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 72 Results
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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

Coretta Scott King

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

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

Chief Theresa Kachindamoto

The Marriage Terminator

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

The Night Witches

Elite All-Female WWII Russian Air Force Units

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

Hua Mulan

The (Possibly Fictional) Legend Who Inspired A Nation For Centuries

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