JimmySmith.org Family Home Evening Lesson

2025�www.JimmySmith.org

Introduction and Purpose

• After doing family home evening lessons on all the prophets of the modern Church of Jesus Christ, as well as the Presidents of the United States…
• Wanted to give my daughters some female role models who we could study, learn from, and emulate
• Most of these women followed a call of inspiration from the Holy Spirit of God, whether they realized it at the time or not
• Most overcame tremendous challenges to achieve marvelous or even miraculous accomplishments
• All showed hard work and determination and other characteristics I’d like my children to follow
• All are remarkable and inspiring women

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Table of Contents - Remarkable and Inspiring Women

• Mother in Heaven
• Mother Eve, ~4000 BC
• Rebekah, ~2000 BC
• Hannah, ~1150 BC
• Esther, ~486 BC
• Mother Mary, ~20 BC
• Mary Magdalene, ~0
• Hildegard of Bingen, 1098
• Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1122
• Joan of Arc, 1412
• Isabella I, 1451
• Elizabeth I, 1533
• Abigail Adams, 1744
• Jane Austen, 1775
• Sacagawea, 1788
• Emma Smith, 1804
• Eliza R. Snow, 1804
• Amanda Barnes Smith, 1809

• Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1811
• Ada Lovelace, 1815
• Mary Elizabeth Rollins, 1818
• Susan B. Anthony, 1820
• Florence Nightingale, 1820
• Clara Barton, 1821
• Harriet Tubman, 1822
• Jane Manning James, 1822
• Louisa May Alcott, 1832
• Mary Cassatt, 1844
• Marie Curie, 1867
• Helen Keller, 1880
• Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884
• Georgia O'Keeffe, 1887
• Amelia Earhart, 1897
• Irena Sendler, 1910
• Mother Teresa, 1910
• Rosa Parks, 1913

• Hedy Lamarr
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Indira Gandhi
• Margaret Thatcher
• Queen Elizabeth II
• Althea Gibson
• Anne Frank
• Sandra Day O'Connor
• Junko Tabei
• Wilma Rudolph
• Aretha Franklin
• Sally Ride
• Sheri Dew
• Judit Polgár

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Mother in Heaven

• Knowledge about Heavenly Mother is very limited
• All human beings, male and female, are spirit children of heavenly parents, a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother, and we are created in their image (Gen 1:27)
• While there's no formal revelation about her, early Church members recalled Joseph Smith teaching about a Mother in Heaven
• The hymn "O My Father" (1845) by Eliza R. Snow affirms our belief in Heavenly Mother​
• A 1909 First Presidency statement affirmed the existence of a Heavenly Mother
• “All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity.”
• The 1995 "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" says “Each [person] is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents.”
• Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles said: “We are part of a divine plan designed by Heavenly Parents who love us.”
• Jesus taught us to pray only to Heavenly Father, therefore, we do not direct our worship to Heavenly Mother
• President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “The fact that we do not pray to our Mother in Heaven in no way belittles or denigrates her.”
• I think it is safe to assume that Heaven Mother has the same divine attributes that we know Heavenly Father has such as being all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving, with a fullness of joy and glory.

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Eve, the Mother of All Living�Born: Unknown (maybe 4,000 BC)

• The first woman to live on this earth (Gen. 2:21–25)
• In Hebrew, her name means “life” (Moses 4:26)
• She is described as a “helpmeet” to her husband Adam in the Bible, which can be interpreted as “helper” or “savior” and also implies equality with Adam
• Though deceived by Satan when she partook of the forbidden fruit, Eve recognized the necessity of the Fall and the joys of redemption through Christ (Moses 5:11–12)
• After being cast out of the garden, Eve learned hard work and teamwork
• “Adam began to till the earth… and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow … and Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.” (Moses 5:1)
• Eve worshipped the Lord in prayer.
• “Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord” (Moses 5:4)
• She heeded God’s commandments of obedience and sacrifice (see Moses 5:5, 6)
• She and Adam taught the gospel to their children (see Moses 5:12)
• She and Adam will share eternal glory for their role in making possible the eternal progress of all mankind

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Rebekah�Born: About 2,000 BC

• Known for her faith and kindness
• Married to the prophet Isaac, the son of Abraham (Gen. 22:23-24)
• Abraham wanted his son Isaac marry a righteous woman in a covenant relationship
• Abraham’s servant (matchmaker) prayed for God to help him meet a righteous woman
• Rebekah volunteered to get water for him and his camels and he knew she was the one
• She became the mother of Esau and Jacob (25:20–28)
• She helped Jacob obtain the birthright blessing from Issac (Gen 27-29)

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Hannah�Born: About 1,150 BC

• Hannah was unable to bear children for many years, which caused her deep anguish
• She prayed for a son and covenanted to dedicate him to serving the Lord
• The Lord gave Samuel to Hannah in answer to her prayers (1 Sam. 1:11, 20–28).
• Hannah fulfilled her covenant and brought Samuel to serve at the temple under Eli the priest
• Samuel grew to become the prophet who anointed King Saul and David
• Hannah’s song of thanksgiving is often compared with that of Mary, the mother of Jesus (1 Sam. 2:1–10; Luke 1:46–55)
• After Samuel, Hannah had several more children
• Hannah seen as a model of faith, perseverance, and dedication to God

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Esther�Born: About 486 B.C.

