Womanica

Ruth Glass (1912-1990) was a British sociologist and urban planner known for coining the term “gentrification” in 1964 to describe the transformation of working-class neighborhoods by middle-class newcomers. Her work focused on urban change, housing policy, and social inequality, particularly in London.

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2025

Pauline Rose Clance (1938 - present) is a psychologist most famous for co-authoring the research paper that first coined the term “imposter phenomenon.” Commonly known as “imposter syndrome” today, the phenomenon Pauline discovered has helped countless women better identify and navigate their feelings of inadequacy in academic and professional settings.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

Marcela Lagarde (1968 - present) is a Mexican anthropologist, author, politician and feminist scholar who is credited with coining the term “feminicidio,” first to denote mass killings of women in Juárez, which had begun in the early 1990s. The term was taken up by Latin American feminists, particularly in Mexico and Guatemala, as well as governments, to address the targeted violence towards and murder of women.

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2025

Josephine Starrs and Virginia Barratt were among the creators of the VNS, an Australian feminist art collective born in the early days of the world wide web in the 1990s. The group is credited with coining the term "cyberfeminism."

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2025

Alice Walker (1944-present) is novelist, poet and essayist, best known for her novel The Color Purple, published in 1982, which won the Pulitzer Prize and made Alice  the first Black woman to win the prize for fiction. Walker is also credited with coining the term Womanist in her 1983 collection of essays In Search of our Mother’s Gardens.

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

Sylvia Wright (c. 1916-1981) was a writer and humorist who coined the term “Mondegreen,” a noun used to describe the result of mishearing a word for another word or phrase. During her career she was an editor for “Harper’s Bazaar,” and published several works of her own.

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2025

Toni Morrison (1931-2019) was a groundbreaking writer and the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. Her works, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved—where she coined the word "rememory"—explore race, identity, and the legacies of slavery. Morrison’s profound storytelling has made her one of the most influential voices in American literature.

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2025

E. K. Janaki Ammal (1897-1984) was a botanist and cytogenecist, referred to as India’s first woman botanist. She gained expertise in crossbreeding hybrid species of plants while studying at the University of Michigan, where she became the first Indian woman to earn a Ph.D in botany in the U.S. She is best known for her work to improve India’s native sugarcane, which led to India ending its imports of the crop and becoming independent. She went on to fight for the preservation of India’s indigenous plants and end deforestation as a part of the 1970s Save Silent Valley movement.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2025

Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores (1971-2016) was a Honduran environmental activist who spent decades leading various land and water struggles in western Honduras. In 1993 she helped found and coordinate the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, known by its Spanish acronym COPINH. In the late 2000s, Berta organized a lasting resistance to the construction of the Agua Zarca Dam on the Gualcarque River, whose construction violated the rights of indigenous peoples, and would have effectively cut them off from important resources. She was awarded the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize (the highest honor in the field) for her success in stopping the dam’s construction through grassroots movements.

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2025

Rahibai Soma Popere (1964 - present) is an Indian farmer known for her work preserving indigenous seed varieties and promoting sustainable agriculture. She is often referred to as the “Seed Mother” for her commitment to protecting biodiversity and traditional farming practices in India.

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2025

Aino Henssen (1925-2011) was a globally recognized lichenologist. Her interest in the organism advanced the study and understanding of lichen and actinomycete taxonomy. She wrote over 100 papers on lichen and had several named after her.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2025

Margaretta Morris (1797-1867) and Elizabeth Carrington Morris (1795-1865) were sisters from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who worked in botany, entomology, and the natural sciences. They have been credited with helping transform American science in the 19th century, but their impact has been largely forgotten.

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2025

Margaret S. Collins (1922-1996) was a pioneering entomologist and civil rights activist, known for being the first African American woman to earn a PhD in entomology. Specializing in termites, she conducted significant research, including field studies in Guyana, and contributed to both science and social equality, becoming a prominent figure in both the scientific and civil rights communities.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2025

Ch’en Shu (1660–1736) was a Chinese painter from the Qing dynasty, known for her exquisite flower-and-bird paintings that blended precision with delicate beauty. As one of the few recognized female artists of her time, she mastered traditional painting techniques while incorporating her own refined sense of composition and color.

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2025

Winona LaDuke (1959-present) is an environmental activist, economist, and writer of Ojibwe descent. Winona has dedicated her life to working on issues of land reclamation and food sovereignty, as well advocating for the rights of Native women, and participating in decades of protest against oil pipelines encroaching on and destroying native land.

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2025

Buffalo Bird Woman (c. 1839-1932), also known as Maxidiwiac, was a Hidatsa woman whose recollections on traditional Hidatsa culture, customs, and especially agricultural knowledge, were written down and preserved through interviews at the turn of the 20th century.

