1054: Sutematsu Ōyama The First Japanese Woman to Earn a College Degree From a Western College Born: 16 March 1860, Present-day Aizu, Japan Died: 18 February 1919, Tokyo, Japan Also Known As: Princess Ōyama Original Name: Sakiko Yamakawa Unfortunately for Sutematsu, attending college wasn’t actually her choice. Her family forced her to go. She was…
1032: Isabella of France English Queen Remembered as the She-Wolf of France Born: c.1292-1296, Paris, France Died: 23 August 1358, Castle Rising, Norfolk, England (Present-day Norfolk, England, United Kingdom) Isabella was an English Queen who refused to fade into the background of the history books. She dealt with her husband’s boyfriends as long as she…
1025: Tawosret The Last Pharaoh of Egypt’s 19th Dynasty Born: Ancient Egypt Died: c.1190 BC, Ancient Egypt Also Spelled: Twosret or Tausret Tawosret was one of a handful of women to ever become Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt in her own right. Over a four-thousand-year timespan, the only women ever confirmed to have ruled as Pharaoh…
1026: Tiye One of the Most Powerful Matriarchs in Egyptian History Born: c.1398 BCE, Ancient Egypt (Present-day Egypt) Died: c.1338 BCE, Thebes, Ancient Egypt (Present-day Luxor, Egypt) Tiye is best remembered today for being the mother of Pharaoh Akhenaten and the mysterious woman known as “The Younger Lady”. Tiye was also, therefore, the grandmother of…
1024: Agnes Howard The Duchess with Two Step-Granddaughter Queens Born: c.1477-1480, Present-day Skirbeck, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom Died: May 1545, Present-day Thetford, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom Also Known As: Agnes Tilney or Agnes Tylney Agnes is best known today for being the step-grandmother to both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, who both went on to…
“Whoever makes me unhappy for a day, I will make suffer a lifetime.” The Empress’s triumphant return, photo sourced from Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang 1016: Empress Dowager Cixi The Empress who Dragged China into the Modern World Born: 29 November 1835, Beijing, Imperial China (Present-day Beijing, People’s Republic of China) Died: 15 November…
1008: Rania al-Abdullah Queen Consort of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Born: 31 August 1970, Kuwait City, Kuwait Before becoming queen, Rania worked in the banking and private technology sectors. In 1991, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo. In 1993, Rania married the then-Prince of Jordan, Abdullah…
1007: Kiya Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten Born: Possibly Mitanni (Present-day Syria) Died: Akhetaten, Ancient Egypt (Present-day Amarna, Egypt) Very little is known about Kiya, especially in contrast with Akhenaten’s much more famous and principal wife Nefertiti. Some scholars believe Kiya was from the Mitanni civilization, located in present-day Syria and Turkey, based on a known…
1003: Turhan Hatice Sultan From Victim to One of the Most Powerful Women in the Islamic World Born: c.1627, Present-day Ukraine or Possibly Russia Died: 4 August 1683, Present-day Edirne, Turkey Turhan was kidnapped at the age of twelve, and taken from her homeland to Constantinople, where she was given to the Sultan of the…
996: Maharani Raj Rajeshwari Devi Queen Regent & Consort of Nepal Birth Date Unknown, Kingdom of Nepal (Present-day Nepal) Died: 5 May 1806 AD, Kingdom of Nepal (Present-day Sankhu, Nepal) Raj is most remembered today because she was forced to commit sati (the cultural belief in a wife burning to death on her husband’s funeral…