1120: Margaret Brent The First Woman in the North American Colonies to Appear Before a Court of Common Law Born: c.1601, Gloucester, England (Present-day Gloucester, England, United Kingdom) Died: c.1671 Westmoreland County, The Colony of Virginia (Present-day Westmoreland County, Virginia, United States of America) Margaret came to the colonies in 1638 alongside several of her…
1119: Lavinia Fontana One of the Earliest Professional Female Painters of All Time Born: 24 August 1552, Bologna, Papal States (Present-day Bologna, Italy) Died: 11 August 1614, Rome, Papal States (Present-day Rome, Italy) Lavinia is considered the first female artist outside of a court or convent whose name is known today. She was also one…
1118: Laura Bassi The Second Woman to ever receive a Doctoral Degree from a University Born: 29 October 1711, Bologna, Papal States (Present-day Bologna, Italy) Died: 20 February 1778, Bologna, Papal States (Present-day Bologna, Italy) Full Name: Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti Laura was a child prodigy who studied French and Latin. She mostly learned…
1117: Khuwyt One of the Earliest Known Female Musicians Lived: c. 1960 BCE, Ancient Egypt (Present-day Egypt) Khuwyt was a singer and musician during the twelfth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Her name and likeness are recorded in a painting in the tomb of Antefoker, who was a political official at the time. Khuwyt is therefore…
1116: Ka’ahumanu Queen Consort and Later Regent of the Kingdom of Hawaii Born: c.1768-1777, Kingdom of Maui (Present-day Maui, Hawaii, United States) Died: 5 June 1832, Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii (Present-day Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States) Ka’ahumanu was incredibly influential as consort to her husband and regent and advisor to her stepsons. Ka’ahumanu was born to…
1115: Jadwiga of Poland The First Female Monarch of the Kingdom of Poland Born: c.1373, Buda, Kingdom of Hungary (Present-day Budapest, Hungary) Died: 17 July 1399, Present-day Kraków, Poland Also Known As: Hedwig or Hedvig Feast Day: February 28 Jadwiga’s father was the king of Poland and Hungary. When her father died, Jadwiga’s older sister…
“The old Sea God has stolen my heart and penetrated my soul…[it is] like living in a new world, so pure, so fresh, so vital, so careless, so unfettered…I cannot tell you how much I like my life!” 1114: Isabella Bird Bishop Writer, Naturalist, Explorer, and Historian Born: 15 October 1831, Boroughbridge, England, United Kingdom…
1113: Isabel de Guevara One of the Few Women to Accept the Spanish Crown’s Offer to Colonize in the New World Born: Unknown, Present-day Spain Died: After 1556, Most Likely Asunción, Spanish-Controlled Paraguay Isabel left Spain in late 1534 or early 1535. She was one of approximately 1,500 settlers (of whom twenty were women) headed…
1112: Hortensia Famed Roman Orator and One of Three Women Known to Have Spoken Publicly Before the Roman Magistrates Birth Date Unknown, Most-Likely Rome, Roman Republic (Present-day Rome, Italy) Death Date Unknown, Most-Likely Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Hortensia reportedly spoke before the Second Triumvirate and bartered for a repeal of a tax on…
1111: Magistra Hersend Surgeon for Louis IX During the Seventh Crusade in 1249 Birth and Death Dates Unknown (As are Locations) Magistra is one of two women ever recorded as a royal physician or surgeon in French history. Magistra reportedly also cared for the queen and other female camp followers throughout the crusade. After the…