Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society and has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since the year 1987. It is important to know about the contributions influential women had on our history, so here are 20 famous women in history you should know about.

• Rosa Parks

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  A recently unveiled statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks is seen at sunrise. Rose Parks worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr in the campaign for equal rights for black African-Americans in the 1950s-60s. Rosa Parks Day is an American holiday celebrated on the 4th February or 1st December in honor of her work as a civil rights leader.

• Susan B. Anthony

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  Susan B Anthony fought for women to have the right to vote amongst other issues such as women to have the right to own property.

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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  This photo shows Ruth Bader Ginsburg, during confirmation hearings, U. S. Supreme Court. 7/21/1993. Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the court's second female justice as well as the first Jewish female justice. As a judge, Ginsburg was considered part of the Supreme Court's moderate-liberal bloc, presenting a strong voice in favor of gender equality, the rights of workers and the separation of church and state.
• Oprah Winfrey

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  Oprah Winfrey may be one of the most iconic women in U.S. business history. She is an actress, talk show host, television producer, and philanthropist. This photo shows Oprah Winfrey at the 29th Santa Barbara International Film Festival Montecito Award at the Arlington Theater on February 5, 2014 in Santa Barbara, CA.

• Marie Curie

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  Marie Curie (1867-1934), Polish-French physicist who won two Nobel Prizes, in 1903 for Physics and 1911 for Chemistry. She discovered that radiology could help to cure cancer. She developed a mobile x-ray machine. And she was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize and the first person to ever be awarded two Nobel Prizes.

• A stamp printed in USA from the “Progress of American Women ” issue shows Elizabeth Stanton, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Lucretia Mott, circa 1948.

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  Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-1800s. Carrie Clinton Lane Chapman Catt was a suffragist and peace activist who helped secure for American women the right to vote. Lucretia Mott was one of the leaders of the movement to grant American women the right to vote, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. She also spoke out against slavery.
• Eleanor Roosevelt

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  Eleanor Roosevelt at the Roosevelt Memorial on January 7th,2009 in Washington DC USA. Eleanor was known as the “First Lady of the World”, she was just as politically driven as her husband Franklin D Roosevelt.

• Harriet Tubman

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  This photo shows a close-up of Harriet Tubman Statue in Boston's South End neighborhood. Tubman, an African-American abolitionist will appear on the new $20 bill.

• Michelle Obama

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  Michelle Obama was the first Black woman to serve as the First Lady of the United States and is an accomplished lawyer who attended both Princeton University and Harvard Law School.
• Amelia Earhart

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  During her 2,408-mile flight to become the first person to fly solo across the Pacific. In 1928, she was chosen, along with two other men, to make the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean. In this photo, you see Amelia Earhart sitting in the cockpit of her Lockheed Electra airplane, ca. 1936. In July 1937 Earhart and the airplane were lost over the Pacific Ocean.

• Rosalind Franklin

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  Rosalind Franklin discovered the structure of DNA. Rosalind’s scientific work also helped us to see the tiny structures of other things too, such as coal, graphite, and viruses.

• Mae Jemison

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  Mae Jemison in 1992 became the first Black woman to fly to space on the space shuttle Endeavour. She was also the first Black woman admitted to the astronaut training program, in 1987.
• Frida Kahlo

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  Frida Kahlo was an artist from Mexico who was best known for her self-portraits. Her paintings have deep roots in Mexican folk culture, and use lots of vivid colors and symbolism well known for its dramatic style.

• Mary McLeod Bethune

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  Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator, civil rights activist and government official. She was known as the “First Lady of the Struggle,” because of her dedication to improving the lives of African Americans.

• Betsy Ross

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  We have Betsy ross to thank for the American flag. She is said to have agreed to make the flag, but also that she suggested a couple of changes, including arranging the stars in a circle and reducing the points on each star to five instead of six.
• Helen Keller

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  Helen Keller was the first deaf-blind person to write a book, and published 14 books during her life. She was also the first deaf-blind person to have a bachelor's degree.

• Wilma Rudolph

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  Wilma Rudolph was an American athlete who was the first black woman to make a major impact on international track and field. She recovered from childhood polio, pneumonia and scarlet fever to win three gold medals at the 1960 Olympic Games, the first American woman to ever do so.

• Kamala Harris

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  Kamala Harris was the first woman and first woman of color vice president of the United States. "While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," Harris said after getting elected in November.

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