Search The BROADS Database

This database is a work in progress. There is probably a lot missing at the moment – we’re filling it out as best we can. If you’d like to submit new info for one of our BROADS, or if you’d like to suggest a new BROAD we should look at, you can use the BROAD SUGGESTION BOX.

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BROADS You’re About to Know…

Found 170 Results
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Yu Gwan-sun

Korean Teenaged Activist Who Fought for Independence


Dr. Jessica Wade

#1 Champion of Women in S.T.E.M.


Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke

New Zealand’s Youngest Māori MP



Betsy Ross

Designer of the first American Flag


Santa Broads

The Women Who Saved Christmas


Walpurga Hausmännin

The Infamous German Babykiller


Anacaona

The Haitian Queen Who Led With Peace


Ana Koldings

”Mother of the Devil” in Danish Witch Trials


The Night Witches

Elite All-Female WWII Russian Air Force Units



Hypatia

The Ancient Genius and “Martyr of Philosophy”



Annie “Londonderry”

The First Woman to Circumnavigate the World on a Bicycle


Loyda Martinez

Fighting for the Rights of Los Alamos, NM


Alisa Lynn Valdés

Telling the REAL Story of What Happened in Los Alamos, NM



Molly Craig

The Aborigine Girl Who Walked 1,000 Miles


Sylvia Rivera

The OG Transgender Latina Activist


Chevalier d’Éon

French Spy Who Negotiated the Treaty of Paris


Raquel Willis

Trans Author & Decorated Activist


Marsha P. Johnson

“The Mayor of Christopher Street” & LGBT Activist at Stonewall


Sibyl Ludington

America’s Controversial Revolutionary Rider


Agnodice

The First Known Female Midwife


Melitta Bentz

Inventor of the Paper Coffee Filter


Kate Warne

The First Female Detective in the US Who Also Saved Lincoln’s Life


Kathrine Switzer

First Woman to (Officially) Run the Boston Marathon


Jean Nidetch

Founder of WeightWatchers


Benedetta Carlini

Italian Mystic & Secret Lesbian


Maria Sibylla Merian

Groundbreaking Entomologist, Illustrator, and Caterpillar Queen


Dottie Frazier

The First Female SCUBA Diving Instructor in the US


Frances Farmer

The Actress Who Forged Her Dreams and Lost Her Mind


Anne Heche

The Crazy, Brilliant Actress


Hannah Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin’s Brilliantly Talented Mother


Mary Todd Lincoln

“The Least Liked First Lady of the United States of America”


Margery Kempe

Medieval Mystic and Inventor of ”Chaste Marriage”


Joan of Arc

French Warrior, Blessed ”Maid” and Betrayed Martyr


St. Teresa of Ávila

Spanish Reformer & First Female Doctor of the Catholic Church


St. Catherine of Siena

The “Mystical Bride of Christ” and Catholic Reformer


Hildegard von Bingen

Medieval Polymath: Writer, Composer, Doctor, Philosopher, Mystic & Visionary


Chiquinha Gonazaga

Prolific Composer and First Brazilian Female Conductor


Christine de Pizan

First Woman Published in Europe & First Published Feminist


Marion Stokes

Secretly Archived 35 Years of TV


Nancy Dowd

Breakout Female 70’s Screenwriter


Chief Theresa Kachindamoto

The Marriage Terminator


Olivia Julianna

Gen Z Activist Who Turned Republican Fat-Shaming into $2M for Abortion Funds


Wilma Rudolph

Olympic Superstar and ”Fastest Woman in History”


Helen Hulick Beebe

Slacks-tivist & Innovator in Deaf Education


Verity Lambert

1st Female TV Producer in the UK Who Brought Doctor Who to Life!


Boudica

Celtic Warrior Queen Extraordinaire


Kate Bush

Innovative & Influential British Singer-Songwriter


Alexya Salvador

First Transgender Shepherd of Latin America


Rani Lakshmi Bai

India’s Joan of Arc


Norma McCorvey

aka “Jane Roe” from Roe v Wade


Josephine Baker

Jazz Age ”Sensation”, French Spy and Civil Rights Crusader


Michelle Yeoh

The Greatest Action Heroine of All Time


Constance Baker Motley

Lawyer, Judge, and ”Civil Rights Queen”


Artemisia Gentileschi

Baroque Painter Extraordinaire


Edith Loeber Ballard, M.D.

