RETROBITUARIES

No matter what Manhattan neighborhood you’re in, there’s probably a sculpture of Audrey Munson nearby.

Between seven marriages, two dead husbands, and one fraudulent baby, opera singer Lydia Locke's life had enough scandal to fill a gossip rag several times over.

At a time when women were rarely, if ever, were considered for roles in law enforcement, Kate Warne became a top investigator—and helped saved Abraham Lincoln's life.

Kitty O’Neil, a stuntwoman, drag racer, and diver, challenged assumptions about what it meant to be a deaf woman and set 22 speed records.

Grace Olive Wiley was an unconventional herpetologist whose love affair with snakes—and resistance to safety standards—would end up costing her her life.

Literature was Eliza Leslie's passion, but her high-quality, distinctly American recipes were her bread and butter.

Using the stage name Stepin Fetchit, Perry was the first Black actor to become a millionaire—but today, his legacy is controversial.

She debated with Queen Elizabeth I, sat at the head of a prosperous pirate empire, and told the English where to go.

With 309 confirmed kills, she became a heroic figure to the Soviets—but the American media didn't know what to make of her.

She was known on the streets as Moll Cutpurse, for the purse strings she slashed.

She tested most of the slapstick herself.

He helped launch the American obsession with diet and exercise—and the first true confession magazine.