Historical Figures

• Hangaku Gozen, samurai at the head of an army

  Hangaku Gozen (“Lady Hangaku”), also called Itagaki, is an onna-bugeisha, a female warrior from 13th century Japan. century. Kennins Rebellion Daughter of Jō Sukekuni, warrior, Hangaku Gozen lives at the time of the end of the Heian period and the beginning of the Kamakura period. She has two sis

• Dorotea Bocchi, doctor and academic

  Known as Dorotea Bocchi, Dorotea Bucca (1360–1436) was an Italian doctor at the University of Bologna. The University of Bologna Created in 1088[1] , three centuries before the birth of Dorotea Bocchi, the University of Bologna is considered the oldest European university. It was born from the ass

• Anne of Brittany, Protective Duchess

  Anne of Brittany (1477 – 1514) was Duchess of Brittany then Queen of France. In Brittany, it is a symbol of defense of the region. Duchess of Brittany Anne de Bretagne was born in January 1477 in the castle of the Dukes of Brittany in Nantes. She is the daughter of Duke François II of Brittany and

• Eleanor of Aquitaine, captive rebel

  Eleanor of Aquitaine (circa 1122 – 1204) is alternately queen of France, then of England. It plays an important political role in the West, especially with regard to relations between the two countries. Queen of France Eleanor of Aquitaine is the daughter of Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine and Aé

• Murasaki Shikibu, court poetess

  Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973–c. 1014 or 1025) was a Japanese writer, poet, and court lady of the mid-Heian period, best known for her novel The Tale of Genji. “The Tale of Genji” Murasaki Shikibu, whose real name is unknown, was born into the Fujiwara clan, a small aristocracy but renowned among t

• Christine de Pizan, the first French woman of letters

  Considered to be the first French woman to have lived from her pen, Christine de Pizan was a writer, poet and philosopher of the Middle Ages. A very advanced education Christine de Pizan was born around 1364 in Italy. Her father is a doctor and a lecturer in astrology at the University of Bologna,

• Okuni, inventor of artistic styles

  Japanese artist, Izumo no Okuni (出雲阿国, around 1572 – 1613?) is considered the creator of kabuki, an epic and spectacular genre of traditional Japanese theatre. Miko Many sources from his time and later, including paintings, drawings, diaries of members of the nobility , mention Okuni and teach us

• Maria Sibylla Merian, artist and naturalist

  Naturalist and designer, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647 – 1717) delivered, through his very detailed observations and reproductions, considerable scientific work, particularly on the metamorphosis of butterflies. Apprentice painter Daughter of Johanna Sybilla Heim and Matthäus Merian, Anna Maria Sibyl

• Sanité Belair, heroine of Haiti's independence

  Heroine of the independence of Haiti, Sanité Belair (1781 – 1802) distinguished himself during the Haitian Revolution by taking up arms against the Leclerc expedition, which came to restore French authority on the island. Toussaint Louverture Suzanne Belair, known as Sanité Belair, was born in 17

• Bartolina Sisa, rebel fighter

  Aymara fighter, Bartolina Sisa (1750 or 1753 ‒ 1782) inspired and led, alongside her husband, a revolt against the Spanish colonial authorities in Upper Peru. In Bolivia, she is a heroine and a model of resistance. Colonial oppression Daughter of Josefa and José Vergas Sisa, Bartolina Sisa was bo

• Toypurina, revolt against colonization

  Amerindian Tongva People, Toypurina (1760–1799) revolted against Spanish colonization. A medicine woman, she led a revolt against the settlers. The Spanish Catholic Mission Toypurina was born in 1760 among the Tongva people, the people of the earth, living in California. She was only nine years o

• The Begum Samru, skillful sovereign

  Courtesan turned sovereign, La Begum Samru (1750 – 1836) reigned over the principality of Sardhana in India for 58 years. Clever and competent, she manages to maintain the independence of her principality. Young courtesan Daughter of Jaddan Bai and Asad Khan, nobleman, Farzana Khanqui was born aro

• Manuela Beltrán, at the head of a revolt

  In the 1780s, Manuela Beltrán led the revolt of the Comuneros in the Viceroyalty of New Granada (in present-day Colombia). against the Spanish authorities and their excessive taxation system. Little is known about the life of Manuela Beltrán. Coming from a modest family descended from Spaniards,

• Sophie de Grouchy, intellectual and woman of letters

  Sophie de Grouchy (1764 – 1822), or Madame de Condorcet, was a French intellectual, woman of letters and translator who held an important salon from the French Revolution until her death. Great mental alertness Sophie Marie Louise de Grouchy was born in 1764 in Meulan-en-Yvelines, in Île-de-Franc

• Marie-Claire Bonheur, Empress of Haiti

  Wife of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Marie-Claire Bonheur (1758 – 1858) was Empress of Haiti at the beginning of the 19th century. Marie-Claire’s childhood Daughter of Marie-Sainte Lobelot and Guillaume Bonheur, Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur was born in 1758 in Léogâne, in the south of Haiti

• Jacquette de Montbron, architect during the Renaissance

  Humanist, scholar and scholar, Jacquette de Montbron (1542 – 1598) is the only known female architect in France during the Renaissance. From marriage to widowhood Jacquette de Montbron was born in 1542 in Angoumois, a former French province corresponding to the center of the current department o

• Phillis Wheatley, slave poet

  Phillis Wheatley or Phyllis Wheatley (1753 – 1784) was the first published black American poet. His work Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral earned him significant fame as far away as England. An educated slave Phillis early childhood is poorly known. Born in West Africa, probably in Se

• Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi, dramatic painter

  Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi (1593-1652), was an Italian painter of the Caravaggio school, considered one of the first women to paint historical and religious subjects. Very talented, she met with great success in her time, and is also one of the first Baroque painters. [WARNING:rape] A cathartic a

• Rani Abbakka Chowta, the fearless queen

  Queen of Ullal, one of the oldest cities in India, Rani Abbakka Chowta Fights Portuguese settlers in the 16th century. For four decades, she manages to repel their assaults on the city; she is sometimes referred to as Indias first female freedom fighter. Queen of Ullal Little is known of the chil

• Sultana Hürrem, woman of influence

  A slave who became the wife and advisor of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultana Hürrem or Roxelane (circa 1504 – 1558) is one of the most influential women in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Enslaved Originally from Ruthenia, Roxelane (the Ruthenian) was born around 1504 in Rohatyn, then lo