• Esther was a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai in the Persian Empire (modern day Iran/Iraq/Turkey)
• Esther was chosen to become queen of Persia to King Xerxes (also called Ahasuerus) because of her beauty
• She kept her Jewish identity secret at Mordecai’s instruction when she became queen
• A royal advisor named Haman tricked the king into issuing a decree to put all the Jews to death
• Esther showed courage and wisdom by risking her life to approach the king without being summoned—a move punishable by death
• When she revealed Haman’s plot and her own Jewish identity, the king reversed the decree, and the Jews were saved
• Esther's bravery is celebrated during the Jewish festival of Purim, which commemorates this deliverance.
• She is remembered as a woman of faith and courage in saving her people from destruction

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Mary, the Mother of Jesus�Born: About 20 B.C.

• Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus in the flesh, God’s Only Begotten Son
• Jesus was conceived within Mary miraculously, even though she was a virgin
• The Book of Mormon confirms that Mary was “a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel” (Alma 7:10) “most beautiful and fair above all other virgins” (1 Ne. 11:15)
• At time of Jesus’s conception, Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and both were visited by angels to confirm the miracle was of God (Luke 1:26–38 and Matt 1:18–25)
• Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable and laid Him in a manger
• Mary and Joseph fled with the child Jesus to Egypt for a time to spare His life from Herod’s decree
• After Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph had other children
• Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12, and the adults were astounded by his teachings
• Jesus’ first public miracle was done at the request of Mary (turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana)
• The Savior, while on the cross, asked the apostle John to care for his mother (John 19:25–27)
• Mary was with the Apostles when Christ was taken up into heaven (Acts 1:14)

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Mary Magdalene�Born: About 1 A.D.

• A woman in the New Testament who became a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ
• Magdalene refers to Magdala, the place from which this Mary came, located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee
• She was healed by Jesus when seven devils were cast out of her (Luke 8:2)
• Many believe she provided monetary assistance to Jesus’ ministry because she “ministered unto him of (her) substance” (Luke 8:3)
• She was at the cross for Jesus’ crucifixion (Matt 27:56, Mark 15:40, John 19:25)
• She was present for Christ’s burial (Matt. 27:61, Mark 15:47)
• She was at the tomb in the morning of Jesus’ resurrection (Matt. 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10, John 20:1, 11)
• She was the first person to see Jesus after His resurrection (Mark 16:9, John 20:14–18)

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Hildegard of Bingen�1098 - 1179

• She was the youngest child in a family of free lower nobility in the country of Sponheim (part of modern-day Germany)
• From a very young age she experienced spiritual visions
• Around age 8, she was sent to live in a monastery, where she learned to read, write music, do gardening, and tend to the sick
• Her medicinal and scientific writings are based on practical experience in the monastery’s herbal garden and infirmary
• She combined hands-on healing with holistic, spiritual approaches, becoming renowned for her use of herbs and her Biblical belief that all things on earth are intended for human use
• Her diagnostic and treatment methods included horoscopes and bloodletting, as well as advice on hygiene like boiling water
• She created one of the earliest known religious dramas / plays
• She is one of the most recorded composers of sacred music in medieval history with more surviving religious chants than any other composer, writing both music and lyrics
• She was informally recognized as a saint for centuries, but received the formal canonization by the Catholic Church in 2012
• She eventually became an abbess (leader of nuns) and is considered one of the greatest minds of the Middle Ages and a pioneer in scientific, philosophical, musical, and medical writing

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Eleanor of Aquitaine�1124- 1204

• She was the oldest child of William X, Duke of Aquitaine (France) and became a duchess upon her father's death
• In 1137, she married Louis, son of King Louis VI of France
• Louis VII became King that same year when his father died
• Louis VII, motivated by religious zeal, led the Second Crusade in 1145 after a call to arms from Pope Eugene III
• She went on the Crusade, and it strained their marriage
• She recruited hundreds of other women to join Crusade
• Her marriage to Louis VII was annulled in 1152 on grounds of consanguinity (they were cousins)
• That same year, she married Henry, Duke of Normandy, who became King Henry II of England in 1154
• They had 8 children, incl. future kings Richard I and John
• She was one of the most wealthy, powerful, and influential women in medieval Europe, playing a major role in both France and England
• She was imprisoned by her husband for supporting their sons’ revolt but was released after his death in 1189
• As queen, she acted as regent during her son Richard I’s absences and secured her son John’s succession later

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Joan of Arc�1412 - 1431

• She was born in a village in France to a peasant family
• She had no formal education and worked on family farm
• Attacks and stolen cattle in her area led to the common sentiment that the English must be expelled from France
• Prophecies circulating in the French countryside, often attributed to Merlin, stated that a virgin carrying a banner would put an end to France's suffering
• At age 13, she received visions of deceased Catholic saints telling her to support Charles VII and drive out the English
• At age 17, she convinced Charles VII to let her lead an army (with a banner) of reinforcements in the Siege of Orléans
• Nine days later, the English abandoned the siege
• This was major turning point in the Hundred Years’ War
• Her leadership inspired the French and brought victory
• She played a key role in the campaign that led to Charles VII's coronation as King of France
• She continued active participation in military operations and was captured by the English in 1430 at age 18
• The English tried her for blaspheme (cross-dressing for wearing male military attire) and demonic visions
• She was found guilty and burned at the stake at age 19
• She was made a saint by the Catholic Church in 1920

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Isabella I�1451-1504

• She was the daughter of King John II of Castile (modern day central/western Spain)
• She was betrothed at age six to Ferdinand of Aragon (modern day eastern Spain), but their match was short-lived due to politics
• She rejected multiple political suitors over the ensuing years, holding out for Ferdinand, who she preferred
• She eloped with Ferdinand, using a family visit as cover, while he traveled disguised as a servant
• Their 1469 marriage unified Spain and they were the first to be called queen and king of Spain
• She is most famous for financing Columbus’s 1492 voyage, opening trans-Atlantic trade and leading to Spanish colonization and new American nations
• Under her, the Spanish Reconquista was completed, expelling Muslims and reinforcing Catholic rule
• Also under her, the Spanish Inquisition was initiated which heavily targeted Jews and Muslims
• Spanish Inquisition = Religious tribunals known for harsh interrogations, forced confessions, and severe punishments
• She strengthened royal power over nobility, and made reforms to justice and education system
• She opposed slavery and clashed with Columbus over mistreatment of native Americans

