Long have women been pioneers in their industries and over the last half a century, their feats have finally started to gain the recognition they deserve.
In 1975, Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of Britain and became the longest-serving Prime Minister at that. But, there were many women who fought for Thatcher to reach this position including women’s suffrage leader, Emmeline Pankhurst.
These women, among several others, were recognised by the BBC History Magazine, who in 2018, released a list of the women who have changed the world.
The magazine asked experts in 10 different fields to each nominate 10 women they believed had the biggest impact to create a list of 100 women their readers could choose from.
The magazine’s readers voted and today they have released their top 20 influential women – with scientist Marie Curie topping the list.
BBC History Magazine deputy editor Charlotte Hodgman said in a statement: "The poll has shone a light on some truly extraordinary women from history, many of whose achievements and talents were overlooked in their own lifetimes.
"It is fitting that, in a year that has seen the 100th anniversary of the parliamentary Act that gave the vote to many British women, suffrage campaigners Emmeline Pankhurst and Josephine Butler have been voted into the top 20.
"Whilst it is unsurprising to see queens such as Victoria and Eleanor of Aquitaine place high, it is refreshing to see some more unfamiliar names make the top 20, such as 19th-century philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts. I'm sure the full list will provoke conversation and debate."
Below is the complete BBC History Magazine's top 20 women who changed the world:
1. Marie Curie
This Polish-French physicist is synonymous with her work in radioactivity and was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only woman to win twice.
2. Rosa Parks
On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks boarded a bus that changed the course of the Civil Rights movement in America. When she refused to give up her seat in the ‘coloured’ section to a white person, she became the centre of a national movement and international icon of resistance.
3. Emmeline Pankhurst
A leader of the British suffragette movement, Emmeline Pankhurst was instrumental in getting women the right to vote in the UK.
4. Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace was the first person on record to acknowledge the capability of what computers could do and worked with Charles Babbage ‘the father of computers’ to translate an article which is considered to be the first instance of computer programming.
5. Rosalind Franklin
After studying at Cambridge and living in France, Rosalind Franklin became a research associate at King’s College in London and became notable for her work on X-ray diffraction images of DNA which would eventually lead to the discovery of the DNA double helix.
6. Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was the first female British Prime Minister and she came to power in May ’79 – 61 years after women in the UK got the vote.
7. Angela Burdett-Coutts
A nineteenth century philanthropist, Burdett-Coutts was one of the wealthiest women in Britain during her lifetime and spent the majority of her wealth on scholarships and endowments. She also co-founded (with Charles Dickens) a home for young women who had ‘turned to a life of immorality’ to help turn their lives around.
8. Mary Wollstonecraft
A British writer, philosopher and advocate for women’s rights and is now regarded as one of the founding feminist philosophers.
9. Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale established the first secular nursing school in the world at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, helped to improve healthcare across the UK, advocate for better hunger relief in India, helped abolish harsh prostitution laws for women and helped to expand the acceptable forms of female participation in the workplace.
10. Marie Stopes
Marie Stopes founded the first birth control clinic in the UK. Based in north London, it was run by midwives and doctors and offered mothers birth control advice and taught them birth control methods.
11. Eleanor of Aquitaine
One of the most powerful figures of the Middle Ages, Eleanor led several armies into crusade. She is now known as one of the earliest feminist figures.
12. The Virgin Mary
According to the Economist, Jesus’ mother represents the qualities of “faithfulness, devotion, humility, purity”.
13. Jane Austen
Perhaps one of the first modern-era feminists, Jane Austen’s literary work is still lauded around the world today. Known for her six major novels - Pride and Prejudice being the stand-out - Austen’s plots often explore a woman’s social standing, marriage and economic security.
14. Boudicca
Queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the Roman Empire in 60 or 61AD.
15. Diana, Princess of Wales
Before her death, Diana was deeply involved in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines along with dozens of other charities. Diana was a pioneer for women with profiles making a change in the world.
16. Amelia Earhart
The first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, Amelia Earhart was and still is revered by many. She disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.
17. Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria ascended to the throne when she was 18 and remained there for 63 years up until her death. Britain went through a myriad of changes throughout the Victorian Era and Victoria was praised for being a stable figure through such times.
18. Josephine Butler
A Victorian Era women’s suffrage campaigner, Josephine Butler also campaigned for the right of women to better education, the abolition of child prostitution and to end human trafficking of young women.
