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
Inductee Name Achievements Born Where Born Inducted More

Katharine Graham Arts, Business 1917 New York 2002

Katharine Graham

Year Honored: 2002
Birth: 1917 - 2001
Born In: New York
Achievements: Arts, Business

As publisher and then Board Chair and CEO of the Washington Post, Graham became one of the most influential women in the country. Her courageous decisions to publish the Pentagon Papers and to proceed with the Watergate investigation earned her a reputation as a daring and thorough journalist, willing to take risks in order to give the American people full access to important information.


Bertha Holt Humanities 1904 Iowa 2002

Bertha Holt

Year Honored: 2002
Birth: 1904 - 2000
Born In: Iowa
Achievements: Humanities

A pioneer in international adoption, Bertha and her husband adopted 8 Korean children in addition to their own 6 children. The Holt Adoption program, later called Holt International Children’s Services, was established in 1956 to help those interested in inter-country adoptions.


Mary Engle Pennington Science 1872 Tennessee 2002

Mary Engle Pennington

Year Honored: 2002
Birth: 1872 - 1952
Born In: Tennessee
Achievements: Science

Chemist and refrigeration expert Mary Engle Pennington saved thousands of lives by creating national standards for milk and dairy inspection and improved the safety and convenience of refrigerated and frozen foods. She was also instrumental in developing safe and sanitary methods for the storage and handling of poultry, fish, and eggs, contributing techniques that solved humidity control problems, insulation and ventilation issues.


Harriet Williams Russell Strong Business 1844 New York 2001

Harriet Williams Russell Strong

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1844 - 1926
Born In: New York
Achievements: Business

An inventor of water-conservation techniques, she was also a very successful businesswoman. Her water irrigation systems are credited with being one of the factors in the development of southern California as a major agricultural region.


Emily Howell Warner Science 1939 Colorado 2001

Emily Howell Warner

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1939 - 2020
Born In: Colorado
Achievements: Science

In 1973, Emily Warner became the first American female commercial airline pilot when Frontier Airlines broke the barrier against hiring women pilots. She later became the nation’s first woman airline captain, also at Frontier Airlines.


Dorothy Day Humanities 1897 New York 2001

Dorothy Day

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1897 - 1980
Born In: New York
Achievements: Humanities

Widely considered one of the great Catholic lay leaders of the 20th century. As co-founder of The Catholic Worker, Day spearheaded the movement that continues to promote pacifism, civil rights, and relief for the homeless.


Marian de Forest Arts, Humanities 1864 New York 2001

Marian de Forest

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1864 - 1935
Born In: New York
Achievements: Arts, Humanities

Founder of Zonta (1919, Buffalo, NY), a worldwide organization of women business and professional leaders dedicated to improving the legal, political, and economic status of women. Membership now runs 35,000 with 1,214 clubs in 68 countries.


Victoria Woodhull Humanities 1838 Ohio 2001

Victoria Woodhull

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1838 - 1927
Born In: Ohio
Achievements: Humanities

A 19th century reformer, Victoria Woodhull established a reputation as a radical freethinking reformer. She was a suffragist, author, political activist, and the first woman to run for President of the United States (1872).


Althea Gibson Athletics 1927 South Carolina 2001

Althea Gibson

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1927 - 2003
Born In: South Carolina
Achievements: Athletics

In 1957 Althea Gibson became the first African American tennis player to win at Wimbledon and Forest Hills. Her influence as a role model for aspiring athletes has been profound.


Dorothy H. Andersen Science 1901 North Carolina 2001

Dorothy H. Andersen

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1901 - 1963
Born In: North Carolina
Achievements: Science

Pediatrician and pathologist who was the first to identify cystic fibrosis and developed a simple, definitive diagnostic test for the disease.


Beatrice A. Hicks Science 1919 New Jersey 2001

Beatrice A. Hicks

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1919 - 1979
Born In: New Jersey
Achievements: Science

Engineer, inventor, and business owner, Beatrice Hicks was a pioneer in gaining recognition for women engineers at a time when less than 1% of all U.S. employed engineers were women. She was a founding member and first president of the Society of Women Engineers (1950), which now has a membership of more than 16,000.


Lucille Ball Arts, Business 1911 New York 2001

Lucille Ball

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1911 - 1989
Born In: New York
Achievements: Arts, Business

Undoubtedly one of the best known and best loved television comediennes of all time. The “I Love Lucy Show”, which began in 1951, is still shown in reruns in more than 70 countries around the world. She was a television pioneer who excelled both in the acting and the production aspects of television.


