Discover the Women of the Hall

These are the Inductees of the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Select any of the women to discover their stories and learn how they have influenced other women and this country.

Achievements Year Born Where Born Year Inducted Last Name
Year Born: to
Birth State or Country: or
Year Inducted: to
First Letter of Last Name: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Mary Baker Eddy

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1821 - 1910
Born In: New Hampshire
Achievements: Humanities

The only American woman to found a lasting American-based religion, the Church of Christ (Scientist). Her personal struggles led her to believe in a system of prayer-based healing. In 1908, two years before her death at 89 she started The Christian Science Monitor.

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1842 - 1924
Achievements: Humanities

African American leader from New England. Ruffin was a suffragist, fought slavery, and founded several organizations for African American women, including the Boston branch of the NAACP and the League of Women for Community Service.

Ann Bancroft

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1955 -
Born In: Minnesota
Achievements: Education, Science

First woman to travel across the ice to the North and South Poles. She was the first woman to travel across Greenland on skis, and in 1993, was leader of the American Women’s Expedition, a group of four who skied more than 600 miles to the South Pole.

Mary Breckinridge

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1881 - 1965
Born In: Tennessee
Achievements: Science

The United States foremost pioneer in the development of midwifery and provision of care to rural areas. Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service.

Elizabeth Hanford Dole

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1936 -
Born In: North Carolina
Achievements: Government, Humanities

First woman to hold two cabinet positions as Secretary of Transportation under Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Labor for President George Bush. Dole later became President of the American Red Cross.

Mary A. Hallaren

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1907 - 2005
Achievements: Government

Leader who, as Director of the Women’s Army Corps, championed permanent status for women in the military after World War II. Later, as Director of Women in Community Service, Hallaren advocated employment opportunities for at-risk women.

Mary Baker Eddy

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1821 - 1910
Born In: New Hampshire
Achievements: Humanities

The only American woman to found a lasting American-based religion, the Church of Christ (Scientist). Her personal struggles led her to believe in a system of prayer-based healing. In 1908, two years before her death at 89 she started The Christian Science Monitor.

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1842 - 1924
Achievements: Humanities

African American leader from New England. Ruffin was a suffragist, fought slavery, and founded several organizations for African American women, including the Boston branch of the NAACP and the League of Women for Community Service.

Ann Bancroft

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1955 -
Born In: Minnesota
Achievements: Education, Science

First woman to travel across the ice to the North and South Poles. She was the first woman to travel across Greenland on skis, and in 1993, was leader of the American Women’s Expedition, a group of four who skied more than 600 miles to the South Pole.

Mary Breckinridge

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1881 - 1965
Born In: Tennessee
Achievements: Science

The United States foremost pioneer in the development of midwifery and provision of care to rural areas. Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service.

Elizabeth Hanford Dole

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1936 -
Born In: North Carolina
Achievements: Government, Humanities

First woman to hold two cabinet positions as Secretary of Transportation under Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Labor for President George Bush. Dole later became President of the American Red Cross.

Mary A. Hallaren

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1907 - 2005
Achievements: Government

Leader who, as Director of the Women’s Army Corps, championed permanent status for women in the military after World War II. Later, as Director of Women in Community Service, Hallaren advocated employment opportunities for at-risk women.

Louisa May Alcott

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1832 - 1888
Born In: Pennsylvania
Achievements: Arts

Author who produced the first literature for the mass market of juvenile girls in the 19th century. Her best-known work, Little Women, has appeared continuously in print since its first publication in 1868-69.

Charlotte Anne Bunch

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1944 -
Born In: North Carolina
Achievements: Education, Humanities

Founder and director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University. Bunch has helped shape the global feminist movement and created consciousness about gender-based human rights. She is also a leader in national and international networking and advocacy for women.

Maria Goeppert-Mayer

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1906 - 1972
Born In: Germany
Achievements: Science

First U.S. woman and second woman ever to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Prize was awarded for developing the shell model of the nucleus of the atom, the basic model for the description of nuclear properties. Mayer was also a member of the team that first isolated fissionable uranium 235.

Edith Wharton

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1862 - 1937
Born In: New York
Achievements: Arts

American novelist and short story writer of the 20th century. The first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for fiction (for The Age of Innocence, 1929), Wharton was a prolific writer who averaged more than a book a year after the age of 40 until her death.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1850 - 1917
Born In: Italy
Achievements: Humanities

Established orphanages, day care centers, schools, clinics and hospitals for immigrants in the United States and around the world. She established a missionary order of women and was the first American citizen to be canonized a saint.

Ernestine Louise Potowski Rose

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1810 - 1892
Achievements: Humanities

Early advocate for women’s rights, traveling for more than three decades giving eloquent speeches and seeking petition signatures. Rose sought women’s rights, the abolition of slavery and many other reforms before others took up the causes. From 1835 through 1869, she was often the first woman to speak in public on many platforms.

