Honored: 1995 (1917 - 1996)
World-renowned jazz singer and the first pop musician awarded the Lincoln Center Medallion. At 15, she entered a talent contest to dance. Her knees shook so much she chose to sing instead and was dicovered by a Chick Webb band member.
Honored: 1994 (1903 - 1986)
Premier behind-the-scenes organizer and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), headed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Baker also helped establish the civil rights movement's foremost student organization, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.
Honored: 1993 (1919 - 1981)
First woman elected a state governor in her own right. Grasso was elected Governor of Connecticut in 1974, serving until illness forced her retirement in 1980. She was also a Congresswoman and advocate for women, minorities and the elderly.
Honored: 1993 (1842 - 1911)
The nation's first professional woman chemist, an important figure in opening careers in science to women. By applying scientific principles to domestic life, Richards became a leader in the new disciplines of sanitary engineering, nutrition and home economics.
Honored: 1993 (1826 - 1910)
Sister of Elizabeth Blackwell, was also a physician. Emily ran the infirmary for women and the medical college for women founded by her sister, providing excellent training for women in medicine.
Honored: 1973 (1830 - 1886)
One of the world's greatest poets. A New England woman who spent much of her life in one small community, her world vision and innovative style has had a lasting impact on literature.
Honored: 2001 (1939 - )
In 1973 Emily Warner became the first American female commercial airline pilot when Frontier Airlines broke the barrier against hiring women pilots. She later became the nation's first woman airline captain, also at Frontier Airlines.
Honored: 2009 (1849 - 1887)
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." These famous words from
The New Colossus, were written by Emma Lazarus, one of the first successful Jewish American authors. Originally created in 1883, the sonnet was later engraved in bronze and placed at the base of the Statue of Liberty. Throughout her lifetime, Lazarus authored and published numerous poems, essays, letters, short stories and translations. She was an important forerunner of the Zionist movement, having argued for the creation of a Jewish homeland thirteen years before the term Zionist was even coined.
Honored: 2000 (1848 - 1927)
President of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association, successfully ran the campaign that resulted in Washington becoming the first state in the 20th century to grant full enfranchisement to women in 1910, a full decade before passage of the 19th Amendment. DeVoe established the first national organization of voting women, which eventually merged with the National League of Women Voters, leaving an invaluable legacy about the importance of the educated use of the franchise.
Honored: 1996 (1810 - 1892)
Early advocate for women's rights, traveling for more than three decades giving eloquent speeches and seeking petition signatures. Rose sought women's rights, the abolition of slavery and many other reforms before others took up the causes. From 1835 through 1869, she was often the first woman to speak in public on many platforms.
