–273 Judith Beheading Holofernes (Gentileschi). 174. 331 Irene. 316–318 Joliot-Curie. 335 H Hatshepsut. Karen. 303–304 Freshwater (Woolf). 37. Ellen. Stanton. 211. 262–267 Green Belt Movement. 130 Gordimer. 186 Hypatia. 14. 10. 299–301 Genji monogatari/The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu). 38 353 . Margaret. 81. 206–208 Human Element in Sex. 209 Henry VIII. 270 7 G Gage. Gage). Artemisia. The: Sharing the Approach and the Experience (Maathai). 11. Irène. 34–36 I I Love Lucy. Dorothy Crowfoot. 158 Jane Gray (Staël). 80 Iran Awakening: From Prison to Peace Prize. 212. 174. The (Blackwell). Sigmund. 82–83. Martha. Indira. 45–47 History and Documentation of Human Rights in Iran (Ebadi). 320 Hodgkin. One Woman's Struggle at the Crossroads (Ebadi). The (Teresa of Ávila).7 Index Franklin. Matilda. 71–78 Island Possessed (Dunham). 156. 14. 41–43 I. 290 Interior Castle. 222 Godwin. 98 Hildegard. 261 Frontier. 282 It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us (Clinton). 213. 260–262 Hull House. 132 Jiang Qing. 209 Henry Draper Extension (Cannon). 177 J Jacob's Room (Woolf). 260. 13. 264 Fuller. 177 Gandhi. 17–19 Helen Keller's Journal (Keller). 341 Isabella I. 292–295 Joan of Arc. 91–92. 282–286 Horney. 245 Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë).
Le/"Book of Three Virtues" (Christine de Pisan). 306 L Lady Susan (Austen). 80 Living History (Clinton). La/My Mother's House (Colette).7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 K Kabuki. 126 Marie-Antoinette. Helen. 307 Livre de la cité des dames. 230–233 Kew Gardens (Woolf). Die/ The Crisis in the German Social Democracy (Luxemburg). 337 Living in Hope and History: Notes from Our Century (Gordimer). 244 King. 219 of the Deeds and Good Morals of the Wise King Charles V" (Christine de Pisan). 55 Louis XVI. with Special Reference to the Physical Education of Girls. 137–138 Laws of Life. 324–327 Krise der Sozialdemokratie. 55 Livre des trois vertus. Rousseau (Staël).-J. 126–128 Married Love (Stopes). Wangari. 222 Making of Americans. 321 Mary (Virgin Mary). Rosa. 292. 217–220 Lying Days. 201 Maison de Claudine. 127. 114. 191 Mao Zedong. 137. 282 Keller. 142. 203 Life of the Mother Teresa of Jesus (Teresa of Ávila). 131. 319–320 Ma Double Vie: mémoires de Sarah Bernhardt/My Double Life: Memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt (Bernhardt). 133 Luxemburg. 106 Katherine Dunham's Journey to Accompong (Dunham). 110–115. 185 Letter to the World. Billie Jean. Le/"Book M Maathai. 129 354 . 265 Lettres sur les ouvrages et le caractère de J. 139. 202. 105. 125. 144–146 Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims (Winnemucca). Le/The Book of the City of Ladies (Christine de Pisan). 31–34 Mary: A Fiction (Wollstonecraft). The (Gordimer). 294. The (Blackwell). 132 Lewis and Clark Expedition. 55 Livre des fais et bonnes meurs du sage roy Charles V. Rousseau/ Letters on the Works and the Character of J. 51–54 Maria Theresa. 126. The (Stein). 234 Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres (Stewart). 128.-J. 295 Margaret Sanger: An Autobiography (Sanger). 224 Mansfield Park (Austen). 143 Manual of The Mother Church (Eddy). 230 Margaret I. 123.