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Elizabeth I�1533 - 1603

• She was the daughter of King Henry VIII of England and his 2nd wife, Anne Boleyn
• At age two, her mother was executed for treason
• After her father’s death in 1547, her half-brother Edward VI ruled until 1553, then her half-sister Mary ruled until 1558, when Elizabeth succeeded to the throne at age 25
• One of her first acts as queen was establishment of English Protestant church, which evolved into Church of England
• In 1570, the pope excommunicated her and declared her reign illegitimate (had little effect in England)
• She, and the English Navy, famously defeated the Spanish Armada (a great fleet of ships) in 1588
• Due to her lengthy and eventful reign, and its effect on history and culture, it is called the Elizabethan era
• Her reign was made famous by English maritime power, such as Francis Drake (2^nd man to circumnavigate globe)
• Her reign was also a time of great English literature and playwrights such as William Shakespeare
• Her 44 years on the throne provided stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity
• She never married or had children, earning the nickname "The Virgin Queen“

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Abigail Adams�1744 - 1818

• Born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, to Elizabeth and William Smith, a Congregationalist minister
• Though not formally schooled, she was extensively self-educated through reading
• 1764: she married John Adams (future 2^nd US President)
• Her correspondence with John over 54 years offers a unique window into 18th-century American life
• Their letters are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics and provide eyewitness accounts of American Revolutionary War
• They had six children, incl. John Quincy Adams, 6th U.S. president
• She urged John to “remember the ladies” and give legal protections for women in the laws of the emerging U.S.
• She was one of John’s most trusted advisors throughout his career
• She was the first First Lady to live in the White House in 1800, often hosting key political events and politicians
• She was strongly opposed to slavery and supported education for African Americans, a progressive stance
• She is one of the most influential women in early American history

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Jane Austen�1775 - 1817

• She was born in Hampshire, England, to Rev. George and Cassandra Austen
• She was well-educated at home and through wide reading of literature and history
• She began writing as a teenager but her most famous novels were written in her twenties and thirties
• Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey (1817), Persuasion (1817)
• Her novels offered commentary on the British society, gender roles, marriage, and economics through wit, irony, and realism
• Heroines of her novels (Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliot, Emma Woodhouse) challenged conventional wisdom, and showed intelligence, independence, and moral strength
• The novels were published anonymously during her lifetime because social norms looked down upon female authors, thus bringing her little recognition while alive
• Her health declined in 1816, and she died at age 41, from Hodgkin’s lymphoma (a curable form of cancer today)
• Her reputation as an author grew after her death and is now considered a foundational figure in English literature
• Her novels are greatly beloved by many and have been the basis of numerous TV shows and movies

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Sacagawea�1788 - 1812

• Born into the Shoshone Native America tribe in present day Idaho
• She was kidnapped around age 12 by another tribe called the Hidatsa and transported 1,000 miles east to North Dakota
• At age 13, she was sold into a non-consensual marriage to a French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau
• In 1804, at age 16, the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached North Dakota, where Toussaint joined the group and offered Sacagawea’s services as an interpreter and guide
• Though pregnant, and then carrying an infant, she played a key role in helping the Expedition communicate with Native Americans
• She helped identify landmarks and navigate terrain
• She rescued the journals of Lewis and Clark from a capsized boat
• A commander in the company praised her quick action and named the Sacagawea River in her honor
• When the Expedition's food supplies ran out, she identified edible wild plants as food to help the party members regain their strength
• Having a woman and infant in the expedition facilitated the journey because their presence served as a symbol of peace to native tribes
• She helped negotiate trade with native Americans so the Expedition could have horses, crucial for crossing the Rocky Mountains
• After the Expedition, she returned to South Dakota where she died at age 24 from an unknown illness (possibly typhus, a bacterial infection transmitted by fleas, lice, or chiggers)

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Emma Smith�1804 - 1879

• She was born in Harmony, Pennsylvania, to Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, a prominent and well-respected family in the community
• She was well-educated for a woman of her time
• She married Joseph Smith in 1827, despite her parents' objections
• She became his close confidante and played a major role in supporting his calling from God
• She was with Joseph the night he received gold plates from the Angel Moroni
• Emma was a scribe during the translation of the Book of Mormon and helped keep the gold plates hidden from their enemies
• She was the first president of the Relief Society, the Latter-day Saint women's organization, where she organized service and education
• She compiled the first hymnbook of the Church, fulfilling a commandment from God in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 25
• In D&C 25, the Lord also called her "an elect lady” and “to expound scriptures, and to exhort the church”
• When her husband was arrested and the Saints were forced out of Missouri, she took her family and suffered “more than human nature ought to bear” as they travel to Illinois in harsh winter conditions
• Emma had complex feelings about plural marriage, clearly not happy about it at times yet being supportive of it at other times
• After Joseph was killed in 1844, Emma did not follow Brigham Young and the main body of Latter-day Saints west to Utah
• She stayed in Nauvoo, remarried, and eventually helped support the Reorganized Church, led by her son, Joseph Smith III
• She had 11 children (9 biological) though only five lived to adulthood

