A celebration of women’s contributions to art, science, culture and society, Women’s History Month is an important recognition of often-overlooked triumphs by women throughout history. From Susan B. Anthony to Rosa Parks, women have served as pioneers in the United States and abroad. Yet, so many have gone unrecognized.
Here are 5 women you may not have heard of, but who made history as trailblazing women.
Alison Hargreaves
In May 1995, Alison Hargreaves became the first woman to scale Mount Everest alone, without bottled oxygen. As she triumphed more than 29,000 feet, she sent a radio message to her son and daughter: “To Tom and Kate, my dear children, I am on the highest point of the world, and I love you dearly.” Those waiting for her return back home in Britain celebrated her victory, but not for long. Hargreaves unfortunately passed away just three months later at 33 years old as she descended from the summit of K2 in Pakistan.
Marian Anderson
In January 1955, Marian Anderson fulfilled her childhood dream by becoming the first Black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera at 55 years old. Anderson served as a major figure in the struggle for Black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the United States; she worked with both the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the United States Department of State. She later went on to perform at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, as well as the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957 and of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman, otherwise known as “Queen Bess,” was the first woman and person of color to hold a pilot’s license. When no aviation school in the United States would take her, Coleman moved to France and earned her pilot license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921. She later went on to participate in notoriously dangerous air shows in the United States. Her pioneering role served as an inspiration to young pilots in the Black community.
Isabella Goodwin
Isabella Goodwin was New York City’s first female police detective. In 1912, Goodwin became known as “the best-known woman sleuth in the United States.” when she went undercover in an effort to catch a bank robber. Even after she married, Goodwin continued to work – which was uncommon in the early 1920s. She later went on to supervise the Women’s Bureau, working with other female police officers to handle cases involving sex workers and runaways.
Karen Sparck Jones
Responsible for creating the infamous inverse document frequency, a technology that underlies most search engines. Jones pioneered through the world of computer technologies, and she once said “Computing is too important to be left to men.”
Women have long gone overlooked for their groundbreaking triumphs and feats throughout history. The entire month of March is dedicated to remembering and honoring these women and raising up the next generation of women to mirror their successes.