136 Narrative of Sojourner Truth. 19–22 Neurosis and Human Growth (Horney). 148 Nefertiti. 96. 216 Mira Bai. and the Trade Unions (Luxemburg). Il/The Montessori Method (Montessori). 205 My Religion (Keller). The (Graham). 276 My Own Story (Emmeline Pankhurst). 100–101 Mary I. 245 Open Door. 10. 166. 135. Maria. The (Horney). Sandra Day. 264–265 Northanger Abbey (Austen). The (Keller). 177–182. 262 Neurotic Personality of Our Time. 175 Mr. 340–342 mente assorbente. 238. Queen of Scots. 247. La/The Absorbent Mind (Montessori). the Political Party. 245–246 Mrs. 218–219 Meir. 11. 185 Night Journey. The (Stein). 217 Mes Apprentissages/My Apprenticeships (Colette).7 Index Mary. 93. 233 Oppression et Liberté/Oppression and Liberty (Weil). Brown (Woolf). 313–315 Okuni. 208 New Ways in Psychoanalysis (Horney). Dalloway (Woolf). 228 My Life (Meir). 224 Mott. 70–71 Modern Novels (Woolf). 249 Newer Ideals of Peace (Addams). 196 Mother of Us All. 14. 137. 230 My Life (Duncan). 215–217 Montessori education system. 274–276 Melymbrosia (Woolf). 181 Nüsslein-Volhard. The (Truth). 215–217 Mother and Child (Cassatt). 267 Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not (Nightingale). 80–83. 148. 261 New Biography. 94. 243–244 Nightingale. 99–100. The (Woolf). 232 7 N Napoleon. 138. 96 Massenstreik. 245. 140. 126. 244 Montessori. Partei und Gewerkschaften/The Mass Strike. 281 Oprah Winfrey Show. Lucretia. The. 143 Notebooks of Martha Graham. 244 Monday or Tuesday (Woolf). 91. 323–324 O O'Connor. Bennett and Mrs. 105–107 On Re-Reading Novels (Woolf). 43–45 My Fight for Birth Control (Sanger). 222 metodo della pedagogia scientifica. Christiane. Rigoberta. 246 Murasaki Shikibu. 232 355 . 134. 261 Night and Day (Woolf). Florence. 142. 13. Golda. 141. 338 Optimism (Keller). 240–242 Menchú.
Margaret. 92.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time Orlando: A Biography (Woolf). 240 Retraite sentimentale. 214 Sanditon (Austen). 301–303 Perón. 93 Pavlova. 140 Sanger. Emily. 121–122. Die/The Russian Revolution (Luxemburg). 12. 259 Russische Revolution. 158 Poems from the Divan of Hafiz (Bell). 139. The (Ebadi). 214 Potemkin. Christabel. 220 S Sacagawea. 327 Pride and Prejudice (Austen). 12. A (Woolf). 176 Rights of the Child. 186 Plan of a Novel." (Stein). 221 Revolt. According to Hints from V arious Quarters (Austen). 229–230 Sappho. 137. 31 Poems by Currer. 155–156 Q "Q.E. 142. 143 Primitive Mysteries. 249 Roosevelt.D. 144–147 Safar Nameh (Bell). Grigory. The. La/Gravity and Grace (Weil). 31 Pargiters. La/Retreat from Love (Colette). 247–248 Our Inner Conflicts (Horney). The: A Tale (Charlotte Brontë). Ellis and Acton Bell (Charlotte. Emmeline. 26. 249. The: A Study of Legal Aspects of Children's Rights in Iran (Ebadi). 302 Persuasion (Austen). 173. 186 Remarks on Prisons and Prison Discipline in the United States (Dix). 291–292 Parr. 14. 203–205 Pankhurst. 248. The: A Novel-Essay (Woolf). 331 Rights of Women. 141. 249 Professor. 13. 255–260 Roosevelt. 264 Professions for Women (Woolf). Catherine. 138. 201 Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women (Blackwell). The (Blackwell). 124 Pressure Is a Privilege: Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes (King). 327–329 Room of One's Own. Anna. 255–257. 139–140. 280 Petite Idole (Bernhardt). 301. Eleanor. 12. 140 Plutarch. 225 R Religion of Health. Eva. 23–25 356 . 154. 203–205 Parallel Lives (Plutarch). Rosa. 262 7 P Pankhurst. 154. Mary. 264 Revolution. 250 Parks. 248. 331 Robinson. 143 Pesanteur et la grâce. 150 Reminiscences (Woolf). Juan. and Anne Brontë). 11. 137. 235–237 Perón. Franklin.
