Special Report

Women Who Shaped History

The Smithsonian's American Women’s History Initiative is a comprehensive undertaking that documents, researches, collects, displays and shares the rich and compelling story of women in the United States. In celebration of the AWHI, Smithsonian magazine has collected representative examples of its coverage of diverse women throughout American history.

Amelia Earhart (left) and Eleanor Roosevelt (right) National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of George R. Rinhart, in memory of Joan Rinhart

Mina’s goal was to keep the home—and women—central in modern society. Building on the home economists who came before her, she sought to define women’s work as work rather than a vague, idealized calling.

Mina Miller Edison Was Much More Than the Wife of the 'Wizard of Menlo Park'

<p>Muriel Gardiner in 1934, the year she began her career in the Austrian Resistance.</p>

The American Heiress Who Risked Everything to Resist the Nazis

<p>Judy Heumann was a leading voice in the fight for groundbreaking disability legislation.</p>

What Made Judy Heumann, Mother of the Disability Rights Movement, an American Hero

<p>Six Triple Eight veteran Romay Johnson Davis gets handshakes and fist bumps from members of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club in Montgomery, Alabama, in July 2022.</p>

How an All-Black Female WWII Unit Saved Morale on the Battlefield

Woodrow Wilson and his second wife, Edith, in 1916

How Edith Wilson Kept Herself—and Her Husband—in the White House

Ada Limón is the United States' 24th poet laureate.

Ada Limón Is a Poet Laureate for the 21st Century

At the Smithsonian

A western-style performance outfit worn by Patsy Cline and sewed by her mother. The suit features record-shaped patches stitched with the titles of some of Cline's records.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

When Patsy Cline Broke Through as a Country Music Phenom

Amanda Petrusich

This Bushnell telescope allowed Sally Ride to gaze at her favorite constellation, Orion, and envision her future as an astronaut.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How the Smithsonian Is Honoring Remarkable American Women

Lonnie G. Bunch III

In the 2010 Winter Olympics Games in Vancouver, the USA's Hannah Teter (above: in action during the women's snowboard halfpipe competition) took home silver. Her boots are now in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Meet the Trailblazers in Women’s Olympic Snowboarding

“Bessie Coleman (above: with her Curtiss JN-4 "Jennie" in her custom designed flying suit, ca. 1924) was a real gutsy woman for the era,” says Dorothy Cochrane, a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. "Anyone else might have quit at any time.”

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

For Pilot Bessie Coleman, Every 'No' Got Her Closer to 'Yes'

They Shaped Culture

Beyoncé accepts the Best Dance/Electronic Music Album award for Renaissance during the 65th Grammy Awards.

Beyoncé Just Became the Most Awarded Artist in Grammy History

The cast of the 1983 film, from left to right: Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise

S.E. Hinton Is Tired of Talking About 'The Outsiders.' No One Else Is

The New York Public Library has acquired the papers of the late literary couple Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne.

New York Public Library Acquires Joan Didion's Letters, Drafts and Notes

“People always liked and admired Colette, but after [World War I], with this need to consolidate French identity, Colette really becomes a classique,” says Kathleen Antonioli.

Colette Revolutionized French Literature With Her Depictions of Female Desire

Colette Fountain

Women in STEM

This Bushnell telescope allowed Sally Ride to gaze at her favorite constellation, Orion, and envision her future as an astronaut.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How the Smithsonian Is Honoring Remarkable American Women

Lonnie G. Bunch III

This seven-foot statue of Pearl Kendrick, center, and Grace Eldering, left, was unveiled in Grand Rapids in 2019. Lab assistant Loney Clinton stands to the right with a microscope.

The Unsung Heroes Who Ended a Deadly Plague

By Richard Conniff
Photographs by Lisa Spindler

The life-size exhibit presents an inclusive vision of women excelling in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

Smithsonian Honors Female Scientists With 120 Bright Orange Statues

"American Girl (above: the new doll Evette Peters) was seeking to emphasize to its young audience the importance of being able to envision themselves as part of the larger American story," writes the Smithsonian's Katrina Lashley. "And that vision requires more accessible histories, as well as role models in civic engagement."

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Why This American Girl Doll Inspires Environmental Activism

Katrina Lashley

Future of Women's History

Preet Chandi trains in Chamonix before starting her journey across Antarctica.

‘Polar Preet’ Sets Out to Become the First Woman to Cross Antarctica Solo and Unsupported

Margaret Osborne

Between March 19 and April 17, 1964, Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock (above: at the start of her journey at Ohio's Port Columbus Airport) flew her single-engine Cessna 180, dubbed "Charlie," solo around the globe setting a world record.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Who Was the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World?

President Biden announced his pick to fill the US Supreme Court vacancy on Friday: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

What to Know About Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Historic Nomination to the Supreme Court