Women's History

The poem "The Unsex'd Females" was a partisan volley against the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft and other women, and was especially critical of her views on politics, reason, religion, the French Revolution, and gender roles. The poem was first published in 1798 and was written by Richard Polwhele (1760 - 1838), a British curate whose mother had associated with such writers as Hannah More and Catherine Macaulay.

• The Unsex'd Females - Poem by Richard Polwhele

A few select quotes from writer Madeleine L'Engle on life, writing, religion, and more. Madeleine L'Engle wrote A Wrinkle in Time and many other books for children, young adults, and adults. Learn more: Madeleine L'Engle Quotes

Born on May 16, 1718, Maria Agnesi was the daughter of a mathematician who saw her potential and raised her as a child prodigy. She wrote the first mathematics book by a woman that still survives, and she was the first woman mathematics professor at the university level. Learn more: Maria Agnesi

On April 25, 1866, in Columbus, Mississippi, a women's association decorated the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. In a nation trying to find a way to move on after a war that split the country, states, communities and even families, this gesture was welcomed as a way to lay the past to rest while honoring those who had fought on either side.

• Memorial Day History

Why was the Fourteenth Amendment controversial in women's rights circles? Because, for the first time, the proposed Amendment added the word "male" into the US Constitution. But women's rights advocates soon started trying to justify women's equality based on the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Learn more: Women's Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment

Before Anna Jarvis, there was Julia Ward Howe. The author of the famous patriotic song, Battle Hymn of the Republic, worked to establish a Mother's Day for Peace to end the horrors of war. Learn more about Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day for Peace including Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation

Mother's Day as we know it in America was initiated by the efforts of one woman: Anna Jarvis

The British Library has added an oral history collection on feminism and the women's liberation movement of the 1960s to 1980s. You'll find interviews on a variety of themes, plus biographies of those interviewed, a timeline and notes for teachers who want to use the material in the classroom. Learn more: Sisterhood and After: An Oral History of the Women's Liberation Movement

Suggested reading:

• The 1968 Dagenham Women's Strike
• What Is Feminism?
• Woman Suffrage Timeline International

Jeanne d'Albret was a key leader in the Huguenot party in France in the 16th century. Her son became King of France, though he abandoned his mother's Protestantism in assuming the throne. Her mother was the writer Marguerite of Navarre, sister of King Francis I, and educated Jeanne according to Renaissance standards. Marguerite was, in turn, educated by her mother, Louise of Savoy, in languages, theology, philosophy, and history. Read more:

• Jeanne d'Albret - brief profile
• Jeanne d'Albret - longer biography
• Margurerite of Navarre
• Louise of Savoy

The Egyptian Queen Nefertiti is one of the most recognizable faces of ancient history, in large part because of the famous bust that was discovered in 1912. I've summarized here the known facts about Nefertiti's life, as well as several of the theories about her origins and what happened to her when she disappeared from the public record.

More about Nefertiti:

• Nefertiti Biography
• Nefertiti Books and Videos
• Nefertiti Image
• Nefertiti - more

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