Barbara Holdridge Arts, Business 1929 New York 2001

Barbara Holdridge

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1929 -
Born In: New York
Achievements: Arts, Business

Barbara Holdridge is the co-founder of Caedmon Records, the first commercially successful project to record and distribute the works of living authors as well as recordings of past literary works by distinguished actors.


Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter Humanities 1926 Georgia 2001

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1926 - 2023
Born In: Georgia
Achievements: Humanities

Former First Lady (1977-1981), Rosalynn Carter was an advocate for mental health, early childhood immunizations, human rights, conflict resolution, and health promotion worldwide.


Lydia Maria Child Humanities 1802 Massachusetts 2001

Lydia Maria Child

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1802 - 1880
Born In: Massachusetts
Achievements: Humanities

Author and social reformer, Lydia Maria Child spent a lifetime crusading for the abolition of slavery and supporting women’s suffrage. As the author of more than 40 books and the editor of eleven publications, she was always addressing the main issues of 19th century America.


Bessie Coleman Science 1892 Texas 2001

Bessie Coleman

Year Honored: 2001
Birth: 1892 - 1926
Born In: Texas
Achievements: Science

The first licensed black female aviator. She earned her international pilot’s license in 1921 and gained fame during the next five years for her air acrobatics and highflying stunts. She dreamed of starting a school to train black aviators.


Faye Glenn Abdellah Science 1919 New York 2000

Faye Glenn Abdellah

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1919 - 2017
Born In: New York
Achievements: Science

First nurse to hold the rank of Rear Admiral and the title of Deputy Surgeon General for the United States. She developed the first tested coronary care unit. A national pioneer in nursing research, she has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications and helped change the focus of nursing from disease-centered to patient-centered.


Anna Howard Shaw Humanities 1847 England 2000

Anna Howard Shaw

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1847 - 1919
Born In: England
Achievements: Humanities

A leader in the women’s suffrage movement, Shaw was a master orator for social justice, and the first woman to be ordained by the Protestant Methodist Church. She was the first living American woman to be awarded the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal.


Crystal Eastman Humanities 1881 Massachusetts 2000

Crystal Eastman

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1881 - 1928
Born In: Massachusetts
Achievements: Humanities

One the major leaders of the women’s right to vote and equal rights movements, she was co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union and author of the first national labor safety law guidelines. In 1919, she organized the First Feminist Congress, and she was one of the four authors of the Equal Rights Amendment proposed in 1923.


Emma Smith DeVoe Humanities 1848 Illinois 2000

Emma Smith DeVoe

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1848 - 1927
Born In: Illinois
Achievements: Humanities

President of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association, successfully ran the campaign that resulted in Washington becoming the first state in the 20th century to grant full enfranchisement to women in 1910, a full decade before passage of the 19th Amendment. DeVoe established the first national organization of voting women, which eventually merged with the National League of Women Voters, leaving an invaluable legacy about the importance of the educated use of the franchise.


Jeanne Holm Government 1921 Oregon 2000

Jeanne Holm

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1921 - 2010
Born In: Oregon
Achievements: Government

In her 33 years in the Armed Forces from 1942 to 1975, Major General Holm, USAF, Retired, rose from private to two-star general. Her promotion in 1973 made her the first woman in the history of the U.S. armed forces to achieve the rank of major general. Her work to open ROTC and the military academies to women gave educational benefits and the opportunity for a professional military career to women from all walks of life.


Mary Edwards Walker Philanthropy, Science 1832 New York 2000

Mary Edwards Walker

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1832 - 1919
Born In: New York
Achievements: Philanthropy, Science

First female surgeon in the U.S. Army, she continually crossed the Confederate lines to treat civilians. After being taken prisoner in 1864 and imprisoned in Richmond, she was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the first woman to receive this award. In 1917, her medal, along with 910 others, was taken away when Congress revised the standards to include only “actual combat with the enemy.” She refused to return the medal, wore it until her death, and it was finally awarded to her posthumously.


Janet Reno Government 1938 Florida 2000

Janet Reno

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1938 - 2016
Born In: Florida
Achievements: Government

As Florida State Attorney, she helped establish the Miami Drug Court and reform the juvenile justice system. Appointed by President Clinton to be the first woman Attorney General of the United States, she brought a personal and professional integrity to the office during times when issues were divided bitterly along partisan lines.


Annie Dodge Wauneka Science 1910 Arizona 2000

Annie Dodge Wauneka

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1910 - 1997
Born In: Arizona
Achievements: Science

First woman elected to the Tribal Council, she became determined to lead the fight against tuberculosis among the Navajo. She wrote a dictionary to translate English words for modern medical techniques into Navajo, and hosted a radio broadcast in the Navajo language to explain how modern medicine could help in better care for pregnant women and new babies and other family health problems.

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