12 Notable Women in Virginia History

Women have played important roles in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia - and Virginia has played an important part in the lives of women. Here are 12 women worth knowing.

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Virginia Dare (1587 - ?)

"Baptism of Virginia Dare," lithograph, 1876.
Henry Howe/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

The first English colonists in America settled on Roanoke Island, and Virginia Dare was the first White child of English parents born on Virginia soil. But the colony later disappeared. Its fate and the fate of little Virginia Dare are among history's mysteries.

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Pocahontas (abt. 1595 - 1617)

Artist depiction of Pocahontas saving the life of Capt. John Smith. — Captain John Smith saved by Pocahontas.
New England Chromo. Lith. Co./Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

Legendary rescuer of Captain John Smith, Pocahontas was the daughter of a local Indian chief. She married John Rolfe and visited England and, tragically, died before she could return to Virginia, only twenty-two years young.

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Martha Washington (1731 - 1802)

Wife of the first United States President, Martha Washington's wealth helped establish George's reputation, and her habits of entertaining during his Presidential term helped set the pattern for all future First Ladies.

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Elizabeth Keckley (1818 - 1907)

Enslaved from birth in Virginia, Elizabeth Keckley was a dressmaker and seamstress in Washington, D.C. She became Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker and confidante. She became embroiled in a scandal when she helped a destitute Mrs. Lincoln auction off her clothing after the President's assassination, and in 1868, published her diaries as another attempt to raise money for herself and Mrs. Lincoln.

Important Black Women in American History

By Jone Johnson Lewis

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Clara Barton (1821 - 1912)

Famed for her Civil War nursing, her post-Civil War work to help document the many missing and her founding of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton's first Civil War nursing ventures were in the Virginia theater.

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Virginia Minor (1824 - 1894)

Virginia Louisa Minor.
Getty Images/Kean Collection

Born in Virginia, she became a supporter of the Union in the Civil War in Missouri, and then a women's suffrage activist. The key Supreme Court Decision, Minor v. Happersett, was brought by her husband in her name (under the law at the time, she could not sue on her own).

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Varina Banks Howell Davis (1826 - 1906)

Varina Davis. Courtesy Library of Congress

Married at 18 to Jefferson Davis, Varina Howell Davis became the First Lady of the Confederacy as he became its President. After his death, she published his biography.

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Maggie Lena Walker (1867 - 1934)

African American businesswoman, daughter of a formerly enslaved person, Maggie Lena Walker opened the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903 and served as its President, leading it to become the Consolidated Bank and Trading Company of Richmond as it merged other Black-owned banks into the organization.

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Willa Cather (1873 - 1947)

Willa Sibert Cather, 1920s.
Culture Club/Getty Images

Usually identified with the pioneer Midwest or with the Southwest, Willa Cather was born near Winchester, Virginia, and lived there for her first nine years. Her last novel, "Sapphira, and the Slave Girl" was set in Virginia.

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Nancy Astor (1879 - 1964)

Portrait of Nancy Astor, about 1926. The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images

Raised in Richmond, Nancy Astor married a wealthy Englishman, and, when he vacated his seat in the House of Commons to take a seat in the House of Lords, she ran for Parliament. Her victory made her the first woman elected as a member of Britain's Parliament. She was known for her sharp wit and tongue.

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Nikki Giovanni (1943 - )

Nikki Giovanni at Her Desk, 1973.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A poet who was a college professor at Virginia Tech, Nikki Giovanni was an activist for civil rights in her college years. Her interest in justice and equality is reflected in her poetry. She's taught poetry as a visiting professor at many colleges and has encouraged writing in others.

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Katie Couric (1957 - )

Longtime co-anchor of NBC's Today show, and CBS Evening News anchor, Katie Couric grew up and attended school in Arlington, Virginia, and graduated from the University of Virginia. Her sister Emily Couric served in the Virginia Senate and was assumed to be headed for higher office before her untimely death in 2001 of pancreatic cancer.

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Lewis, Jone Johnson. "12 Notable Women in Virginia History." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/notable-virginia-women-3530659. Lewis, Jone Johnson. (2023, April 5). 12 Notable Women in Virginia History. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/notable-virginia-women-3530659 Lewis, Jone Johnson. "12 Notable Women in Virginia History." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/notable-virginia-women-3530659 (accessed April 19, 2024).