5 Women Who Changed the World for the Better

While Women’s History Month has passed, it’s never a bad time to recognize important women throughout history.

Marie Curie

Source: Wikimedia

Marie Curie was born in Poland in 1867.  She is known as the woman with the most impact on the world, according to a poll administered by BBC.  Curie was also the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize and the only person to ever be awarded two, especially in two different fields- physics and radioactivity.  With the help of her husband, she discovered polonium and radium.  She also invented techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes.  

Frida Kahlo

Source: https://www.fridakahlo.org/

Frida Kahlo was a famous Mexican painter.  She was born in Mexico City in 1907. She was very unlucky when it came to pain, as she contracted polio at a young age, then was hit by a bus when only 18 years old.  She made 143 paintings in her lifetime, many of them based on her pain, especially the heartbreak she experienced from the complicated relationship with her husband, Diego Rivera (they married, divorced, and married again!).  Kahlo was one of the highest-selling women in art, with one of her paintings sold for 5.62 million dollars.  The house she spent her entire life in was preserved as if she was still living there, nicknamed the “Blue House,” and is a popular museum in Mexico City.

Sylvia Rivera

Source: www.out.com

Sylvia Rivera was born in New York City in 1951.  She had a rough childhood but began participating in activism movements by the age of eighteen.  Rivera was a Latina drag queen and a gay and transgender rights activist.  Rivera, along with Marsha P. Johnson, founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), which helped queer youth, homeless drag queens, and trans women.  She also participated with the Gay Liberation Front.

Gloria Steinem

Source: AP news

Gloria Steinem, born in 1934 in Ohio, is very influential in the publishing world, especially in the United States.  An advocate for women’s rights, she published many writing works, including an exposé on the Playboy Club in New York City, and essays, the most notable being Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions from 1983.  She helped create New York Magazine and Ms, a feminist magazine.  She also formed the National Women’s Caucus, with the help of Bella Abzug and Betty Friedan.  She continues her fight for social justice today.

Oprah Winfrey

Source: Biography.com

Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi in 1954.  She is a talk show host, actor, and author.  She’s well known for The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran for 25 years.  Winfrey has been considered one of the most influential women in the world.  She was also the richest African- American of the 20th century.  She is currently the Chairwoman and CEO of both Harpo Productions and the Oprah Winfrey Network.