Jess
It’s normal to remember many important men in history, since women did not get too much recognition in the past, no matter how badass their actions were. However, some women managed to overcome a – by then – man dominated world. Here’s some of the Most Badass Women in History.
1. Maria Teresa De Filippis – the first woman to race in Formula 1
Maria Teresa was the first woman to race in Formula 1. She participated in five World Championship Grand Prix and although she never won the first place, she is remembered as a pioneer. She later became president of the Maserati Club and joined the International Club of Former F1 Grand Prix Drivers. Nothing cooler than a woman driving in Formula 1!
2. Raden Ajeng Kartini – First Indonesia’s Feminist
In a space and time where feminism seemed unlikely, Ajeng Kartini stood for women’s rights to emancipate and educate themselves. She was also very passionate about the need of public health and traditional arts.
3. Kathrine Switzer – First Woman to run in the Boston Marathon
Back in 1967, Kathrine Switzer attempted and finally managed to officially run the Boston Marathon, becoming the first woman to do it. She is the protagonist of that iconic picture of a lady getting attacked during the run, just because she was a woman. 50 years later, she is still running marathons!
© Recuerdos de Pandora – Flickr.com
4. Marie Curie – Pioneering radioactivity and women in science
We have all heard about Marie Curie’s amazing career as a chemist and physicist. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first and only one to win it twice in two different sciences. Her developments in radioactivity science were key to the future. Speaking about badass accomplishment for humanity…
© Tekniska museet – Flickr.com
5. Margaret Heafield Hamilton – Creator of software for Apollo
Those thousands of pages piled up is software for the Apollo project; and that’s Margaret beside it — a computer scientist and a system engineer who helped put Apollo 11 on the moon. There’s really not much that Margaret Heafiled can’t do.
6. Valentina Tereshkova – First female astronaut
In 1963, there was a Russian space trip carried out by the Vostok VI ship. Unlike many other launchings, this was a very special one since it supported the first and only female astronaut by the time, Valentina Tereshkova. One of the ideas of Valentina was to prove that women and men had the same resistances on space than men…And she succeeded!
© James Joel – Flickr.com
7. Amelia Earhart – First female aviator
Amelia is a recognized badass in history. She was the first female aviator to ever fly solo across the Atlantic. During her career she managed to set many other records and became pioneer on them. She also wrote about her flight experience, while the book became a best seller. She disappeared doing what she loved most: flying.
© Pacific Aviation Museum – Flickr.com
8. Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu – First female engineer
One of the reasons Heafield became who she is, is Zamfirescu, the world’s first female engineer. She was mocked and bullied while becoming one, but she proved them all wrong, especially when she graduated in 1912.
9. Ana Aslan – discovered the effects of procaine
Aslan was a biologist, a scientist and a pioneer in gerontology thanks to her discovery of anti-aging effects of procaine. Along with this, she also founded the Geriatric Institute of Bucharest which was the first institute of its kind. Her badassery comes from the fact she did everything in her hands to make these studies and her pertinent discoveries.
10. Bertha Von Suttner – First Female who won a Noble Peace Prize
After Curie, Bertha was the second woman to ever win a Noble Prize and at the same time, became the first one to ever win a Noble Peace Prize thanks to her struggle for women rights. She was devoted to accomplish peace her entire life and coming from a Military family from Vienna, that is an amazing accomplishment.
© Orionpozo – Flickr.com
11. Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace, also known as “Ada Lovelace, is considered the first computer programmer. She worked with Charles Babbage on his plans for a sort of proto-computer, the “analytic engine”, and theorized a method for the engine to repeat a series of instructions.
12. Rosa Parks
Imagine being a colored person in Alabama during 50’s, with whites and colored people segregated all around you. Rosa became the “the mother of the freedom movement” when she refused to obey a bus driver’s order to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. Her act of defiance made her an international icon of resistance to racism. BAD ASS.