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Eliza R. Snow�1804 - 1887

• She was born in Massachusetts and at age 2, her family moved to Ohio
• The Snow family were devout Christians and valued learning and saw that each child received ample educational opportunities
• In the early 1830s in Ohio, the family encountered and embraced The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and she was baptized in 1835
• She was influential in interesting her younger brother, Lorenzo, in the Church (He became the Church's fifth president)
• She donated her large inheritance to building the Kirtland Ohio Temple and witnessed miraculous spiritual manifestations at its dedication in 1836
• She was unable to have children, possibly a result of being attacked by several Missourians during the 1838 Mormon War
• She was secretary of the Relief Society when it was organized in 1842, taking copious meeting minutes and carrying them with her to Utah
• When Brigham Young reorganized the Relief Society in Utah, she served as its second general president until her death in 1887
• She is known as "Zion’s Poetess" for authoring hundreds of poems about the history and beliefs of the Saints, many of which became hymns
• Including "O My Father” a hymn widely known for teaching about Heavenly Mother, a doctrine taught to her directly by Joseph Smith
• She was a plural wife to Joseph Smith &, after his death, to Brigham Young
• She was a proponent of women’s education, self-reliance, and rights to speak, write, and participate in civic organizations
• She helped establish women's organizations in the Church such as the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association and the Primary
• She traveled and spoke extensively to the women of the Church and is one of the most influential female leaders in early LDS history

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Amanda Barnes Smith�1809 - 1886

• She had a similar early life as Eliza R Snow, being born in Mass., moving to Ohio, and encountering The Church
• In 1826, she married Warren Smith and had five children
• Her family donated to the temple and lost everything in the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society (bank)
• The family then relocated to Missouri, where they became victims of the Hawn’s Mill massacre (1838)
• Amanda’s husband and son Sardius were killed in the attack, but she and her other kids survived, though her son, Alma was shot in the hip. He was miraculously healed thanks to Amanda’s faith, prayer, and a poultice
• In 1839, she remarried to a man named Warren Smith (no relation to her first) and she had three more children
• They traveled to Utah and when Warren became unfaithful and abusive they were divorced and Brigham Young sealed her to Joseph Smith
• She served in Relief Society in Nauvoo and Utah and dedicated her life to ministering to the poor and sick
• She was an advocate for Native Americans and women’s suffrage (right to vote)
• Towards the end of her life, she said: “I have drank the dregs of the cup of sorrow and affliction, as well as partaken of the blessings of an all-wise merciful God.”

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Harriet Beecher Stowe�1811 - 1896

• She was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the sixth of 11 children of outspoken Calvinist preacher Lyman Beecher
• Calvinism is a major branch of the Protestant Reformation
• She received an education with a focus in classic literature, languages, and mathematics, uncommon for women at the time
• Harriet attended and was influenced by the Lane Theological Seminary Debates on Slavery (1834)
• Debate was on colonization and slavery, and was won by the abolitionists
• Harriet was opposed to slavery and supported the Underground Railroad, temporarily housing many fugitive slaves in her home
• One day at church, Stowe had a vision of a dying slave which inspired her to write his story—Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
• The book follows the story of Uncle Tom, a devout and kind-hearted enslaved man who portrays resilience and Christian faith.
• The novel depicts the harsh and brutal conditions experienced by enslaved African Americans
• The novel was inspired by her experiences with formerly enslaved individuals as well as the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act
• The U.S. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, prohibiting free states from assisting runaway slaves
• In less than a year, the book sold an unprecedented 300,000 copies and reached millions more as a theatrical play
• The book is credited with helping to energize the anti-slavery movement in the U.S. and Great Britain

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Ada Lovelace�1815 - 1852

• Born in London, England, her birth name was Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace
• Her mother and father separated when she was young
• Her mother fostered her interest in mathematics and helped her connect with famous scientists like Michael Faraday and the author Charles Dickens
• When she was eighteen, her math talents led her to a long working relationship with mathematician Charles Babbage
• Babbage is considered the "father of the computer“ because he developed the concept of a digital programmable computer (though he never build it)
• In translating information about Babbage’s Analytical Engine into Italian, she elaborated on the method of using the machine to do calculations–making her the world’s first computer programmer
• She is credited with being first to realize the capability of computers to go beyond calculating or number-crunching and pointed out the possibility of encoding information such as music
• She broke social norms of the 19th century and became a symbol of women's contributions to the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)

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Mary Elizabeth Rollins�1818 - 1913

• She was born in New York. Her father died in a shipwreck when she was young
• In 1828, she and her family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, to live with her uncle
• In 1830, she learned that Isaac Morley had a Book of Mormon, the only copy of it in the area, and feeling a strong desire to read it, asked to borrow it
• He lent it to her for one night but the next day, when he saw how much she read and learned, he let her keep it until she finished reading it
• When Joseph Smith heard of this, he gave her a priesthood blessing and told her to keep it and that he would give Brother Morley another copy
• Moved with her family to Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, in 1831
• She witnessed intense violence against the Saints—destroyed homes, burned crops, Edward Partridge tarred and feathered, etc.
• In 1833 she and her sister Caroline risked their lives to save parts of the D&C
• A mob destroyed the Church’s printing press and threw unbound pages of the Book of Commandments into the streets
• They grabbed many of the pages and hid in a cornfield until the mob passed
• She married Adam Lightner, not a Saint, in 1835, and they had ten children
• Mary often found work as a seamstress and a painting teacher
• She was sealed as a plural wife of Joseph Smith and later Brigham Young
• It’s unclear if marriages were ever consummated—may have been for eternity only
• When the Saints exited Nauvoo to go to Utah, she did not go with them
• When she and her husband lost their property in the U.S. Civil War, Mary convinced Adam that they should rejoin the Saints in Utah
• Moved to Southern Utah in 1863 where she served as a Relief Society Pres
• Adam died in 1885, and she lived the rest of her life in poverty
• She received some money from Church since she was Joseph Smith's widow

