The Stories We Choose to Tell

History is as much about what has been forgotten as it is about what has been remembered. It is a series of editorial decisions about whose legacies are carried forward and whose quietly vanish into the shadows. Some women have been lost to history because they left their mark in ways that were inconvenient, uncomfortable, or too difficult to mold into acceptable myths. Others have become icons that have been venerated, again and again, until they seem superhuman.

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1. Mileva Marić

Before Albert Einstein became a household name, Mileva Marić shared every bit of his mind. She was a physicist in an age that barely let women into the room, and treated those women even less. You don’t hear about her because sometimes history prefers a lone genius to an idea shared.

Unknown (public domain) on Wikimedia

2. Ching Shih

As the commander of the biggest pirate fleet ever, Ching Shih ruled with efficient cruelty. She had a code of conduct so thorough even the most hardened buccaneers abided by it. For some reason, history always forgets her while giving men like Blackbeard mythic status.

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3. Rosalind Franklin

DNA might have remained a riddle much longer if it weren’t for Rosalind Franklin. She was used and discarded, with all the credit going to the men who used her. If you learned about DNA in school, there’s a high chance they omitted her name.

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology on Wikimedia

4. Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus three months before Rosa Parks. The young, outspoken woman didn’t fit the image the movement wanted to project. As a result, history quietly discarded her bravery.

The Visibility Project, Claudette Colvin on Wikimedia

5. Lise Meitner

Lise Meitner co-discovered nuclear fission, one of the most important scientific advancements in history. The men around her took all the credit, and history took after them. You can almost hear it shrugging and moving on.

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6. Sybil Ludington

Sybil Ludington rode through the night to warn American forces in the Revolutionary War. Her trip was farther than Paul Revere’s, but history barely remembers her name. Apparently, heroism is more exciting when it’s a man shouting.

Anthony22 on Wikimedia

7. Alice Ball

Alice Ball found the first effective treatment for leprosy in the early 20th century. When she passed, someone else took credit for her work. They continued to do so for years, a convenient reminder that recognition doesn’t always go to the right person.

BAILLEUL on Wikimedia

8. Noor Inayat Khan

As a World War II spy, Noor Inayat Khan displayed immeasurable bravery under inhuman conditions. She refused to betray her allies when the Nazis tortured her. As a result, her story is barely told outside of specialized history books.

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9. Henrietta Leavitt

Henrietta Leavitt was the astronomer who found the key to measuring the distance between galaxies. She made it possible to understand the scale of the universe. The universe, apparently, doesn’t remember her quite as well as she should.

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10. Zitkála-Šá

Zitkála-Šá was a writer, musician, and activist who fought for Indigenous rights in America. She resisted government efforts to destroy Native culture. Resistance is never comfortable in friendly history.

History always seems to forget women who complicate the story, but it’ll happily celebrate the ones who don’t, so here are the women you’ve probably heard about many times.

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1. Cleopatra

It’s easy to remember Cleopatra as a seductress because history also wants to remember her as a politician and a strategist. Popular culture also loves focusing on her romances rather than her intellect. It’s flashy and dramatic, and it sells.

Napoleon Sarony on Wikimedia

2. Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc’s story has every element of a legend, with miraculous visions and self-sacrificial heroism. She quickly became a symbol of faith and nationalism in France. Symbols are the sort of thing history leans in close to whisper about.

Morgan Petroski on Unsplash

3. Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I ruled England with confidence and skill for decades. Her legacy is stability, power, and cultural development. History is kind to leaders who make it easy to see their legacy.

Unidentified painter on Wikimedia

4. Marie Curie

Marie Curie’s work in science was outstanding, and well-documented. She’s also the sort of woman genius history has decided to embrace. It’s easy to admire brilliance without changing the entire system.

Nationaal Archief on Unsplash

5. Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman’s actions on the Underground Railroad are rightly celebrated. Her story is a clear moral good, with obvious heroism and resilience. It’s the kind of narrative people want to pass down.

Library of Congress on Unsplash

6. Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart is adventure, independence, and the unknown. Her disappearance only added to the mystique. History loves a strong figure with an unanswered ending.

Underwood & Underwood (active 1880 – c. 1950)[1] on Wikimedia

7. Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale helped modernize nursing and public health. She transformed how people thought about medicine and saved countless lives. She’s remembered as gentle, though she was often quite fierce.

Hering on Wikimedia

8. Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement with a single powerful act. Her story was deliberately simplified to make it easier to swallow. It hasn’t made her impact any less significant, however.

Associated Press on Wikimedia

9. Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo’s work and life are endlessly analyzed and debated. She’s the sort of artist who fits modern ideas about the tortured, brilliant creator. Passion that comes with paint and pain is the sort of passion history likes.

Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

10. Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is modern hope and courage personified. She’s an ongoing story, global in its reach and hopeful in its direction. History likes heroes it can still watch.

Southbank Centre on Wikimedia