Honored: 1995 (1930 - )
First woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Following successes as Assistant Attorney General and State Senator in Arizona, O'Connor was elected to Superior Court and then the Court of Appeals. She was named to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Regan.
Honored: 1998 (1792 - 1873)
Sisters who wrote numerous published papers which championed abolition and women's rights. The Grimke sisters were southerners who became the first female speakers for the American Anti-Slavery Society. Sarah's Letters on the Equality of the Sexes exposed the plight of factory women in New England, as well as arguing on behalf of women's rights and abolition. Through their examples and their words, the Grimkes proved that women could affect the course of political events and have a far-reaching influence on society.
Honored: 1994 (1842 - 1891)
Native American leader who dedicated her life to returning land taken by the government back to the tribes, especially the land of her own Paiute Tribe.
Honored: 1998 (1943 - )
A commercial, instrumental and multi-engine-rated pilot, Dr. Shannon Lucid was a member of the first astronaut class to admit women (1979). In her more than 30 year tenure with NASA, she served in various capacities and participated in five space flights. Dr. Lucid was the first woman to hold an international record for the most flight hours in orbit by any non-Russian, and, until June 2007, she held the record for the most flight hours in orbit by any woman in the world - 5,354 hours or 223 days in space.
Honored: 2003 (1938 - )
Appointed Secretary of the Air Force in 1993 by President Clinton, Widnall became the first woman to hold the position. A world-renowned scientist, she holds three patents in airflow technology. As a current member of MIT faculty, she is internationally known for her work in fluid dynamics, specifically in the areas of aircraft turbulence and the spiraling air flows called vortices created by helicopters.
Honored: 1993 (1924 - 2005)
First African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress. Chisholm was also the first African American woman to receive delegate votes for the presidential nomination of a major party. A member of Congress for many years, she was also an educator and writer.
Honored: 1998 (1946 - )
First woman to chair the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first African American woman to serve on the Commission. Elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for her contribution to physical science, she became an advocate for women in the areas of science, education and public policy. As Chair of NRC, she rearticulated the vision of the NRC to include reaffirmation of the basic health and safety mission of the agency.
Honored: 1981 (1797 - 1883)
Abolitionist born a slave who became a Quaker missionary. Truth eventually became a traveling preacher of great influence who worked in the antislavery movement. She learned about women's rights, and adopted that cause as well. She went on to counsel and help newly freed African Americans.
Honored: 2000 (1796 - 1870)
Born to a family known for its frugality and thrift, she was left at the age of 65 as the sole survivor of her immediate family, and with the funds to endow the establishment of Smith College, an institution that she hoped would provide undergraduate education for young women equal to that provided at the time for young men.
Honored: 1996 (1850 - 1917)
Established orphanages, day care centers, schools, clinics and hospitals for immigrants in the United States and around the world. She established a missionary order of women and was the first American citizen to be canonized a saint.