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Susan B. Anthony�1820 - 1906

• Born in Massachusetts into a Quaker family that was committed to equality
• Her father was an abolitionist (against slavery) and a temperance advocate (abstinence from alcohol)
• She collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17
• She was forced to drop out of her boarding school in Philadelphia after one term because her family was financially ruined by the economic Panic of 1837
• In 1845, the family moved to NY and became active in anti-slavery movement
• The Anthony farmstead soon became a gathering place for activists, including Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became Anthony's lifelong friend
• In 1846 she became headmistress of a clothing store, where she became more interested in social reform b/c she was paid less than men with similar jobs
• When the factory closed, she got more involved in the women's suffrage (voting) movement and began to travel, giving hundreds of speeches per year
• When she first began campaigning for women's rights, she was harshly ridiculed and accused of trying to destroy the institution of marriage
• She co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1869
• In 1872, she was arrested for voting in violation of laws that allowed only men
• She was convicted in a widely publicized trial
• Although she refused to pay the fine, the authorities declined to take further action
• In 1878, she presented a Constitutional Amendment giving women the right to vote to the U.S. Congress
• Tho not passed in her lifetime; it eventually became the 19th Amendment in 1920
• She became the first female citizen to be depicted on U.S. coinage when her portrait appeared on the 1979 dollar coin

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Florence Nightingale�1820 - 1910

• Born on May 12, 1820 into a wealthy and well-connected British family
• Her grandfather was a prominent abolitionist and her father had progressive ideas about women's education in history, math, literature, and philosophy
• She had several experiences in her youth that she believed were calls from God prompting her to devote her life to the service of others
• Though very attractive and charming with a radiant smile, she rejected male suitors, believing marriage would interfere with her calling to nursing
• As a young adult, she traveled extensively to Italy, Greece, and Egypt, and received medical training at an institute in Germany and began publishing her writings
• In 1853, she became superintendent at a hospital for Sick Gentlewomen in London
• She volunteered to serve as a head nurse during the Crimean War
• Fought between Russian and an alliance of Turkey, France, and Great Britain (1853-1856)
• During the war, care for wounded soldiers was poor, often delivered by overworked and under-trained medical staff
• Medicines were in short supply, hygiene was being neglected, and mass infections were common, many of them fatal
• She significantly reduced death rates by improving hygiene and living standards
• In 1860, she established a nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London
• The first secular nursing school in the world
• She was a pioneer in statistics and data visualization, using innovative charts like pie graphs and infographics to present data clearly and drive actionable conclusions
• She is known as the founder of modern nursing—The Nightingale Pledge is taken by new nurses, The Nightingale Medal is the highest honor a nurse can achieve, and International Nurses Day is celebrated on her birthday

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Clara Barton�1821- 1912

• Clarissa Barton was born in a small farming community in Massachusetts
• Her father was a local politician and member of the militia
• As soon as she began school, she excelled in reading and spelling
• At ten years old, she acted as a nurse to her brother David when he fell from a barn roof and injured his head
• She learned how to deliver medications and perform bloodletting
• David eventually made a full recovery
• She achieved a teacher's certificate at 17 years old and began teaching
• She fared well because she knew how to handle children, particularly the boys since as a child she often played with her brother and boy cousins
• She led an effective redistricting campaign in New York that allowed the children of workers to receive an education
• In 1852, she persuaded a New Jersey town to open its first public school
• So successful, they had to hire more teachers and build a new schoolhouse
• She left when she was demoted, and a man was put in charge of the school
• She moved to Washington, D.C., and began work as a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office, where she demanded and received a salary equal to a man’s
• She was often harassed by the men and when she wouldn’t quit, she was fired
• During the American Civil War, she provided medical supplies and care
• She was known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" for her bravery and tireless work during battles, helping surgeons, and tending to wounded soldiers
• She worked w/ Red Cross in Europe then founded the American Red Cross
• She led the organization for over 20 years, expanding its mission to include disaster relief in peacetime, responding to fires, floods, and hurricanes

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Harriet Tubman �1822 - 1913

• Born in Maryland, a slave state, with the name Araminta Ross
• After securing her freedom, she went by her mother’s name Harriet and Tubman was her married name
• She was often beaten by her enslavers and was once severely injured when an overseer hit her in the head with a heavy metal object
• After her injury, she began experiencing visions and dreams, which combined with her Methodist upbringing, led her to become devoutly religious
• In 1849, age 27, she escaped slavery and made it to Philadelphia, 130 miles away, travelling mostly by night and in extreme secrecy using the Underground Railroad
• U.R. was a network of antislavery activists and safe houses aiding runaway slaves
• She soon returned to Maryland as an U.R. “conductor” to rescue her family
• Slowly, one group at a time, she guided relatives and friends out of the state
• Her U.R. code name was Moses, and later said she "never lost a passenger"
• After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, she helped guide escapees farther north into Canada
• In total, she made 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people
• During the American Civil War, she served first as a cook and nurse, and then later as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army
• She was the first woman to lead an armed military operation in the US when she led the raid at Combahee Ferry, SC which liberated 700 enslaved people
• After the war, she settled in Auburn, New York, where she cared for her aging parents and establish a home for other elderly African Americans
• In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage, speaking and working alongside prominent suffragists like Susan B. Anthony

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Jane Manning James�1822 - 1908

