Honored: 1998 (1823 - 1893)
An educator and abolitionist, Mary Ann Shadd Cary was the first African American woman to enroll in and graduate from Howard University Law School. She appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to argue for the right of women to vote (with Anthony and Stanton). During the 1870s, while practicing law, she lectured throughout the United States about the improvement of education for African Americans.
Honored: 1995 (1821 - 1910)
The only American woman to found a lasting American-based religion, the Church of Christ (Scientist). Her personal struggles led her to believe in a system of prayer-based healing. In 1908, two years before her death at 89 she started The Christian Science Monitor.
Honored: 2000 (Unknown - 1660)
Disenfranchised and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony along with Anne Hutchinson, she moved back to England, where she became a protege of George Fox, the founder of Quakerism. Returning to Boston, she was arrested, imprisoned and expelled for preaching the Quaker faith. Returning to Boston again and again, she stood beside other condemmed Quakers and finally was herself arrested and hanged. Her martyr's death contributed to the move for religious tolerance in the colonies.
Honored: 2005 (1866 - 1923)
Civil Rights activist and suffragist, Talbert was the first African-American high school principal in the state of Arkansas. Moving to Buffalo in 1891, she went on to lecture internationally on race relations and women’s rights. In 1905, she helped found and organize the Niagara Movement, a forerunner of the NAACP.
Honored: 2000 (1832 - 1919)
First female surgeon in the U.S. Army, she continually crossed the Confederate lines to treat civilians. After being taken prisoner in 1864 and imprisoned in Richmond, she was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the first woman to receive this award. In 1917, her medal, along with 910 others, was taken away when Congress revised the standards to include only "actual combat with the enemy." She refused to return the medal, wore it until her death, and it was finally awarded to her posthumously.
Honored: 2002 (1872 - 1952)
Chemist and refrigeration expert Mary Engle Pennington saved thousands of lives by creating national standards for milk and dairy inspection and improved the safety and convenience of refrigerated and frozen foods. She was also instrumental in developing safe and sanitary methods for the storage and handling of poultry, fish, and eggs, contributing techniques that solved humidity control problems, insulation and ventilation issues.
Honored: 1973 (1875 - 1955)
African American teacher who, with only $1.50, began a school to help educate young African American women. After developing it into a college, she became a powerful leader, and through her leadership of the National Council of Negro Women, worked to end discrimination and increase opportunities for African Americans.
Honored: 1998 (1904 - 1998)
Pioneering sex educator and acknowledged "mother of sex education." She established the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States, which established sexuality as a healthy entity. Dr. Calderone was President of the SIECUS board, as well as author and co-author of several books, professional journals and magazine articles.
Honored: 1995 (1826 - 1898)
Best known as the co-author (with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony) of The History of Women's Suffrage. She served in the National Women's Suffrage Association and helped form suffrage groups in order to gain the right to vote for women.
Honored: 1998 (1928 - )
Poet, author and early Civil Rights advocate. Angelou's early career was in the theater, and she co-wrote Cabaret for Freedom to raise funds for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, for which she later became northern coordinator. She raised social consciousness through writings such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and The Heart of a Women. She was a nominee for a Tony, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer Prize.