First Female Surgeon in the Southern US


Daria Nicolodi

Italian Scream Queen & Horror Legend


The Invisible Battalion

The Female Soldiers of the Ukranian Army


Olga of Kyiv

Viking Queen & Patron Saint of Widows and Converts


Beate Gordon

Jewish Feminist Who Wrote Women’s Rights into the Japanese Constitution


Myrlie Evers

Civil Rights Activist and NAACP Phenomenon


Mary Kenner

Holds the Most US Patents of Any African-American Woman


Tomyris

Queen of the Massagetae Who Defeated Cyrus II


Izumo no Okuni

Inventor of Kabuki Theater


Ernesta Drinker “Commando Mary”

Writer, Designer, and WW2 Radio Celebrity


Kadambini Ganguly

The First Female Doctor in India


Coretta Scott King

Civil Rights Leader, Peace Advocate, & Wife of Martin Luther King Jr.


Sister Carrie Miller, SLW

Devoted Her Life to Empowering Families


Charlotte Cushman

World-Famous 19th Century Actor


bell hooks

Profound Writer, Theorist, Scholar and Architect of Modern Feminism


Mary Seacole

Jamaican-British Nurse and REAL Mother of War Hospital Sanitation Practices


Sarah Winchester

Millionaire Heiress, Builder of the Winchester Mystery House & Supernatural Legend


Khutulun Khan (aka Turandot)

The Mongolian Warrior Princess & Wrestling Champion


Na Hye-sok

Korean Artist, Writer and Radical Feminist


Dra. Paulina Luisi

First Female Uruguayan Doctor & Feminist Leader


The Valiant Ladies of Potosí

Teenage Peruvianian Vigilantes of the 1600s


Policarpa “La Pola” Salavarrieta

Columbian Revolutionary Spy Whose Voice Inspired Liberty


Hatshepsut

Pharaoh Who Restored Glory to Egypt and was Erased from History


Viśpálā

First Known Female Warrior and Prosthetics Recipient in Human History


“Half-Hanged Mary” Webster

The “Witch” of Hadley and ancestor of Margaret Atwood, inspiring her poem and dedication of the “The Handmaid’s Tale”.


Věra Čáslavská

Czechoslovakian Olympic Superstar Whose Anti-Government Protest Got Her Erased from History


Ada Lovelace

World’s First Computer Programmer


Malala Yousafzai

Education Advocate Who Survived a Taliban Assassination


Alice Guy-Blaché

The World’s First Female Filmmaker & Studio Head


Aaliyah

The Multi-Talented Superstar Still Changing the World Years After Her Death


Katharine Wright

Sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright


May Chen

Organized Largest Asian American Strike in History


Sojurner Truth

First African American Woman to Beat a White Man in Court


Britney Spears

Princess of Pop Fighting Against Conservatorship Abuse


The Three Queens of the Virgin Islands

Organized Labor Uprising Against Danish Empire


Nettie Stevens

Geneticist Who Discovered Sex Chromosomes


Shakuntala Devi

“Human Computer” and Pioneer in the Field of Homosexuality


Queen Ranavalona II

Converted Madagascar to Christianity


Florence Nightingale

Nurse Who Revolutionized War & Hospital Sanitation Practices


Fahma Mohamed

The Teenager Fighting Female Genital Mutilation


Alison Bechdel

Lesbian Feminist Cartoonist Who Gave Us the Bechdel Test


Ranavolona I (aka Ranavolona the Cruel)

The Bloodiest Queen in Human History


Anna Jarvis

Founder of Mother’s Day (Who Tried to Have it Destroyed)


La Adelita & Las Soldaderas

The Female Soldiers of the Mexican Revolution


Queen Ka’ahumanu

First Queen of Hawaii Responsible for Women’s Rights and Uniting the Islands


Queen Ranavalona III

Last Queen of Madagascar Exiled for Fighting Colonization


Pauli Murray

Queer Civil Rights Lawyer & Episcopal Priest Who Wrote the Civil Rights “Bible”