• Jane was born in Connecticut, although there are uncertainties as to the year
• Source discrepancies place it anywhere from 1812 to 1822, which is on her gravestone
• At age 6, she went to live with a white family where she worked as a servant
• The family brought her up as a Christian, and she was baptized as a Presbyterian
• In 1842, she met missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS
• She said “I had a desire to hear them. I went on a Sunday and was fully convinced that it was the true Gospel.“ Jane was baptized into the LDS Church the following Sunday
• She had a desire to live among other members of their new faith, so, in 1843, she sold her home and moved to Nauvoo, IL with her extended family
• We “walked until our shoes were worn out, and our feet became sore and cracked open and bled until you could see the whole print of our feet with blood on the ground.”
• Her mother and siblings established their own homes in Nauvoo, while she lived with Joseph and Emma Smith family and was employed as a domestic servant
• Joseph's mother Lucy allowed her to handle the Urim and Thummim
• The stones and breastplate that Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Mormon
• Emma Smith asked her if she would like to be adopted and sealed to her and Joseph
• She declined, but later said she did not understand what the question meant at the time
• She met and married her husband, Isaac James, an employee of Brigham Young
• Like many Saints, she left Nauvoo when they were forced out in 1846, and though pregnant, she traveled in harsh conditions across Iowa to Winter Quarters, NE
• She was part of the first LDS pioneer company to enter the Salt Lake Valley in 1847
• She remained active in the church all her life, participated in the Relief Society, and contributed to the building of the temples, though she was never allowed to enter
• As a black woman, she was not allowed to receive temple ordinances in her lifetime
• In 1979, after the ban of blacks was lifted, temple ordinances were performed for her

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Louisa May Alcott�1832 - 1888

• She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to transcendentalist parents
• Transcendentalists believe in the inherent goodness of people and encourage self-reliance
• In 1843, the family moved to Boston and established a utopian community
• There she enjoyed running outdoors and found happiness in writing poetry. She described these early years as "plain living and high thinking"
• She was a tomboy and wanted to play sports with boys at school but was not allowed
• She loved to read: Charles Dickens, Emerson, Thoreau, Shakespeare, and more
• She loved to write and direct plays that her sisters and friends performed
• When the utopian community failed, her family experienced financial hardship, and she began to write more to help support the family
• In 1849, age 17, she created a family newspaper that included stories, poems, articles, and housekeeping advice
• One of her first novels was sent to a publisher who rejected it, saying she had no future as a writer, but others encouraged her to continue writing
• When US Civil War broke out, she sewed uniforms and then became an army nurse
• She entertained patients by reading aloud and putting on skits
• Due to poor conditions, she contracted typhoid fever and became critically ill
• She wrote many stories but is best known for the novel Little Women (1868)
• Little Women is loosely based on her childhood experiences with her three sisters
• The book was a hit and is still today one of the most read and influential American novels
• Little Women has been adapted for numerous movies and television series
• She was an abolitionist and heavily involved in temperance and women's suffrage
• The exact cause of her health issues in later years is unknown but may have been mercury poisoning and/or cancer. She died of a stroke the same week as her father.

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Mary Cassatt�1844-1926

• She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to an upper-middle-class family
• Her father was a stockbroker / investor, and her mother’s family was in banking
• Her parents saw travel as part of education and went to Europe while young
• While abroad she learned German and French and had her first lessons in art
• She began studying painting at an art academy in Philadelphia at age 15
• After the end of the US Civil War, in 1866 she moved to Paris to continue studying art but returned in 1870—as the Franco-Prussian War was starting
• Her father was opposed to her chosen vocation, and paid for her basic necessities of life, but not her art supplies
• She traveled to Chicago to try selling some of her paintings but lost them in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871
• The fire burned for three days, killing 300 people and destroying 3 square miles
• She caught a big break when Catholic Bishop of Pittsburgh commissioned her to paint copies of paintings by the famous Italian painter Correggio
• He paid her enough to cover her travel expenses and extended stay in Italy
• She attracted much favorable notice in Italy and was supported and encouraged by the art community there
• She soon moved to France where she interacted with famous Impressionists
• Impressionism is art characterized by loose brushwork, bright colors, and a focus on capturing the effects of light and everyday life rather than realism
• She was one of the few women — and the only American — to exhibit with the Impressionists in Paris
• She often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children
• Known for deep and tender yet unsentimental themes of domestic life
• She experimented with etching and other innovative techniques for producing color prints in the 1890s that are now considered masterpieces
• She was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 1904, the highest and most prestigious order of merit, both military and civil, awarded by France

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Marie Curie�1867 - 1934

• Maria Skłodowska was born in Warsaw, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire)
• Both sides of her family had lost their property and fortunes because of involvements in national uprisings aimed at restoring Poland's independence
• Her father taught math and physics at two Warsaw secondary schools for boys
• She was unable to attend college because she was a woman, so she and her sister gained education through an underground “Flying University”
• In 1891, aged 24, she went to study in Paris, where she earned her higher degrees and began conducting more in-depth scientific work
• In 1895, she married the French physicist Pierre Curie
• She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice (Physics and Chemistry), and first married couple to win the Nobel Prize
• She shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with Henri Becquerel and Pierre for their pioneering work developing the theory of radioactivity
• After the untimely death of her husband, she was offered a job that was created for him and became the first woman professor at the University of Paris
• She won the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements polonium (Po) and radium (Ra), using radioactivity techniques she invented
• She named polonium after her native Poland
• During World War I, she developed a mobile X-ray vehicle which immensely aided doctors in determining the best way to treat wounded soldiers
• She founded the Curie Institute in Paris in 1920, and the Curie Institute in Warsaw in 1932; both remain major medical research centers today
• The Curies had two daughters, Irène who also won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 and Ève, who was part of a team that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965
• She died at age 66 of aplastic anemia (a blood cell / bone marrow condition) likely from exposure to radiation during her life