Louisa May Alcott

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1832 - 1888
Born In: Pennsylvania
Achievements: Arts

Author who produced the first literature for the mass market of juvenile girls in the 19th century. Her best-known work, Little Women, has appeared continuously in print since its first publication in 1868-69.

Charlotte Anne Bunch

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1944 -
Born In: North Carolina
Achievements: Education, Humanities

Founder and director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University. Bunch has helped shape the global feminist movement and created consciousness about gender-based human rights. She is also a leader in national and international networking and advocacy for women.

Maria Goeppert-Mayer

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1906 - 1972
Born In: Germany
Achievements: Science

First U.S. woman and second woman ever to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Prize was awarded for developing the shell model of the nucleus of the atom, the basic model for the description of nuclear properties. Mayer was also a member of the team that first isolated fissionable uranium 235.

Edith Wharton

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1862 - 1937
Born In: New York
Achievements: Arts

American novelist and short story writer of the 20th century. The first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for fiction (for The Age of Innocence, 1929), Wharton was a prolific writer who averaged more than a book a year after the age of 40 until her death.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1850 - 1917
Born In: Italy
Achievements: Humanities

Established orphanages, day care centers, schools, clinics and hospitals for immigrants in the United States and around the world. She established a missionary order of women and was the first American citizen to be canonized a saint.

Ernestine Louise Potowski Rose

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1810 - 1892
Achievements: Humanities

Early advocate for women’s rights, traveling for more than three decades giving eloquent speeches and seeking petition signatures. Rose sought women’s rights, the abolition of slavery and many other reforms before others took up the causes. From 1835 through 1869, she was often the first woman to speak in public on many platforms.

Oveta Culp Hobby

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1905 - 1995
Achievements: Government

Shaped the development of two major government institutions as first Director of the Women’s Army Corps and first Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. She was the first female to attain the rank of United States Colonel and the only woman to serve in President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s cabinet.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1906 - 2001
Achievements: Arts, Science

Author of numerous elegant essays, journals and other books. Lindbergh also excelled as co-pilot and navigator with her husband Charles on their historic flights to promote the development of international aviation.

Wilhelmina Cole Holladay

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1922 - 2021
Achievements: Arts, Business, Philanthropy

Founder of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., which brings national and international attention to the vast achievements of women in art.

Maria Tallchief

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1925 - 2013
Born In: Oklahoma
Achievements: Arts

Prima ballerina with the New York City Ballet and artistic director for the Lyric Opera Ballet in Chicago. Tallchief created a distinctive style and interpretation which continues to influence contemporary ballet. She used her international acclaim to bring about greater understanding and appreciation of Native Americans.

Madeleine Korbel Albright

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1937 - 2022
Born In: Czechoslovakia
Achievements: Government

First female Secretary of State and highest ranking woman in the U.S. government under President Clinton. As a professor at Georgetown University, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in international affairs and Russian and Central and Eastern European politics. In President Clinton’s first term, she was the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of the National Security Council.

Rozanne L. Ridgway

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1935 -
Born In: Minnesota
Achievements: Government

Foreign policy advisor under six consecutive U.S. presidents from Richard Nixon to William Clinton. Beginning in 1975, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; her last appointment was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs. A former Chair of the Atlantic Council of the U.S., a foreign policy think tank, her work has spanned almost four decades.

Oveta Culp Hobby

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1905 - 1995
Achievements: Government

Shaped the development of two major government institutions as first Director of the Women’s Army Corps and first Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. She was the first female to attain the rank of United States Colonel and the only woman to serve in President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s cabinet.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1906 - 2001
Achievements: Arts, Science

Author of numerous elegant essays, journals and other books. Lindbergh also excelled as co-pilot and navigator with her husband Charles on their historic flights to promote the development of international aviation.

Wilhelmina Cole Holladay

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1922 - 2021
Achievements: Arts, Business, Philanthropy

Founder of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., which brings national and international attention to the vast achievements of women in art.

Maria Tallchief

Year Honored: 1996
Birth: 1925 - 2013
Born In: Oklahoma
Achievements: Arts

Prima ballerina with the New York City Ballet and artistic director for the Lyric Opera Ballet in Chicago. Tallchief created a distinctive style and interpretation which continues to influence contemporary ballet. She used her international acclaim to bring about greater understanding and appreciation of Native Americans.

Madeleine Korbel Albright

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1937 - 2022
Born In: Czechoslovakia
Achievements: Government

First female Secretary of State and highest ranking woman in the U.S. government under President Clinton. As a professor at Georgetown University, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in international affairs and Russian and Central and Eastern European politics. In President Clinton’s first term, she was the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of the National Security Council.

