With Timeless right around the corner and International Women’s Day here, we thought it was about time we put together a list of amazing historical women that we’d love the Timeless team to meet. Each and every single woman on this was a fighter, a survivor, and someone who definitely didn’t play by the rules.
We have an opera singer who learned how to duel because she kept getting challenged by the husbands of the wives she slept with, a pregnant woman that took over her husbands ship when he collapsed, a pirate who terrorized ships all over, and many more badass women who nevertheless persisted.
Hatshepsut: First Female King of Egypt
Hatshepsut reigned for over 20 years in Egypt. She wore a fake beard, Pharaoh clothes, but kept female pronouns, and ushered in one of the largest golden eras of building and wealth of Egypt. She was more interested in making money, making sure her people had that economy to keep them sustained, and restoration of monuments than conquering things. Her successor tried, keyword: tried, to erase her from history, but her legacy lives on in the temple of Deir el-Bahari!
Learn more about Hatshepsut HERE.
Bessie Coleman: First African American Woman to Get Pilot’s License
Bessie was born in extreme poverty, but she wanted to fly, so she worked a job during the day and learned French at night. France was the only place at that time who would teach black people to fly, because of racism and segregation. She eventually managed to get enough funds to go over to France to learn. She came home with her license and started doing daredevil flying. She crashed several times, one time managing to break her leg and had to spend months recovering. Her tragedy was the lack of funding and flying with older planes that couldn’t match her level of flying. She ended up crashing and dying, but her bravery, determination, and spirit are amazing.
Learn more about Bessie Coleman HERE.
Mary Patten: Pregnant Woman Who Took Over Her Husbands Ship
Her husband collapsed from an illness and Mary took charge of the ship during a massive storm, despite being a woman and pregnant. They were racing to get to San Francisco before their competitors got there, and turning back would have been disastrous for her husband’s reputation and the business they had built. So she was like, fuck that ish, I’ll do it. The crew was feeling all mutinous because of her lady parts, but she still managed to get the ship around the tip of South America and to San Fran and beat out the competitors.
Learn more about Mary A. Patten HERE.
Gráinne Mhaol (Grace O’Malley): Pirate Queen of Connacht
Some of her story has been shrouded in myth, but what can’t be denied is that she kicked a whole lot of ass, was a wonderful strategist, and terrorized ships all over Ireland. She was a higher class Irish elite, who turned to piracy after the death of her first husband. She did everything she could to provide for her children and to protect her lands, including talking Elizabeth I to release her son after he was captured, so that Grace could work as a pirate for the crown instead of against. She was a survivor and a badass!
Learn more about Gráinne Mhaol (Grace O’Malley) HERE.
Sappho – Poet, Writer, Teacher
Sappho helped shape Western writing and was considered one of the greatest poets of her time. The Sapphic meter is named after her, Plato called her “the tenth Muse” and her likeness appeared on coins in her day and age. She even ran an academy for unmarried young women! Three centuries after her death a new comedy parodied Sappho as a lesbian. That characterization was so popular and the term “lesbian” was derived from her home island of Lesbos.
Learn more about Sappho HERE.
Caroline Herschel – Scientist
Caroline is the first woman to discover a comet and star clusters. She also served as an assistant to her brother, who discovered Uranus (hehe). After his death, she continued with astronomy, cataloguing nebulae and star clusters. She was the first woman to be published by the Royal Society and also the first to be paid for work in astronomy.
Learn more about Caroline Herschel HERE.
Julie D’Aubigny – Bisexual Opera Singer
Homegirl seduced so many men’s wives that she had to become an expert duelist. She killed ten men in duals, after they challenged her for sleeping with their wives. She performed some of the biggest opera shows, and once took holy orders just so she could get into a covenant to have sex with a nun.
Out of all the women on this list, I’d be most excited for our Timeless team to meet, especially Lucy.
Learn more about Julie D’Aubigny HERE.
Who do you think the Timeless team should visit? Let us know in the comments section below!