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Helen Keller�1880 - 1968

• She was born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama
• Her father had served as a captain in the Confederate Army and her maternal grandfather was a Confederate general
• Her family was part of the slaveholding elite in the U.S. South before the American Civil War, but lost much status in the aftermath
• At 19 months old, she contracted an unknown illness described as "congestion of the stomach and the brain”
• Likely meningitis, an infection of the protective membranes covering the brain
• She recovered from the illness but permanently lost her sight and hearing
• At age of seven, she met her first teacher and life-long friend, Anne Sullivan, who taught her to communicate by spelling words into her hand
• The concept of words was a thrilling breakthrough for the young Helen Keller
• In 1894, she moved to New York where she attended a school for the deaf
• In 1900, she was admitted to Radcliffe (Women’s) College of Harvard University
• Mark Twain, introduced her to Henry Huttleston Rogers, who paid for her education
• She became the first deafblind person in US to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree
• While she was proficient at using braille and fingerspelling, she was determined to communicate better and learned to “hear” and speak
• She could "hear" using the Tadoma method, using her fingers to feel people’s lips
• She traveled to 40 countries giving speeches advocating for disabled people
• She wrote and published 12 books and many more articles
• While in her 30s, she had a love affair a Boston Herald reporter and became secretly engaged to him and attempted to elope in defiance of her family
• She had a series of strokes in 1961 and spent her remaining years at her home
• In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom

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Eleanor Roosevelt�1884 - 1962

• She was born in New York City into a world of wealth and privilege, to Anna Rebecca Hall and Elliott Roosevelt, younger brother to Theodore Roosevelt
• At age two, she was on an ocean liner that crashed, and her family was evacuated on lifeboats. She was afraid of ships and the sea for the rest of her life
• At age 8, her mother died of diphtheria
• Diphtheria is a throat infection, relatively easy to treat today with modern medicine
• Her father died when she was 10 (was an alcoholic and suffered from delirium)
• She attended high school at a private finishing school in London, where she learned to speak French fluently, was well-liked, and gained self-confidence
• She was an Episcopalian, regularly attended services, and studied the Bible
• Episcopalians are also known as Anglicanism or the Church of England
• In 1904, she married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Their marriage was rocky and evolved in more of a political partnership
• She turned her attentions to politics and social work and charities
• In 1921, FDR was diagnosed with polio and her nursing care likely saved his life
• While FDR’s mother encouraged him to leave politics (he had been NY state senator and part of Wilson admin) Eleanor encourage him to stay in public life
• In 1927, she bought a finishing school for girls where she taught courses in American literature and history while FDR served as governor of NY
• She became First Lady of the U.S. in 1933 when FDR was inaugurated president
• The role of First Lady had traditionally been restricted to domesticity and hostessing
• She redefined the role through travel, advocacy, and public engagement
• First to hold press conferences, host a radio show, and speak at party conventions
• Served as U.S. delegate to the United Nations from 1945–1952 and oversaw drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Advocated for the rights of women, African Americans, and war refugees

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Georgia O'Keeffe�1887-1986

• She was born in Wisconsin to dairy farmers and by age 10 wanted to be an artist
• In 1905, she began her studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• She earned money as an illustrator and a teacher to pay for further education
• In 1908, she ran out of money and gave up school and art for four years
• Her father had gone bankrupt, and her mother was seriously ill with tuberculosis
• In 1912, she began attending the University of Virginia where she began to develop her unique style with watercolors and charcoal drawings
• In 1915, she began teaching art in South Carolina and in 1916, she became chair of art department at a college in Canyon, Texas
• She completed a series of innovative charcoal abstractions which were shown to Alfred Stieglitz, an art dealer in New York, who loved her art
• In 1918, she moved to New York when Alfred Stieglitz offered financial support, a residence, and place for her to paint
• Though 23 years older than her, they married in 1924
• In 1925, she moved into a 30th floor apartment and began a series of paintings of New York skyscrapers
• In 1928, a painting sold to an anonymous buyer for $25,000, because of the press attention, her paintings sold at a higher price from that point forward
• In 1929, she began an annual trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico
• She was inspired the landscapes and animal skulls, as reflected in her paintings
• In 1934, she moved to a property in NM known as Ghost Ranch
• The multicolored cliffs inspired some of her most famous landscape paintings
• She enjoyed painting sunrises and sunsets, natural forms, flowers, and desert-inspired landscapes with a fondness for intense colors
• One painting sold for $44M in 2014, largest price ever for a woman’s painting

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Amelia Earhart�1897 - 1937

• She was born in Kansas to parents who believed in an unconventional upbringing
• Her mom dressed her in bloomers (baggy pants) instead of dresses
• She was a natural leader, taking her sister Grace, two years younger, on a variety of adventures in the neighborhood, climbing, hunting, and sledding
• In 1904, with the help of her uncle, she constructed a home-made roller coaster
• She emerged with a bruised lip, a torn dress and a "sensation of exhilaration"
• At the age of 10, she saw her first aircraft at the Iowa State Fair
• She enrolled in public school for the first time at age, 12 (seventh grade)
• She kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about successful women in careers such as film, law, advertising, management, and mechanical engineering
• In 1917, she received training as a nurse and began working at a military hospital, where she heard stories from pilots and developed an interest in flying
• She contracted the flu during the 1918 pandemic, and her recovery lasted a year
• She was "fond of reading" and passed the time reading poetry and studying mechanics
• 1920, she attended an "aerial meet“ where she got a 10-minute passenger flight
• "By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground ... I knew I had to fly.”
• Working a variety of jobs, she saved $1,000 for flying lessons and had her first lesson
• 1922, she flew to 14,000 feet, setting a world record for female pilots
• In 1928, she met George Putnam, publisher of Charles Lindbergh's autobiography
• Putnam wanted to find a woman to perform a similar feat of flying across the Atlantic
• That year, she became a celebrity as first female to cross the Atlantic by airplane
• In 1928, she was the first woman to fly solo across the North American continent
• In 1932, she became the first female pilot to fly nonstop solo across the Atlantic
• On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world
• It is generally believed that she ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean before arriving in Howland Island, though her airplane nor wreckage has never been found

