Cool Chicks from History

Sybil Ludington (1761-1839)

Art by Audrey Rutherford (tumblr)

Colonel Henry Ludington received word late on April 26, 1777 that the British had attacked Danbury, Connecticut.   He called on Sybil, the oldest of his twelve children, to ride through Putnam and Duchess Counties in New York and rally the troops.  Just sixteen years old, Sybil rode 40 miles (64 km), roughly twice the distance covered by Paul Revere two years earlier in Massachusetts.  Without alerting the British or Loyalist forces, Sybil mustered the militia.  The resulting Battle of Ridgefield was a victory for the Continental Army.  Although important supplies were lost in the sacking of Danbury, the British retreated and never again attacked inland Connecticut.

Sybil married an innkeeper and raised a family in the Catskills.  Monuments to her bravery can be seen in Carmel, NY; Danbury, CT; Washington, DC; and Muralls Inlet, SC.  

usagov:

Image description: Afghan Air Force 2nd Lt. Niloofar Rhmani walks the flightline at Shindand Air Base, Afghanistan prior to her graduation from undergraduate pilot training May 13, 2013. Rhmani made history May 14, 2013 when she became the first female to successfully complete undergraduate pilot training and earn the status of pilot in more than 30 years. She will continue her service as she joins the Kabul Air Wing as a Cessna 208 pilot.

Learn more about Rhmani from the U.S. Air Force.

smithsonian:

Look like a scientist to you? She co-discovered tritium in 1934.

It’s Women in Science Wednesday! Read more about Edith Kroupa: http://bit.ly/ZtpGaY

natgeofound:

Women use compact mirrors in packed crowd to catch sight of the queen in London, June 1966.
Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic

navyhistory:

On 28 May 1980 Midshipman Elizabeth Ann (Belzer) Rowe (shown here) became the first of 55 women to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, the first in the Academy’s long history. Photo from the 1980 “The Lucky Bag,” Navy Department Library.

Queen Seondeok of Silla circa 647 CE

Art by Jon Finch (tumblr)

Queen Seondeok ruled Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647.  In 647, Lord Bidam led a revolt against Queen Seondeok because he did not believe women should rule countries.  Legend says that a star fell during the uprising and it was interpreted by Lord Bidam’s followers as a sign of the end of the queen’s reign.  Following the recommendation of her adviser Kim Yushin, Queen Seondeok flew a burning kite to symbolically put the star back in place.

Ten days after his revolt, Lord Bidam was executed by Queen Jindeok, cousin and successor to Queen Seondeok.  Queen Seondeok had died, but female rule continued in Korea.

Keumalahayati/Malahayati, circa 1600

Drawing by Nadia N. (tumblr)

Born to a naval family, Keumalahayati graduated from the Aceh Royal Military Academy and eventually rose to the rank of admiral.  She is perhaps the first modern female admiral.

After being widowed, Keumalahayati formed Indonesia’s first Inong Balee or widows army, leading 2,000 women.  As a commander, Keumalahayati won sea battles against the Portuguese and Dutch.  She also negotiated treaties with the Portuguese and British.  

Keumalahayati died in a naval battle against the Portuguese fleet at Teuluk Krueng Raya.  Her exact date of death is unknown but her grave in Banda Aceh remains open to visitors.

cenaco:

coolchicksfromhistory:

Hattie Kawahara, American-Japanese student at Mt. Holyoke College, is shown weeding the college victory garden, 1943.

THATS MY GRANDMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love when this happens.  The internet is magic.

amamblog:

Clare Leighton - Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights

Known for her illustrations of nineteenth-century British novels by authors like Thomas Hardy, Claire Leighton also wrote prolifically on the virtues of rural life in an increasingly urban and industrial world. This series of wood engravings for the 1931 Random House edition of Wuthering Heights combines Leighton’s cherished English countryside with the brooding moors of the novel’s romanticized Yorkshire landscape. Written in 1846, Wuthering Heights was the only novel by Emily Brontë, a member of the famous Brontë family of writers. Leighton’s series of twelve illustrations depicts both crucial moments in the book’s narrative, which chronicles the passionate but doomed love story of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, as well as tangential episodes and characters.

These works are on view in the exhibition “Representing the Word: Modern Book Illustrations” through July 31. 

Image: 

Clare Leighton (English, 1900–1989)
Heathcliff’s Grief, from the series Wuthering Heights, 1930
Wood engraving
Gift of Mrs. Malcolm L. McBride

navyhistory:

On 13 May 1908, the Navy Nurse Corps was established. This group photograph of the first twenty Navy Nurses - “The Sacred Twenty” - was taken at the Naval Hospital, Washington, D.C., circa October 1908. NHHC image NH 52960

The Trưng Sisters, Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị

Art by Michelle Dee (deviant art, tumblr 1, tumblr 2)

At the beginning of the common era, Vietnam was under Chinese control.  Rebellion began to stir as Chinese rule became more intrusive with higher taxes, increased expectations of cultural assimilation, and harsher penalties for those who disagreed with the regime   The aristocratic Trưng sisters were radicalized after Trưng Trắc’s husband, Thi Sách, was executed for anti-Chinese activities.  In response, the Trưng Sisters raised an army of as many as 80,000 soldiers and drove the Chinese from Vietnam in 39 CE.  

Vietnamese society of this period exhibited a high level of gender equality, which was a point of conflict between the Vietnamese and their patriarchal Han Chinese overlords.  As daughters of a military leader, the Trưng Sisters received an education that prepared them for battle.  Many other women served in the Trưng army including Phung Thi Chinh, a noblewoman who is said to have given birth on the battlefield and continued to fight with her baby on her back.  

The Trưng Sister’s ruled as co-regents until they were defeated by the Chinese in 43 CE.  They were either beheaded by their opponents (Chinese accounts) or chose to drown themselves rather than surrender (Vietnamese accounts).  China remained in control of Vietnam until the Early Lý Dynasty came to power in 544 CE.