Activism > Women's Rights Archives

Stella Courtright Stimson

Suffragist and clubwoman Stella Courtright Stimson was 50 when she decided to take down the corrupt Terre Haute, Indiana politician Donn Roberts in 1913.

Helen Gwynne-Vaughan was an acclaimed mycologist, King’s College graduate, and Head of the Botany Department (as well as first female professor) at Birkbeck College long before she joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during World War I, and was made chief controller of the women deployed to France.

Frances Keegan Marquis

Prior to volunteering for the U.S. Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps at age 45 in 1942, Frances Keegan Marquis had been an active suffragist who managed the Franklin Square House, a residential hotel in Boston offering housing and social services for around 700 women students and wage earners.

Alva Myrdal

Swedish diplomat, government minister, and author Alva Myrdal received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 for her work advocating for nuclear disarmament.

Maggie Kuhn

Founder of The Gray Panthers

Mary A Nolan

American suffragist

Dr Mona Chalmers Watson

In July 1917, Mona Chalmers Watson was named the first Chief Controller of Britain’s Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) when it was formed. The thousands of WAACs worked as cooks and waitresses, clerks, communications operators, drivers, and more. She was already noteworthy as a suffragist, physician, and the first woman to receive her MD from the University of Edinburgh.

Rita Cetina y Gutierrez

Mexican educator, writer and feminist Rita Cetina y Gutierrez advocated for women’s education in Mérida, Yucatán.

Emily Newell Blair

American suffragist and co-founder of the League of Women Voters.

Sonia Johnson

Sonia Johnson was a fifth-generation Mormon who became active in the campaign to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1977, Johnson co-founded Mormons for ERA. Her activism led to her excommunication from the LDS Church and influenced her decision to run for President.