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2025

Hattie Carthan (1900-1984) was a community activist and environmentalist from Brooklyn, New York. She led efforts to preserve trees, revitalize public parks, and improve her Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, most notably saving a Southern magnolia tree. She received a distinguished service medal from the city and was elected to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's governing committee.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

Sophie Lutterlough (1910-2009) was an American entomologist who spent 40 years working at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. She started out as the museum’s first woman elevator operator, and eventually became an entomologist.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813-1894) was a writer and amateur naturalist, best known for her “Rural Hours,” her nature diary of Cooperstown, New York. The book was reprinted nine times in her lifetime, and she is considered one of the first American nature writers. Through her writing, she sought to educate readers about the natural world and encourage them to value and protect it.

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2025

Theodosia Burr Shepherd (1845-1906) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and pioneer in plant breeding known as the “Flower Wizard of California”. She is known for developing new varieties of flowers including cosmos, poppies, and begonias. The most famous being the ‘Heavenly Blue’ morning glory, and the ‘Golden West’ California Poppy.

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2025

Mary Vaux Walcott (1860-1940) was an American artist, botanist, and naturalist known as the “Audubon of Botany” for her detailed watercolor illustrations of North American wildflowers. She was also a pioneer in photography, glacial studies, and mountaineering.

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025

Mary Vaux Walcott (1860-1940) was an American artist, botanist, and naturalist known as the “Audubon of Botany” for her detailed watercolor illustrations of North American wildflowers. She was also a pioneer in photography, glacial studies, and mountaineering.

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025

Helia Bravo Hollis (1901-2001) was a pioneering Mexican botanist and the country’s first formally titled biologist, specializing in the study and conservation of cacti. She classified over 700 cacti species, helped establish UNAM’s Botanical Garden, and co-founded the Mexican Cactus Society.

Transcribed - Published: 10 April 2025

Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750) was a Dutch still-life painter from the Netherlands, specializing in depicting flowers. Her career spanned over six decades and earned her international fame. She is now considered the best-documented female painter of the Dutch Golden Age.

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2025

Tapputi is widely regarded as one of the first known chemists, and her name appears in a Mesopotamian cuneiform tablet dating to approximately 1200 BCE. She is believed to have worked in the Babylonian royal palace, where she held the title of “Belatekallim,” meaning a female overseer or supervisor. Tapputi is most famous for making perfumes, the descriptions of her work provide some of the earliest documented evidence of chemical distillation and solvent use—techniques that form the foundation of modern chemistry.

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2025

Gloria Lim (1930-2022) was a mycologist known for her extensive work in the study of fungi, particularly in Southeast Asia. With a passion for exploring the diverse fungal ecosystems, she made significant contributions to the understanding of both native and rare species. Her research and advocacy helped raise awareness about the ecological importance of fungi and their role in maintaining biodiversity.

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

Kono Yasui (1880-1971) was a Japanese biologist and cytologist who became the first Japanese woman to receive a doctoral degree in science. Her academic and scientific career defied gender norms of the time and made important advancements in genetics.

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2025

Cubah Cornwallis (c. 1700s) was a Jamaican nurse who lived from the mid to late 18th century until 1848. Cubah was likely born into slavery, but eventually gained her freedom and settled in Port Royal, opening a lodging house that doubled as an early hospital. She was known throughout the port city for her healing techniques that nursed many naval officers back to health. Her methods drew from Obeah tradition and practice. Cubah is considered one of the foremothers of modern nursing practice.

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

Commandant Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan (1879-1967) was an acclaimed botanist who studied and published papers and textbooks on the reproduction of fungi. She also had a military career in both World Wars, and was appointed the first Chief Controller of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2025

Maria Tereza Jorge Pàdua (1943 - present) is a Brazilian ecologist, conservationist and biologist who is celebrated as the "Mother of Brazilian National Parks.” Maria has had a lifelong dedication to preserving the biodiversity of Brazil, and she has helped establish and manage dozens of national parks across the country. Her conservation efforts have been particularly impactful in the Amazon rainforest.

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2025

Plautilla Bricci (1616-1705) was an Italian artist and architect, regarded as one of the first female architects of modern Europe. She is best known for designing the Villa Benedetta in the 1660’s as well Chapel of St. Louis in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, completed in 1677.

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2025

Sarah Winchester (1839-1922) was a wealthy widow who spent decades of her life building a never ending house, full of countless rooms, corridors, and stairwells. The Winchester Mystery House is now a historic landmark, and can be visited in San Jose, where it is located.

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2025

Pravina Mehta (c.1923-1992) was an Indian architect, planner and political activist, who participated in street protests against British colonial rule. Later, she studied architecture and helped conceptualize the New Bombay plan in 1964.