Shannon Faulkner

First Woman to Attend ‘Men Only’ State College in South Carolina


Ma Rainey

Mother of the Blues who Inspired Generations


Ching Shih

From Prostitute to Ruler of a Pirate Empire


Sophie Scholl

Student Anti-Nazi Activist & Co-Founder of White Rose


Nellie Bly

The Investigative Reporter Who Was the Inspiration for Lois Lane


Julie d’Aubigny (aka Mademoiselle Maupin)

Bisexual French Duelist & Opera Singer


Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander

First African American Woman to Practice Law in Pennsylvania


Lucille Bogan

One of the First Recorded Blues Singers & Pioneer of “Dirty Blues”


Shere Hite

Sex Educator Who Discovered Women Don’t Need Men to Achieve Pleasure


Audre Lorde

Black, Lesbian, Mother, Warrior, Poet; Advocate For Intersectionality


Giulia Tofana

17th Century Vigilante Responsible For Poisoning Over 600 Men


Pele

Hawaiian Goddess of Volcanoes and Fire


Christine Jorgensen

WWII Veteran & First Widely-Known Trans Woman in USA


Madame Sophie Blanchard

French Aeronaut & World’s First Female Balloonist


Nakano Takeko

One of the Last Samurai Warriors


Suzan Harjo

Native American Activist Known For Repatriation & Anti-Racism Lawsuits Against USA


Marian Anderson

African American Singer Who Broke Down Race Barriers


Cathay Williams

Former Slave Who Posed as Male to Enlist in the Military


Mary Tape

Sued to Fight Segregation of Chinese-Americans in CA Schools


Bridget “Biddy” Mason

LA Real Estate Entrepreneur Who Sued For Her Freedom from Slavery


Billie Jean King

Pro Tennis Player and LGBTQ + Gender Equality Advocate


Lyudmila Pavlichenko (aka Lady Death)

The Deadliest Female Sniper in History


Pine Leaf Woman Chief

Two-Spirit Native American Chief Who Led With Peace


Grace O’Malley

Irish Pirate Queen & Scourge of the English Empire


Lucy Parsons

Anarchist Leader of the Labor Party and Advocate for Workers’ Rights


Yoko Ono

Avant-Garde Artist & Activist for Peace Who Definitively Did Not Break Up the Beatles


Dr. Marian Croak

“Black Engineer of the Year” Who Invented VOIP Technology & Expanded the Internet


Richmodis von Aducht

Indestructible Women


Margery McCall

Indestructible Woman


Joy Andrew

Indestructible Woman


Frida Kahlo

Mexican Painter & Revolutionary Best Known for Her Work Exploring the Concepts of Identity, Pain, and Mexican Heritage


Annie Edson Taylor

Went Over Niagara Falls in a Barrel


Ella Jo Baker

Grassroots Civil Rights Organizer


Dr. Jane Cook Wright

Revolutionized Cancer Research


Melina Abdullah

Academic & Civic Leader; Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles


Shirley Chisholm

First African American Woman to Run for President of the United States


Jacinda Ardern

Prime Minister of New Zealand


Bessie Coleman

First African-American & Native American Woman to Earn Pilot’s License


Caroline Herschel

Astronomer & Creator of the New General Catalogue of Stellar Objects; First Woman to be Paid a Salary as a Scientist


Mother Teresa

The Controversial Nun who Lived Intentionally in Poverty & Became a Saint


Ida B. Wells

First Reporter to Break Story About Lynchings in 1800s South


Jennifer Nelson

Responsible for Bringing “Happy Birthday” Into Public Domain


Ida Tarbell

The Mother of Modern Journalism Ethics & How She Took Down Standard Oil


Wangari Muta Maathai

First African Woman to Win a Nobel Prize & Founder of the Green Belt Movement (Responsible for Planting 20M Trees Worldwide)


Mary Edwards Walker

First female U.S. war surgeon, POW, & only woman to receive the Medal of Honor


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