Women in Politics

Margaret Chase Smith and Eleanor Roosevelt duked it out for their political parties.

In 1956, two highly-regarded party figures stepped in for candidates Eisenhower and Stevenson to tackle election issues.

Victoria Claflin Woodhull led a very interesting life.

Long before Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris launched their presidential campaigns, Victoria Claflin Woodhull ran as a third party candidate in the 1872 election.

In the coming decades, five princesses are expected to ascend the thrones of Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.

The combat veteran is the first Asian American woman from Illinois ever elected to Congress.

From serving in the Iraq War to becoming the first U.S. senator to give birth in office, Tammy Duckworth has an impressive history of overcoming adversity with grit and humor.

Hannah Arendt shed new light on totalitarianism.

Arendt fled Nazi Germany and became one of the most vocal political philosophers of the 20th century.

Anne of Cleves escaped a joyless family, avoided an unhappy marriage, and jumped at the chance to live her best life.

The magician P. T. Selbit performing a sawing a woman in half trick.

The magic trick of sawing a woman in half was first performed a century ago by P.T. Selbit, a British magician.

Eleanor Roosevelt is joining Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, Sally Ride, and other ‘Inspiring Women’ Barbies.

Iberia Airlines, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 2.0

At the end of her life, Eva Perón was suffering from painful cancer and displaying erratic behavior, and her lobotomy may have been a way to treat both problems.

Sorghaghtani Beki, Genghis Khan's daughter-in-law, was a powerful ruler.

The daughters of Genghis Khan ruled nations that controlled the Silk Road, the favored route for trading spices, cloth, pottery, and other goods between China, India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.

“Larger than life” sums up Bella Abzug. The New York-based Democratic congresswoman gained 1970s notoriety with her big hats and bold feminist voice.

Gracie Allen laughed her way to a presidential run in 1940.

Although the stunt was obviously a joke, “Vote for Gracie” buttons popped up around the U.S. Harvard students pledged their support for Allen’s campaign.

An 1888 issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper depicts women's suffrage in the Wyoming territory.

More than 50 years before the 19th Amendment, legislators in the Wyoming Territory passed a bill granting women voting rights.

Suffragettes march in a New York City parade in 1912.

Donate your time and typing skills to transcribe documents featuring Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and more.

America's first female mayor may have been nominated as a prank, but her win paved the way for other women to hold office. Read on for more Women's History Month moments.

Scewing, Wikimedia Commons // Public domain

Susan B. Anthony's contributions to the women's rights movement helped bring about the Nineteenth Amendment. Learn more about this suffrage pioneer here.

Rosa Parks receiving the Congressional Gold Medal.

Rosa Parks is best known for her historic arrest, but that's not the only accomplishment she should be remembered for.

Being a pioneer is nothing new for Kamala Harris. Here’s what you need to know about the Vice President.

Shirley Chisholm led a groundbreaking career.

Nearly 50 years after becoming the first Black American woman to run for president, Shirley Chisholm is still making headlines.

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

During colonial times and in the earliest days of the U.S., a small number of women managed to vote despite circumstances stacked against them.

The two-time Nobel Prize winner tops the BBC's list of 100.

“I felt the first time the first woman had a chance to say no to war, she should say it.”

Laura de Force Gordon (center) and Susan B. Anthony being escorted to the stage.

When she didn't like how men covered her campaign for Senate, she started her own paper.

The First-Ever Televised Presidential Debate Was Between Two Women

The First Woman to Run For President Was a Spiritualist, Wall Street Broker, and Free-Love Advocate

5 European Princesses Who Are Preparing to Reign

17 Things You Might Not Know About Tammy Duckworth

The Library of Congress Needs Help Transcribing the Papers of Political Thinker Hannah Arendt

Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's Most Successful—And Least Known—Wife

The Magician and the Suffragette: The Strange History of Sawing a Woman in Half

Mattel Adds an Eleanor Roosevelt Barbie to Its ‘Inspiring Women’ Series

The Story Behind Eva Perón’s Secret Lobotomy

When Mongol Queens Ruled the Silk Road

10 Fierce Facts About Bella Abzug

How Gracie Allen and the Surprise Party Got 1940s America Excited to Vote

Why Wyoming Women Were Granted Voting Rights 50 Years Before the 19th Amendment

The Library of Congress Needs Help Transcribing 16,000 Pages of Suffragist Diaries, Letters, and Documents

11 Forgotten but Important Moments in Women's History

10 Trailblazing Facts About Susan B. Anthony

8 Inspiring Facts About Rosa Parks

13 Fascinating Facts About Kamala Harris

12 Facts About Shirley Chisholm, the First Black American Woman to Run for President

Lady Death: Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the Greatest Female Sniper of All Time

5 Very Early Stories About American Women and Voting

Marie Curie Has Been Declared the Most Influential Woman in History

9 Facts About Jeannette Rankin, the First Woman Elected to Congress

Laura de Force Gordon, Pioneering Newspaper Publisher, Lawyer, and Suffragist