Marie Joséphine Olinde Carpantier, better known as Marie Pape-Carpantier (1815 – 1878), was a French pedagogue and feminist. An activist for girls education and womens rights, she is the pioneer of pre-elementary education in France. Primary schools and asylum rooms Marie Pape-Carpantier was bor
Emma Goldman (1869 – 1940) is a Russian anarchist and feminist, leader of the anarchist movement in the United States, known for her writings and works. Flight to the United States Born June 27, 1869, Emma Goldman was born into a Jewish family in Kowno, Lithuania, so left Russian Empire. After the
Charlotte Reinagle Cooper (1870 – 1966) was an English tennis player of the late 19th th century and the beginning of the XXth . She is the first woman to win a gold medal. A first title at Wimbledon Daughter of Teresa Georgiana and Henry Cooper, Charlotte was born September 22, 1870 in Ealing (M
Isadora Duncan (1877 – 1927) was an American dancer. Very inspired by Greek antiquity and spirituality, it laid the foundations of modern European dance. The start of a dancing career The fourth child of Mary Dora Gray and Charles Duncan, Isadora was born on May 26, 1877 in San Francisco. Her par
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (1797 – 1851), later Mary Shelley, is an English woman of letters, novelist, biographer and travelogue, best known for her work Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus . Meet Percy Shelley Born August 30, 1797, Mary is the daughter of feminist philosopher Mary Wollstonecr
A textile worker, Lucie Baud (1870-1913) founded a union in her factory and played an important role in social movements aimed at defending workers rights. Labourers Union Little is known about Lucie Bauds childhood. Born in 1870 into a Catholic family, she received sufficient education to learn t
Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin (1804 – 1876) or Aurore Dupin, known by her pen name George Sand, is a French novelist and woman of letters. She was at the heart of the intellectual life of her time. An unhappy marriage Daughter of Sophie Victoire Delaborde and Maurice François Dupin de Francueil, f
Marie Curie , born Maria Salomea Skłodowska (1867 – 1934) was a French physicist and chemist of Polish origin. She is the only woman to have received two Nobel Prizes and the only one to have been awarded in two different scientific fields. Scientific studies in Paris The last of a family of 5 ch
Helen Adams Keller (1880 – 1968) was an American writer, activist and lecturer. Blind, deaf and mute at the beginning of her life, she wrote novels and political essays and got involved in feminist and socialist movements. His determination always commands admiration. Deaf and blind Daughter of Ka
A teacher, woman of letters and anarchist and feminist activist, Louise Michel (1830 – 1905) is one of the major figures of the Commune of Paris . Love of equality Born on May 29, 1830 in Haute-Marne at the Château de Vroncourt, Louise Michel was the daughter of Marie-Anne Michel, a servant, and
Marie Rosalie Bonheur , known as Rosa Bonheur (1822 – 1899) is a French painter and sculptor, specializing in animal representations. First exhibitions in fairs Born March 16, 1822 in Bordeaux, Marie Rosalie is the daughter of Sophie Marquis and Raymond Bonheur. His father, a painter, encouraged h
Clara Eissner (1857 – 1933) who became Clara Zetkin was a German journalist, politician and feminist figure. She is notably at the origin of the international day of womens rights on March 8. Activist for equal rights between women and men Born on July 5, 1857, Clara Eissner is the daughter of a
Mary Stevenson Cassatt , known as Mary Cassatt, (1844 – 1926), is an American painter, often considered as an impressionist but rather from the generation of post-impressionist painters. A European childhood Born May 22, 1844 in Allegheny Citu (Pennsylvania, United States), Mary Cassatt was the fo
Chinese Dowager Empress , Cixi , or Tseu-Hi (1835-1908), first played the role of adviser to the emperor before exercising real power between 1861 and 1908. The Emperors favorite concubine Daughter of Huizheng, imperial ensign-bearer, Cixi was born in Beijing during the winter of 1835. Orphaned d
Marie-Sophie Germain (1776-1831) was one of the first French mathematicians. She is known for her work on number theory, on the elasticity of bodies, and for her exchanges with the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. Anthony Augustus the White It is, it seems, reading a book on Archimedes which is
Jane Austen ( 1775 – 1817) was an English woman of letters renowned for her realism, social criticism and biting irony. Widely adapted to the cinema, she is still one of the most widely read English writers today. The first works for his family Daughter of Cassandra Austen and William Georges Aus
Camille Claudel (1864 – 1943) was a French sculptor of talent and genius, a major artist of the late 19th century. Learning to sculpt Camille Anastasia Kendall Maria Nicola Claudel was born on December 8, 1864, daughter of Louise-Athanaïse Claudel and Louis-Prosper Vivenne Claudel. His little br
Berthe Morisot (1841 – 1895) was a French painter linked to the Impressionist movement. She devoted herself in particular to paintings of women, children and family scenes. First Impressionist Salon Daughter of the prefect of Cher and great-grand-niece of the painter Jean Honoré Fragonard, Bert
Sarah Bernhardt (1844 – 1923) is a very famous French actress and a great tragic actress. She is the first actress to have toured on 5 continents. Birth of a vocation Born October 22, 1844, Sarah Bernhardt is the daughter of Judith-Julie Bernardt, a Dutch courtesan; his father remains unknown. Sh
Martha Jane Canary, alias Calamity Jane (1850s – 1903) is a mythical personality of the Conquest of the West. Having become a legend during her lifetime, it is sometimes difficult to disentangle, in her life stories, what is true and what is myth. The beginning of an adventurous life Martha Jane C
Daughter of the Emperor, Anne Comnenus (1083 – around 1153) was a Byzantine historian and writer, whose work is a major source on the political history of Byzantium. The Byzantine Empire Born on the 1st or December 2, 1083, Anne Comnenus is the eldest of Empress Irene Doukas and Byzantine Emperor
Not much is known about the early life of this Roman knight. Thanks to an inscription found in Caesarea, we know that he became prefect of Judea during the reign of Tiberius. He thus administered the entire province both economically and judicially and endeavored to maintain order there, from the ye
Augustus is the first Roman emperor. He is Caesars great-nephew and adopted son. On his death, Octave (first name of Augustus), Marc-Antoine and Lépide form a triumvirate and share the world. The naval victory of Actium in 31 BC. J.-C consecrates him master of the lands and the seas by definitively
Nicholas of Mira (photo:public domain) Nicholas of Myra (approx. 270 - December 6, 345 or 352) - saint Catholic and Orthodox, bishop. The first mentions of Saint Nicholas appear only in the 6th century CE, during the reign of Emperor Justinian. According to legend, he lived at the turn of the 3r