Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History

"Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History." It was the slogan my college's History club chose for our t-shirts during my senior year. What I didn't realize was that this nifty little phrase can be traced back to an article written by author and history professor Laurel Ulrich (who would later use her original quote to title one of her books).

Before I knew where the phrase had come from, however, I liked it. It's been a long-standing complaint that a lot of our traditional historical studies tend to focus on male figures from history -- but it only took a few history courses in college for me to realize there's more than a few fascinating women who have, indeed, made history.

To celebrate Women's History Month, here's a look at seven (technically nine!) of my personal favorite female historical figures:

- Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Georgiana was not only a duchess. She was also a British political activist in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, in an era when women were still a century away from even gaining the vote. She used her well-known wit and charm to champion the causes of the Whig political party, even while balancing her family life -- and accumulating gambling debts! (Georgiana is also great-great-great-great-aunt to Diana, Princess of Wales.)

Read Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman.

- Margaret Brown
Known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown," Margaret Brown is famous for having survived the wrecking of the Titanic. But her life of adventure hardly stopped there. She spent years working as an activist for children's and women's rights, defended the rights of unions and immigrants, and even considered running for political office.

Read Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth by Kristen Iversen.

- Helen Keller (and Annie Sullivan)
Helen Keller was not born blind and deaf. But, at 19 months of age, she contracted an illness which, even after her recovery, left her unable to see or hear for the rest of her life. What that illness did not do was rob her of her ability to communicate -- thanks to Annie Sullivan.

Sullivan, a young teacher who suffered herself from poor eyesight, taught seven-year-old Helen sign language, opening up the world of words to her pupil. Keller would go on to be an accomplished student, author, and activist. I've admired Helen and her Teacher for years; their unique story and lives makes them seem both larger-than-life -- as well as still being real, and relatable, people.

Read Helen and Teacher: the Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy by Joseph P. Lash.

- Anne Bonny and Mary Read
You may recall that I'm something of a pirate fan. Jack Sparrow may win out as my favorite fictional pirate, but when it comes to the real thing, Anne Bonny and Mary Read are unquestionably at the top of my list. Anne Bonny was a teenage runaway in Nassau when she met a former pirate by the name of "Calico" Jack Rackham. It wasn't long before Rackham was back on the account -- with Bonny sailing alongside him as one of the crew.

Against all odds, one of the prizes that Rackham and his crew attacked was a Dutch ship containing a career sailor by the name of Michael Read. Except that Michael was really Mary -- a woman who had spent the better part of her life disguised as a man (first as a soldier and then, later, a sailor). Bonny soon discovered that one of her fellow sailors was a woman, and the two became fast friends. (The rest of the crew only gradually learned the truth about Read.)

When the pirates' ship was eventually captured by the authorities, it was only Read and Bonny (with one other fellow sailor) who remained on deck to fight. The pirates were put on trial, although Read and Bonny were given a stay of execution. Mary Read died in prison -- but to this day, no one is quite sure of what happened to Anne Bonny.

Read a historical novel based on the real-life exploits of Bonny and Read in The Only Life That Mattered: The Short and Merry Lives of Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack Rackam by James L. Nelson.

- Harriet Tubman
I've admired Harriet Tubman ever since being assigned a report on her life during grade school. Born into slavery in Maryland during the 1820s, Tubman eventually escaped to Pennsylvania by using the North Star as a compass point. She reached Philadelphia only to make her way back to Maryland in order to rescue others. It was not her first trip back. After rescuing first her sister (and her sister's two children), then her brother and two friends, she would continue to escort others to safety along the Underground Railroad -- making nearly 20 trips in all (including the rescue of her 70-year-old parents).

Tubman developed a variety of techniques to evade capture. Tubman was once was standing close enough to a group of men to overhear them reading aloud from a wanted poster -- her poster! The poster stated that Tubman was illiterate, so she quickly picked up a book and opened it, pretending to read. The ploy worked, and the men passed her by.

She would eventually leading over 300 people to freedom. Her work continued into the Civil War, when she aided the North as a nurse, a cook ... and even a spy.

Read Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero by Kate Clifford Larson.

- Emily Dickinson
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Emily Dickinson was born in Massachusetts in 1830. Known now as one of the formative poets in American literature, only 11 of her poems were published in her lifetime. She wrote nearly 1,800.

Thought of as something of a recluse, it's true that Dickinson rarely left her family home in adulthood. She did, however, rely on her family for company, as well as engaging in extensive correspondence with a variety of people. Despite her solitude, her poems are known for their deep inspiration -- and even, occasionally, their happiness.

Read from the works of Emily Dickinson.

- Cleopatra VII
The last pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra VII (yes, there were seven other royals to share her name before her!) was a descendant of the Ptolemaic dynasty -- a family that was originally from Greece. Cleopatra first ruled Egypt alongside her brother, but eventually she became the sole ruler (though she was not Egypt's only female king). Remembered now as history's most beautiful woman (and the girlfriend of guys like Julius Caesar and Mark Antony) -- Cleopatra was far more than a pretty face. (In fact, some evidence suggests she may not have been nearly as beautiful as she's remembered, although she's said to have had a gorgeous speaking voice.) She was an accomplished ruler and politician, who spent her lifetime fighting to keep her empire and her dynasty secure.

Read Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff.



-- Post by Ms. B