On May 3, 1955, 67-year-old Emma Rowena Gatewood told her adult children that she was going for a walk. Four months and 2,168 miles later, “Grandma” Gatewood, as she was known, became the first woman to solo hike the Appalachian Trail…

More than 100 years before literary giants Amy Tan and Celeste Ng brought the Asian American experience to life, Sui Sin Far was a prolific author of fiction for both children and adults. She was also a travel writer, essayist, and among the first journalists to document the harsh realities facing Chinese immigrants in…

On her first day as President Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre made the statement above to reporters. She continued: “If it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me, I would not be here.”

Born in Philadelphia in 1814 to parents of mixed race, Pleasant was known for her quick wit and street smarts.

The next time you use a map or location service on your phone, laptop, or other electronicdevice, give a nod to Dr. Gladys West, an African American mathematician. Defying poverty, sexism, and Jim Crow segregation, her work was critical to the invention theGlobal Positioning System commonly known as GPS.

When Marjorie Merriweather Post inherited $27 million in 1914, (about $620 million in 2020 dollars), she became the wealthiest woman in the world. During her lifetime (1887-1973), Post was renowned for her beauty, lavish lifestyle, and vast collections of art and jewelry. But Post was also one of the most astute, pragmatic, and visionary business leaders and philanthropists in the first half of the 20th century.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in January 1849, Julia Sturtevant married at the age of 19 and had two children. When her husband, an iron magnate, died ten years later and left her in debt, the resourceful Tuttle…

Game designer, inventor, feminist, and economic activist, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Magie created the game later known as Monopoly. Whether writing short stories and poems, working as a newspaper reporter, or performing as a comedian and stage actressMagie used social engagement and entertainment as a tool to bring about political and economic change.

Born Angelina Pauline Murray in Maryland in 1910 to bi-racial parents, Murray became the first Black person to earn a Doctorate degree from Yale Law School, was a co-founder of the…

After graduating from Pasadena High School in 1897, Lopez earned a degree in education at what later became UCLA. She began her career teaching English as a second language to high school students…