Hetty Reckless, born Amy Hester Boadley around 1776, spent her life helping others escape slavery and start new lives. She was born enslaved in Salem, New Jersey, to Dorcas Boadley. The Johnson family enslaved Hetty, whose mother promised she would free Hetty upon her death. The Johnson family never kept that promise.

of the first things she did was write a reminder for him:   “…[R]emember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors… If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies, we are determined to foment a Rebellion…”

unt Molly Jackson (1880-1960) was born Mary Magdalene Garland in 1880 in Clay County, Kentucky. She was a protest singer, a union activist, and a midwife. Born in an Appalachian coal-mining community, she fought the coal mine’s tyranny throughout her life through her union activities and song.

Mary Seacole (née Grant) (1805–1881) was a pioneering nurse and humanitarian during the Crimean War. She applied to be a nurse in the war with Florence Nightingale, but was rejected. She did it on her own.

Eliza Jane Cate (1812-1884) began working at the Amoskeag Mill in Manchester, New Hampshire, sometime around 1830. By the 1840s, she had moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, because of higher wages. Her first piece appeared in The Lowell Offering in 1842, entitled “Leisure Hours of the Mill Girls.” Her fellow mill-mate and author, Hariet Hanson Robinson, nicknamed her “the Edgeworth of New England.” Both wrote about everyday life, social dynamics, and moral development. “The Offer

When Harriet Hanson Robinson was 11 years old, the 1836 strike in the Lowell Mills (called a “turnout”) began. She later wrote about the turnout in her autobiography, “Loom and Spindle.” Workers’ wages had been cut, and the twenty-five-cent-a-week contribution toward the women’s boarding had been stopped. These cuts would reduce the $2.00 to $4.00 pay by at least $1 per week. Harriet recalled leaving the factory. The other workers asked what she was going to do. She replied,

Nancy Wake (1912-2010) ran away from home to be a nurse at 16, showing her fierce independence. Her daring also made her one of the most decorated heroines of WWII.

Elizabeth A. Niles (1842-1920) served alongside her husband, Miles, in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1864. She served the entire time without being discovered.

Mary Donoho (1807–1880), along with her husband William and their nine-month-old daughter, traveled from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1833. She became the first American woman to complete the 900 mile trip in a covered wagon.

Once a princess, Rahjumari Amrit Kaur (1887–1964) became a devoted follower of Mahatma Gandhi. She joined the Indian National Congress and became a fighter for Indian independence, women’s rights, and healthcare.

Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith, the only female U.S. Senator, confronted Senator Joseph McCarthy over his Red Scare on June 1, 1950.

Known as the “Limping Lady,” Hall became a pioneer in the intelligence industry. She posed as a milkmaid, charwoman, and farmworker to move through rural areas unnoticed. Hall sometimes pretended to be a deaf-mute. One of her most famous disguises involved dressing as a frail older woman, complete with a hunched posture, shabby clothes, and a cane. She darkened her hair and stained her teeth to complete the look. She always evaded the Gestapo.

Baker used her talent and celebrity status to gather intelligence for the French Resistance. She also entertained the troops and assisted the Red Cross. To smuggle classified documents written in invisible ink on sheet music. Notes pinned inside her underwear while traveling across Europe remained undetected because guards were more apt to ask for her autograph. 

Jane Fawcett (née Hughes, 1921–2016) was the “Jill” of all trades. She is best known for her work at Bletchley Park during World War II.

Through Dorothea Lange’s camera lens, we saw the faces of the forgotten. Her photos visually narrated the struggles of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Japanese internment.

On March 25, 1911, Frances Perkins (1880-1965) was having tea at a friend’s townhouse on North Washington Square. Seeing this horrendous tragedy led her to work on changing the conditions of the workers. From 1911 to 1915, the New York State Factory Investigating Commission examined factory working conditions and recommended reforms. Under Perkins’ direction, lawmakers passed thirty-six laws, improving workplace safety, fire codes, sanitation, child labor restrictions, and mo

The revolutionary in early-childhood education, Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), believed in the creative potential of children and...

Phillis Wheatley became the first African American enslaved poet to have her work published in 1773 at nineteen years old.

Mary Dyer (1611-1660), a Quaker martyr, defied religious intolerance and paid the ultimate price for her convictions. 

Alice of Dunk’s Ferry was born in Philadelphia in 1686 to enslaved parents from Barbados. Some referred to her as Black Alice or Old Alice. This bold woman was a storyteller, oral historian, and toll taker whose life spanned three different centuries.