Cult books of 2012
2012 is in full swing - and with the early spate of no-drinking resolutions and gym sessions now firmly out the…
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Inspirational female pioneers
Women who dared to be different
Each of these women dared to be the first - challenging convention and stepping outside of their expected roles to change the world for women. From sport and physical feats to the first woman to obtain a degree, here are some of history's greatest female role models...
Simply click on an image to launch the gallery and let us know your thoughts on Twitter or in the comments below.
Picture credits: Rex Features and Getty Images
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First US woman in space
Sally Ride, the first US woman to travel into… More details
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First US woman in space
Sally Ride, the first US woman to travel into space, has died aged 61 after battling pancreatic cancer. The cosmonaut undertook her space mission on-board US space shuttle Challenger in 1983. Since then, more than 45 women have travelled to space.
Barack Obama hailed Ride as a national hero. "As the first American woman to travel into space, Sally was a powerful role model," he said. Click on to see more female pioneers, including Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman ever to travel to space...
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First woman in space
In 1963, former textile worker Valentina… More details
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First woman in space
In 1963, former textile worker Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. The 26-year-old Russian was the fifth cosmonaut to go into the Earth's orbit.
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First to recieve a degree
A Venetian philosopher of noble descent, Elena… More details
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First to recieve a degree
A Venetian philosopher of noble descent, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia was the first woman to receive a degree. She studied philosophy at the University of Padua, receiving a docterate on 25 June 1678.
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First female Doctor
The first recorded woman to graduate from medical… More details
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First female Doctor
The first recorded woman to graduate from medical school in 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell was the first female doctor in the USA and the first on the UK Medical Register, as well as a pioneer in educating women in medicine.
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First to run a theatre
Sucessful English actress Laura Keene settled in… More details
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First to run a theatre
Sucessful English actress Laura Keene settled in New York City in 1855 and became the first woman to manage her own theatre and theatrical company. In a controversial twist, President Abraham Lincoln was assasinated whilst watching her production of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre, New York.
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First to run for President …
Although little known today, American suffragist… More details
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First to run for President of the USA
Although little known today, American suffragist Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to ever run for President of the United States in 1872. She made a fortune with her sister on the New York Stock Exchange and was one of the first women to open a Wall Street brokerage firm.
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First to argue in the Supre…
Belva Lockwood was one of the first female… More details
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First to argue in the Supreme Court
Belva Lockwood was one of the first female lawyers in the United States. After fighting for seven years, the law school graduate was admitted to appear before the Supreme Court in 1873, working on a divorce case. For the first time in history, the verdict included a judgment forcing the husband to pay alimony.
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First to publish a modern c…
Before Fannie Farmer's pioneering cookbook was… More details
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First to publish a modern cookbook
Before Fannie Farmer's pioneering cookbook was published in 1896, recipes were handed down by word of mouth and never used exact measurements. Farmer's self-published The Boston Cooking School Cookbook, changed the way Americans prepare food by advocating the use of standardised measurements in recipes.
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First to win an Olympic Gol…
Five times Wimbledon singles champion, Charlotte… More details
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First to win an Olympic Gold medal
Five times Wimbledon singles champion, Charlotte Cooper (on the right) became the first female to win an Olympic Gold Medal (for tennis) in 1900.
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First to recieve the Nobel …
Chemist and physicist Marie Curie was the first… More details
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First to recieve the Nobel Prize
Chemist and physicist Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in 1903, for her work on radiation.
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First to be elected to Brit…
Countess Constance Markiewicz was the first woman… More details
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First to be elected to British Parliament
Countess Constance Markiewicz was the first woman elected to England's House of Commons in 1918. However she did not take her seat, in protest against Britain’s policy in Ireland.
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First to sit in British Par…
Although not the first woman to be elected,… More details
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First to sit in British Parliament
Although not the first woman to be elected, Viscountess Nancy Astor was the first woman to be elected and take her seat in UK Parliament in 1919.
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First to win the Pulitzer P…
Edith Wharton was awarded the distinguished… More details
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First to win the Pulitzer Prize
Edith Wharton was awarded the distinguished literary Pulitzer Prize in 1921 for her novel The Age of Innocence.
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First to swim across the En…
In 1926, American Gertrude Ederle became the… More details
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First to swim across the English channel
In 1926, American Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. The media dubbed her "Queen of the waves".