19. Mary Seacole
Born in Jamaica, Mary Seacole is most revered for her humanitarian work during the Crimean War. During the war she set up the ‘British Hotel’ and treated injured servicemen. In 1991 she was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.
20. Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa is considered one of the greatest humanitarians of the twentieth century. Born in Macedonia, she established a hospice, centres for the blind, aged and disabled and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work.
Find the full list below:
- Marie Curie, physicist
- Rosa Parks, acitivist
- Emmeline Pankhurst, activist
- Ada Lovelace, inventor
- Rosalind Franklin, scientist
- Margaret Thatcher, first female British Prime Minister
- Angela Burdett-Coutts, philanthropist
- Mary Wollstonecraft, writer and philosopher
- Florence Nightingale, humanitarian
- Marie Stopes, birth control advocate
- Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England and France
- Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus
- Jane Austen, author
- Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni tribe
- Diana, Princess of Wales
- Amelia Earhart, aviator
- Queen Victoria
- Josephine Butler, activist
- Mary Seacole, Crimean War nurse
- Mother Teresa, humanitairian
- Mary Shelley, novelist
- Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia
- Vera Atkins, British Intelligence Officer
- Cleopatra, Egyptian Pharaoh
- Elizabeth Fry, social reformer
- Mary Anning, Paleontologist
- Joan of Arc, Martyr and military leader
- Isabella of Castile, Queen of Castile
- Catherine of Siena, Philosopher
- Wangari Maathai, environmental activist
- Virginia Woolf, Novelist
- Simone de Beauvoir, writer
- Grace Hopper, computer scientist
- Frida Kahlo, artist
- Theodora, Empress of Byzantium
- Hypatia, Greek Philosopher
- Eleanor Rathbone, MP and philanthropist
- Sacagawea, Shoshone interpreter
- Nellie Bly, journalist
- Lise Meitner, physicist
- Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France
- Isabella Bird, explorer and writer
- Bessie Coleman, aviator
- Aphra Behn, playwright and poet
- Coco Chanel, fashion designer
- Artemisia Gentileschi, baroque painter
- Zora Neale Hurston, author
- Katharine Graham, Washington Post publisher
- Indira Gandhi, Indian Prime Minister
- Gabriela Mistral, poet and diplomat
- Clara Barton, American Red Cross Founder
- Anna Akhmatova, poet
- Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (and the first-ever female head of government in 1960)
- Maryan Mirxakhani, mathematician
- Marie Van Brittan Brown, Inventor of CCTV
- Laura Bassi, physicist and academic
- Junko Tabei, mountaineer
- Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim English Channel
- Ethel Smyth, composer and suffragist
- Emily Hobhouse, welfare campaginer
- Suzanne Lenglen, tennis player
- Sarah Breedlove, entrepreneur and activist
- Rachel Heyhoe Flint, cricket player and philanthropist
- Prophet Deborah, Biblical prophet
- Mary Somerville, science writer
- Martina Bergman-Österberg, pioneer of women's sport
- Marie Marvingt, aviator
- Maria Merian, naturalist and entomologist
- Lottie Dod, sportswoman
- Joan Robinson, economist
- George Elliot, novelist and poet
- Dowager Empress Cixi of China, Empress of China for 47 years
- Andrea Dworkin, feminist and writer
- Alice Milliat, athlete
- Wilma Rudolph, Olympian
- Sonja Henie, figure skater and actress
- Sarojini Naidu, political activist and poet
- Ruth Handler, president of Mattel and inventor of Barbie
- Murasaki Shikibu, novelist and poet
- Maria Bochkareva, Russian army officer
- Lily Parr, footballer
- Helen Gwynne Vaughan, pioneering RAF
- Gwen John, artist
- Fanny Burney, novelist and playwright
- Fanny Blankers-Koen, athlete
- Estee Lauder, cosmetics company founder
- Elinor Ostrom, political economist
- Clara Schumann, musician and composer
- Beulah Louise Henry, inventor
- Anna Jacobson Schwartz, economist
- Aisha, wife of Muhammad
- Yeshe Tsogyal, mother of Buddhism
- Susan Sontag, writer and filmmaker
- Sophie Blanchard, aeronaut
- Katia Krafft, volcanologist
- Fanny Mendelssohn, pianist and composer
- Émilie du Châtelet, natural philosopher
- Buchi Emecheta, novelist
- Annette Kellerman, swimmer
- Amrita Priam, writer and poet
