Cleopatra VII (69–30 BC)
Far more than a romantic figure, Cleopatra was a brilliant, multilingual scholar and the only Ptolemaic ruler to learn the Egyptian language. She ruled the most powerful kingdom in the eastern Mediterranean at a time when Rome was threatening to swallow everything in its path.
Empress Wu Zetian (624–705 AD)
The only woman in Chinese history to assume the title of Empress Regnant. She reformed the civil service, expanded the empire, and is credited with one of China's most prosperous eras.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
Over a century before women won the vote, Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), arguing that women appeared inferior only because they were denied education.
Ada Lovelace (1815–1852)
A mathematician who worked with Charles Babbage on his Analytical Engine. Her notes included what is now recognised as the first computer algorithm.
Harriet Tubman (c.1822–1913)
Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and then returned south an estimated 13 times to free approximately 70 enslaved people via the Underground Railroad.