Category: History
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Daisy Bates
The Woman at the Command Post Bad-Ass Women in History — Daisy Bates | 1914 – 1999 Publisher • Organizer • Civil Rights Strategist She turned her home into headquarters for a revolution. Daisy Bates helped lead the Little Rock Nine through mobs, threats, and a government trying to keep segregation alive. She knew integration…
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Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene (c. 1083-1153) was a Byzantine princess and historian who chronicled the reign of her father, Emperor Alexios I, in her significant work, the “Alexiad.” Despite being born to rule, she faced societal limitations as a woman, eventually finding her power through writing rather than the throne, asserting her place in history.
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Tsitsi Dangarembga
The Most Dangerous Thing You Can Hand a Woman is a Pen Bad-Ass Women in History — Tsitsi Dangarembga, c. 1959 – Present Writer • Filmmaker • Truth-Teller She wrote the wounds colonialism wanted buried. Tsitsi Dangarembga gave Zimbabwean women a voice the world could not ignore. Her books exposed race, gender, power, and survival…
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Ana Betancourt
Ana Betancourt asked an army of revolutionaries to free their women too. They said “maybe later.” She didn’t live to see it. Here’s why that still matters.
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Jeanne de Clisson
Jeanne de Clisson wasn’t just a widow—she became a naval force of vengeance. After her husband’s execution, she built a fleet, painted her ships black, and spent thirteen years targeting the French crown. The Lioness of Brittany’s story is one of fury, strategy, and survival in a system that left her no other path.
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Hypatia of Alexander
They Called Her A Witch and She Became the Symbol of Everything Bad-Ass Women in History — Hypatia of Alexandria, c. 360–415 CE Philosopher • Mathematician • Astronomer • The Symbol They Made of Her They dragged her from her chariot in March 415 CE. They killed her in a church. They burned her body…
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Dolley Madison
She Set the Table & Washington Ate From Her Hand Bad-Ass Women in History — Dolley Madison, 1768–1849 Held No Office • Cast No Vote • Ran the Room Anyway She held no office, cast no vote, and signed nothing into law. For half a century she was the closest thing the American Republic had…
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Lyudmila Pavlichenko
They Called Her “Lady Death” Bad-Ass Women in History — Lyudmila Pavlichenko, 1916–1974 309 Confirmed Kills • Undefeated • Unsilenced She had 309 confirmed kills. The Nazis put a bounty on her head. American journalists asked her about her nail polish. Kyiv → Odessa → Sevastopol • 1941–1942 • Bad-Ass Women in History Introduction Here…
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Hedy Lamarr
She commanded 1,800 ships and 80,000 sailors—a fleet larger than most national navies. She defeated three empires, negotiated her own retirement, and died wealthy and free. Meet Ching Shih: the most successful pirate in history and the woman who made the world blink.
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Ada Lovelace
The Enchantress of Numbers Poet’s Daughter • Visionary • 100 Years Too Early — Ada Lovelace wrote the first algorithm in 1843. The computer it was meant to run wouldn’t be built for another hundred years. She was almost forgotten. London, England • 1815–1852 • Bad-Ass Women in History — There is a particular cruelty…