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Irena Sendler�1910 - 2008

• She was born in Warsaw Poland and her father was a physician and humanitarian who treated the poor, including many Jews, free of charge
• She studied law and literature at the University of Warsaw
• She suffered from academic disciplinary measures for being a Jew sympathizer
• She found work doing legal counseling and social work with women and children at a government unemployment office
• She worked in impoverished neighborhoods with socially disadvantaged women
• She wrote in 1934 about her concern for children born out of wedlock and their mothers
• The Germans invaded in 1939 and banned providing assistance to Jewish citizens
• She created false documents and other schemes to help Jewish families
• In 1940, 400,000 Jews were confined to a small area known as the Warsaw Ghetto
• As a government employee, she access to a permit for entering the ghetto and used it to sneak in food and medicine while smuggling out children and babies
• In 1942, she became a leader in the Underground Resistance, focusing on children
• The "Great Action“, the Nazi code name for the deportation and mass murder of Jews
• Jews were rounded up, sent aboard overcrowded Holocaust trains to the extermination camp
• She set up a network of emergency shelters where Jewish children were protected
• She worked closely with nuns at Catholic convents as one of the best safe houses
• Gave them Christian names while documenting their Jewish identity to reunite them someday
• She saved countless Jewish children from dying in the Holocaust
• In October 1943 she was arrested by the Gestapo, secret police of Nazi Germany
• She was imprisoned and tortured but never revealed information about the children
• She was sentenced to death but escaped when officers were bribed
• She later received were the Gold Cross of Merit and Order of the White Eagle
• In 1965, she was recognized by Israel as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations”
• Awarded to non-Jews who risk their lives to save Jews

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Mother Teresa�1910 - 1997

• Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born into a devoutly Catholic family of Albanian parents in North Macedonia (then part of Ottoman Empire)
• She was fascinated by stories of missionaries and their service in Bengal (India)
• By age 12, she was convinced that she should commit herself to religious life
• She left home at 18 to join Sisters of Loreto in Ireland and become a missionary
• In 1929, she arrived in India, learned Bengali, and began teaching school
• Taking religious vows, she chose the name Teresa, patron saint of missionaries
• She became increasingly disturbed by the poverty around her in Calcutta, India
• Particularly impacted by the Bengal Famine of 1943 which brought starvation, disease, misery and death to over 1 million by a variety of political and economic factors
• In 1946, she heard the call of her inner conscience to serve the poor for Jesus
• I was to "help the poor while living among them...To fail would have been to break the faith"
• In 1948, she received basic medical training and ventured into the slums of India
• In 1950, she established the Missionaries of Charity, a religious organization dedicated to serving "the poorest of the poor"
• Members of her order took vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and free service to poor
• In 1952, she opened her first hospice (health care facility for the terminally ill)
• In 1955, she opened a children’s home for orphans and homeless youth
• By 1960, her organization attracted more donations, enabling her to open more hospices, orphanages, soup kitchens, clinics, & schools throughout the world
• She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979
• She asked that the $192,000 prize money be given to the poor in India and said the best thing we can do to promote world peace is "Go home and love your family."
• She had a heart attack in 1983 and 1989 & declining health remainder of her life
• She was canonized as a Catholic Saint in 2016 by Pope Francis

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Rosa Parks�1913 - 2005

• Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, and grew up in the Jim Crow era
• Jim Crow = state and local laws in Southern U.S. in the 1800s and 1900s that enforced racial segregation (separating whites and blacks) in many aspects of life: healthcare, restaurants, transportation, etc.
• Her ancestry included African, Scotch-Irish, and Native American
• At the age of six, she began working on a plantation and was paid 50 cents a day to pick cotton
• Her mother taught her to sew, completing her first quilt at age of 10 and her first dress at 11
• In 1941, age 28, she began working at Maxwell Air Force Base, which was racially integrated, enabling her to take public transit alongside white coworkers on-base
• However, when she returned home, she was required to use segregated buses, which frustrated her
• In 1943, she and her husband, Raymond Parks, joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to get more involved in the fight for their civil rights
• In 1954, she became friends with the Durrs, a white couple who were opposed to segregation
• They sponsored her attendance at an activist training center where black and white people lived together as equals in a "unified society“ and "people of all races and backgrounds" interacted harmoniously
• In 1955, Rosa was arrested when she refused to give up her bus seat to white passengers
• Civil rights leaders saw the bus laws as unconstitutional and used her case for a lawsuit to challenge thm
• Front seats were for whites, back for blacks, and middle seats, where Rosa sat, were at the driver’s discretion. Usually, blacks could sit there but were asked to move if enough white people boarded.
• On the day of Rosa’s court hearing, the black community organized a bus boycott
• Blacks were 75% of riders, and they felt the boycott would pressure Montgomery to change their laws
• The bus boycott was overseen by Martin Luther King Jr., his first foray into national civil rights politics
• Rosa and many others were fired from their jobs and received death threats
• The boycott was successful and concluded when a year later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was unconstitutional and ordered them to be racially integrated
• In 1996, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Bill Clinton

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