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First to cross channel in a…
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo… More details
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First to cross channel in an aeroplane
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in an airplane, making her voyage in 1928 after fellow pilot Amy Phipps Guest decided it was "too dangerous" for her to undertake.
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First to join the US Presid…
In 1933, sociologist and Progressive reformer … More details
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First to join the US Presidential Cabinet
In 1933, sociologist and Progressive reformer Frances Perkins became the first female member of a US Presidential cabinet, serving as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor.
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First television announcer
In 1936, Elizabeth Cowell becomes the first woman… More details
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First television announcer
In 1936, Elizabeth Cowell becomes the first woman television announcer for the BBC.
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First to fly a helicopter, …
German aviator Hanna Reitsch (left) set over… More details
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First to fly a helicopter, rocket plane, and a jet fighter
German aviator Hanna Reitsch (left) set over forty aviation altitude and endurance records during her career in the 1930s and 40s - and was the first woman to fly a helicopter, a rocket plane, and a jet fighter.
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First to break the sound ba…
Pioneer Jacqueline Cochran was the first woman to… More details
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First to break the sound barrier
Pioneer Jacqueline Cochran was the first woman to break the sound barrier in flight on May 18, 1953, in a Canadair Sabre jet.
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First head of a government
Sri Lankan politician Sirimavo Bandaranaike was… More details
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First head of a government
Sri Lankan politician Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the world's first female head of government, serving as Prime Minister of Ceylon and Sri Lanka three times, 1960–65, 1970–77 and 1994–2000, and a long-time leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
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First woman to own a seat o…
Hailing from Ohio and known as the "First… More details
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First woman to own a seat on the NY Stock Exchange
Hailing from Ohio and known as the "First Lady of Finance", Muriel “Mickie” Siebert was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1967, and the first woman to head one of its member firms.
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First to climb Everest
On May 16,1975, Junko Tabei from Japan became the… More details
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First to climb Everest
On May 16,1975, Junko Tabei from Japan became the first woman to climb Mount Everest.
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First Prime Minister of Bri…
Whatever you thought of her politics, the… More details
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First Prime Minister of Britain
Whatever you thought of her politics, the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher was revolutionary as Britain's first female Prime Minister, serving from 1979 to 1990.
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First to complete a quadrat…
In 1983, Brenda Yule became the first woman to… More details
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First to complete a quadrathlon
In 1983, Brenda Yule became the first woman to complete a gruelling quadrathlon - involving swimming, kayaking, cycling and running.
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First to sail around the wo…
In 1988, Australian Kay Cottee was the first… More details
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First to sail around the world solo
In 1988, Australian Kay Cottee was the first female sailor to perform a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the world. It took 189 days.
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First female member of the …
American jurist Sandra Day O'Connor was the… More details
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First female member of the Supreme Court
American jurist Sandra Day O'Connor was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States, appointed by President Reagan in 1981.
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First President of Harvard
Although they began admitting women to their… More details
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First President of Harvard
Although they began admitting women to their graduate programs in the 1940s, America's oldest University had never had a female President, until historian Drew Gilpin Faust took the post in 2007. Faust said of her role, “I hope that my own appointment can be one symbol of an opening of opportunities that would have been inconceivable even a generation ago... I’m not the woman president of Harvard, I’m the president of Harvard.”
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First to swim the Atlantic …
56-year-old Jennifer Figge from Aspen, Colorado … More details
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First to swim the Atlantic ocean
56-year-old Jennifer Figge from Aspen, Colorado claims to have become the first woman to swim the Atlantic after an epic 24-day crossing in a shark cage.
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First to win Academy Award …
Kathryn Bigelow made history when she became the… More details
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First to win Academy Award for Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow made history when she became the first woman to receive the Academy Award for Best Director in 2009.
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First to win an Indy car race
With her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300, American… More details
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First to win an Indy car race
With her win in the 2008 Indy Japan 300, American auto racing driver Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar race.
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First to be head of the IMF
Former french lawyer Christine Lagard was… More details
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First to be head of the IMF
Former french lawyer Christine Lagard was appointed managing director of the International Monetary Fund in 2011. The first woman to hold this position, she also was first woman ever to become minister of Economic Affairs of a G8 economy.
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