From L-R: Gerda Tarro, Jacki Mitchell, Delores Huerta, Qui Jin, and Emily Warren Roebling
#6 GERDA TARO
Born in Germany in 1910, Gerda Taro became the first female photojournalist to cover war from the front lines, documenting the toll of the Spanish Civil War. Her journalism highlighted on the impact of war on ordinary citizens, often women and children. Sadly, Taro also became the first female war correspondent to die on the front lines at the age of 26.
Read more bout Gerda and see some of her photos (Scroll halfway down the page)
#7 JACKIE MITCHELL
A member of the Chatanooga Lookouts in 1931, Jackie Mitchell faced the NY Yankees famed “murders row” and struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig– swinging! While employing a female pitcher was initially considered a publicity stunt, the two legends had no interest in being struck out. Her contract was cancelled soon after, the powers that be deeming that women were “too fragile” for baseball.
Read more about the skepticism Jackie faced
#8 DELORES HUERTA
One of the most important labor activists of our time, Dolores Huerta has never stopped fighting for the rights of farm workers, immigrants and women. Co-founder of what became the United Farm Workers Union she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. She said, “Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
Read more about Delores’ career
#9 QUI JIN
A national hero in China, Qui Jin, a poet, activist and warrior born in 1875, broke with thousands of years of tradition by questioning patriarchal society, cross-dressing, speaking against foot binding and learning martial arts. She was executed in 1907 at the age of 32, for her part in a failed attempt to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. She said, “Don’t tell me women are not the stuff of heroes.”
Read Qui Jin’s poetry
#10 EMILY WARREN ROEBLING
When Washington Roebling, the Chief Engineer overseeing all aspects of building the Brooklyn Bridge became incapacitated in 1872, his wife, Emily Warren Roebling took over, ostensibly as a conveyor of messages from her husband to the crew. But it soon became clear that she was acting Chief Engineer in charge of the masterful bridge, from calculating catenary curves to contract negotiation to day-to-day supervision until its completion in 1893. She was the first to ride across the bridge, with a celebratory rooster at her side. She said, “I have more brains, common sense and know-how generally than have any two engineers, civil or uncivil.”
The novel, The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood, is based on her life.