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2025

Empress Suiko (554-628) was the first reigning empress of Japan in recorded history, known for ushering in an era of peace and stability. Under her reign, some of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan were constructed.

Transcribed - Published: 26 March 2025

Amaza Lee Meredith (1895-1984) was an American artist and architect. She is most famous for building Azurest South, which is registered on the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic, and Azurest North, a historically African American community.

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2025

Amina, Queen of Zazzau (c.1533-1610) was a Hausa leader in the city-state Zazzau (now city of Zaria in Kaduna State in Nigeria). To mark and protect her new lands, Amina had her cities surrounded by earthen walls. These walls became commonplace until the British conquest of Zazzau in 1904. Many of them survive today, known as “ganuwar Amina” (Amina's walls).

Transcribed - Published: 24 March 2025

Toypurina (1760-1799) was a Tongva woman who lived in modern-day California during the period of Spanish colonial rule. She helped organize a rebellion against the San Gabriel mission. Despite the failure of this revolt, she remains an important figure in Indigenous history and is celebrated for her resistance against colonial injustice.

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2025

Patama Roonrakwit (1968-present) is a Thai architect and the founder of CASE Studio. She is known for participatory architecture that involves local communities in the design process to create sustainable and affordable living spaces. Her work emphasizes social responsibility and improving living conditions for underprivileged communities in Thailand.

Transcribed - Published: 20 March 2025

Jane Jacobs (1916 to 2006) was a pioneering urbanist and activist best known for her influential book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), which challenged conventional urban planning ideas by advocating for vibrant, community-centered, and pedestrian-friendly city design.

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2025

Maya Lin (1959 - present) is a sculptor, architect, artist, and designer known for her memorial work and focus on landscapes and the environment. At age 21 she designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which was dedicated in 1982. Since then she has seamlessly weaved between art and architecture, producing work that has earned her both a National Medal of Arts, as well as a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Transcribed - Published: 18 March 2025

Yasmeen Lari (1941-present) is Pakistan’s first female architect and an influential figure in the intersection of architecture and social justice. Though she built her career designing “starchitect” buildings for oil interests and private parties in Pakistan, she shifted at the top of her game to what she calls “barefoot architecture,” focusing on the social consequences of architecture and historical conservation in rural villages.

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

Zaha Hadid (1950-2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect known for her radical deconstructivist designs. Her fantastical and fluid style challenged architectural conventions and was the source of much controversy. In 2004 she became the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize and is remembered as a giant in the field for pushing boundaries in design.

Transcribed - Published: 14 March 2025

Emily Warren Roebling (1843-1903) played a pivotal role in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. She was married to the  Chief Engineer of the bridge and took charge of his work on the project after illness prevented him from continuing in his role. When the bridge opened in May 1883, she was the first person to cross it. She went on to study law and became an advocate for women’s equality in marriage.

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2025

Deborah Moody (1586-1659) moved to the New World after facing religious persecution in England. She played a major role in founding the colony Gravesend on occupied native lands. Gravesend was based on religious freedom and implemented a street grid system over a century before it was commonplace throughout New York City.

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2025

Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky (1897-2000) was an Austrian architect and the first woman to pursue architecture professionally in Austria. She is most famous for designing the “Frankfurt Kitchen” in 1926, a revolutionary design that influenced modern kitchen layouts by emphasizing efficiency and ergonomics. Beyond architecture, Schutte-Lihotzky was politically active, joining the anti-Nazi resistance during WWII, for which she was imprisoned. Her career spanned nearly a century, and she remains celebrated for her contributions to functional design and social reform.

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2025

Norma Merrick Sklarek (1926-2012) was an African American architect. Known as the "Rosa Parks of Architecture," she fought for her buildings and was a pioneering African American female architect in the field.

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

Julia Morgan (1872-1957) was an American architect based in the San Francisco area. She designed, rebuilt, and remodeled hundreds of buildings, most famously the Fairmont Hotel and the Hearst Castle. She was the first woman to gain an architecture license in California and posthumously won the AIA Gold Metal from the American Institute of Architects.

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2025

Shirley Jackson (1946-present) is an accomplished American physicist and mathematician who dedicated her career to studying the particles that make up our universe and to improving and supporting the diversity of people studying and dedicating themselves to the sciences.

Transcribed - Published: 6 March 2025

Suzette Haden Elgin (1936-2015) was a writer and linguist who constructed a whole language called Láadan for her beloved Native Tongue series. In the series, women resist their oppressive patriarchal society through a language of their own creation that helps them better express their realities.

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2025

Sara Josephine Baker (1873-1945) was a doctor specializing in public health who revolutionized preventative measures for mothers and infants in the early 20th century. In an era when typhoid, dysentery, and smallpox ravaged New York City’s impoverished tenement populations, she is estimated to have saved the lives of roughly 90,000 children through her work.

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2025