The (Keller). Exclamations of the Soul to God (Teresa of Ávila). 206 Stein. The (Gordimer). 191 Scivias (Hildegard). 126. 217 To the Lighthouse (Woolf). 267–269 Sophie. 36–38 This Is Our China (Soong Mei-ling). (Earhart). 216 Sense and Sensibility (Austen). 131–136 Stanton. 12. Germaine de. 249 Touch of Innocence. 214 Three Guineas (Woolf). Marie. The (Montessori). The (Soong Mei-ling).7 Index Science and Health (Eddy). The (Bell). 78–80 Theodora. 286–288 Teresa of Ávila. 182–183 20 Hrs. 138. 12. 40 Min. 223–225 Stern. 126 Sozialreform oder Revolution?/ Reform or Revolution? (Luxemburg). 132 Souvenirs de ma vie/Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun (Vigée-Lebrun). 233–234 Story of My Life. 269 7 Susanna and the Elders (Gentileschi). 92–93 Shirley: A Tale (Charlotte Brontë). 46 Second Twenty Years at Hull-House. 188–189. 137. 170–177 Starr. 218 Spiritual Relations. 250 Three Lives (Stein). 270 Twenty Years at Hull-House (Addams). A (Dunham). 208 Secret of Childhood. ou les sentiments secrets (Staël). 224 Teresa. 155. The (Addams). 232 Sure Victory. 232 Sullivan. The (Anne Brontë). 224 To Educate the Human Potential (Montessori). 295–296 Stewart. 129 Thousand and One Churches. 246–247. Mother. 282 Truth. 131. 139. 12. Harriet. 269 Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (Wollstonecraft). 222 Soft Voice of the Serpent. 320–322 Stopes. 46 T Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 13. Gertrude. 190. Elizabeth. Sojourner. 80 Staël. Thomas. 141. 103 Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (Hildegard). 147–149 Tubman. 320 Underground Railroad. Elizabeth Cady. 143 Seymour. 208 U Unbowed (Maathai).. Martha. 156–157 Sido (Colette). 151 Tender Buttons (Stein). Ellen Gates. 182–183 357 . 12. Anne. 238. 306 Soong Mei-ling.
155. The (Teresa of Ávila). 232 Wuhou. Sarah. 252 Way of Perfection. 237–253 World I Live In. 129. 169. Oprah. 128–131 Woman Bathing (Cassatt). 250 Z Zebrafish: A Practical Approach (Nüsslein-Volhard). The (Woolf). The (Keller). Mary. The (Stanton). 151. 244 W Waves. 37–38. 12. The (Woolf). 125–126 Villette (Charlotte Brontë). 234 Wollstonecraft. 338–340 Winnemucca. 304–306 Years. 201–203 Wise Parenthood (Stopes). 11. 123. 129. 302 Woolf. 321 We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis (King). 196 Woman Rebel. 324 358 .. Virginia. 207. 327 Weil. 242. Simone. 14. 130 Voyage Out. 192. The (Woolf). 157 Vindication on the Rights of Woman. 170–177. 180 Vigée-Lebrun. 148. 159–170.7 The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time 7 V V agabonde. 38–41 Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë). Rosalyn S. 248–249. The (Sanger). 258. La/The V agabond (Colette). 279–281 What Every Mother Should Know (Sanger). 157. 158–159 Y Yalow. Elisabeth. 130–131. A (Wollstonecraft). 80 Weddings (Stewart). 128. 229 Woman's Bible. 203–205. 221 Victoria. 177 women's rights/women's suffrage. 147. 230 Winfrey.
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