Rozanne L. Ridgway

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1935 -
Born In: Minnesota
Achievements: Government

Foreign policy advisor under six consecutive U.S. presidents from Richard Nixon to William Clinton. Beginning in 1975, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; her last appointment was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs. A former Chair of the Atlantic Council of the U.S., a foreign policy think tank, her work has spanned almost four decades.

Edith Nourse Rogers

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1881 - 1960
Born In: Maine
Achievements: Government

Massachusetts Congresswoman who introduced the “G.I. Bill of Rights” Act and Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp (WAC) legislation. The “Bill of Rights” guaranteed veterans’ health and education benefits (also small business loans). In addition, it supported research and development of prosthetic appliances. Rogers pushed for equality for women in and out of military until her death.

Felice N. Schwartz

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1925 - 1996
Born In: New York
Achievements: Business

Founder in 1962 of Catalyst, the premier organization working with corporations to foster women’s leadership. She published studies (Women in Corporate Leadership in 1990 and Women in Engineering in 1992) illustrating the barriers to women’s workplace progress and then provided samples of model corporate practices to help women advance. Her work has had a lasting impact on the composition of American corporate leadership.

Shirley Ann Jackson

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1946 -
Born In: District of Columbia
Achievements: Education, Science

First woman to chair the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first African American woman to serve on the Commission. Elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for her contribution to physical science, she became an advocate for women in the areas of science, education and public policy. As Chair of NRC, she rearticulated the vision of the NRC to include reaffirmation of the basic health and safety mission of the agency.

Mary Steichen Calderone

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1904 - 1998
Born In: France
Achievements: Education, Humanities

Pioneering sex educator and acknowledged “mother of sex education.” She established the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States, which established sexuality as a healthy entity. Dr. Calderone was President of the SIECUS board, as well as author and co-author of several books, professional journals and magazine articles.

Maya Angelou

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1928 - 2014
Born In: Missouri
Achievements: Arts

Poet, author and early Civil Rights advocate. Angelou’s early career was in the theater, and she co-wrote Cabaret for Freedom to raise funds for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, for which she later became northern coordinator. She raised social consciousness through writings such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman. She was a nominee for a Tony, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer Prize.

Joan Ganz Cooney

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1929 -
Born In: Arizona
Achievements: Arts, Business, Education

Founder of the Children’s Television Workshop for Public Television and creator of Sesame Street. Cooney created a study for the Carnegie Corporation on the possible use of television for preschool education. Acting on her own findings, she solicited funds to develop a program for television. For this, she was the winner of the Emmy and Peabody Awards, along with other honors.

Edith Nourse Rogers

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1881 - 1960
Born In: Maine
Achievements: Government

Massachusetts Congresswoman who introduced the “G.I. Bill of Rights” Act and Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp (WAC) legislation. The “Bill of Rights” guaranteed veterans’ health and education benefits (also small business loans). In addition, it supported research and development of prosthetic appliances. Rogers pushed for equality for women in and out of military until her death.

Felice N. Schwartz

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1925 - 1996
Born In: New York
Achievements: Business

Founder in 1962 of Catalyst, the premier organization working with corporations to foster women’s leadership. She published studies (Women in Corporate Leadership in 1990 and Women in Engineering in 1992) illustrating the barriers to women’s workplace progress and then provided samples of model corporate practices to help women advance. Her work has had a lasting impact on the composition of American corporate leadership.

Shirley Ann Jackson

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1946 -
Born In: District of Columbia
Achievements: Education, Science

First woman to chair the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first African American woman to serve on the Commission. Elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for her contribution to physical science, she became an advocate for women in the areas of science, education and public policy. As Chair of NRC, she rearticulated the vision of the NRC to include reaffirmation of the basic health and safety mission of the agency.

Mary Steichen Calderone

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1904 - 1998
Born In: France
Achievements: Education, Humanities

Pioneering sex educator and acknowledged “mother of sex education.” She established the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States, which established sexuality as a healthy entity. Dr. Calderone was President of the SIECUS board, as well as author and co-author of several books, professional journals and magazine articles.

Maya Angelou

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1928 - 2014
Born In: Missouri
Achievements: Arts

Poet, author and early Civil Rights advocate. Angelou’s early career was in the theater, and she co-wrote Cabaret for Freedom to raise funds for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, for which she later became northern coordinator. She raised social consciousness through writings such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Heart of a Woman. She was a nominee for a Tony, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer Prize.

Joan Ganz Cooney

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1929 -
Born In: Arizona
Achievements: Arts, Business, Education

Founder of the Children’s Television Workshop for Public Television and creator of Sesame Street. Cooney created a study for the Carnegie Corporation on the possible use of television for preschool education. Acting on her own findings, she solicited funds to develop a program for television. For this, she was the winner of the Emmy and Peabody Awards, along with other honors.

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