Special Report

Women Who Shaped History

The Smithsonian's American Women’s History Initiative is a comprehensive undertaking that documents, researches, collects, displays and shares the rich and compelling story of women in the United States. In celebration of the AWHI, Smithsonian magazine has collected representative examples of its coverage of diverse women throughout American history.

Amelia Earhart (left) and Eleanor Roosevelt (right) National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of George R. Rinhart, in memory of Joan Rinhart

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The Remarkable Story of WWII’s 6888th Battalion, as Told by the Women Who Were There

The city is asking the public to vote on five semi-finalist proposals, including this one by artist Basil Watson.

Five Ways of Looking at Harriet Tubman

Dorothy Liebes (standing) had two studios in San Francisco before moving her business to New York City.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How the Mother of Modern Weaving Transformed the World of Design

<p>Edna Lewis gathers ingredients in the garden behind Ellerslie Plantation west of Charlottesville, Virginia, 1975.</p>

What Made Edna Lewis the Mother of Soul Food

Georgina Schuyler’s campaign to include Emma Lazarus’ poem on the statue was a retort to nativism.

The Woman Who Saved the Statue of Liberty

L to R: Abby Ryder Fortson, Amari Price, Elle Graham and Katherine Kupferer in the film adaptation of <em>Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret</em>

How Judy Blume Redefined Girlhood

At the Smithsonian

Carol Burnett's charwoman costume from her award-winning variety show (above in 1973) is now held in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Carol Burnett Reveals How She Came to Create the Charwoman

At the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, the story of the Watergate whistleblower Martha Mitchell (detail, oil on canvas, Jan De Ruth, 1970) from Pine Bluff, Arkansas—who pundits dubbed the "Mouth of the South"—is revisited in a new exhibition, "Watergate: Portraiture and Intrigue."

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Martha Mitchell Was the Brash 'Mouth of the South' That Roared

Kellie B. Gormly

A western-style performance outfit worn by Patsy Cline and sewed by her mother. The suit features record-shaped patches stitched with the titles of some of Cline's records.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

When Patsy Cline Broke Through as a Country Music Phenom

Amanda Petrusich

This Bushnell telescope allowed Sally Ride to gaze at her favorite constellation, Orion, and envision her future as an astronaut.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How the Smithsonian Is Honoring Remarkable American Women

Lonnie G. Bunch III

They Shaped Culture

Dell O'Dell loved the stage as much as she dominated it—no small feat for any magician, much less a “funsational femagician,” as she called herself.

Dell O'Dell's Trailblazing Magic Show Cast a Spell on Early Television Audiences

Vanessa Armstrong

Pamela Singh's Chipko Tree Huggers of the Himalayas #4, 1994

London Exhibition Explores the Link Between Gender and Ecology

Gretchen Smail

Nicks revealed the Barbie version of herself during her concert at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Stevie Nicks Gets Her Own Barbie Doll

Teresa Nowakowski

Hattie McDaniel is shown with her Best Supporting Actress award, which she received for her performance in 1939's Gone With the Wind.

The Academy Will Replace Hattie McDaniel's Missing Oscar

Teresa Nowakowski

Women in STEM

Rosalind Franklin's work with X-ray imaging played an important part in the discovery of DNA's structure.

What We're Still Learning About Rosalind Franklin’s Unheralded Brilliance

The Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Wednesday morning, kicking off NASA's Artemis moon program.

NASA Launches Artemis 1 in Giant Leap Toward Returning to the Moon

Carlyn Kranking

It’s shocking how many everyday inventions we use without acknowledging the inventors that helped bring them to us.

Five Women Inventors You Didn't Learn About in History Class

Carmen Borca-Carrillo

Eileen McSaveney (left) and Terry Tickhill (right) use a hand augur to drill Lake Vanda, Wright Valley, Antarctica, during the 1969-1970 field season. Water collected during this effort was used to date the lake.

Ten Pioneering Women of Antarctica and the Places Named for Them

Future of Women's History

Preet Chandi trains in Chamonix before starting her journey across Antarctica.

‘Polar Preet’ Sets Out to Become the First Woman to Cross Antarctica Solo and Unsupported

Margaret Osborne

Between March 19 and April 17, 1964, Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock (above: at the start of her journey at Ohio's Port Columbus Airport) flew her single-engine Cessna 180, dubbed "Charlie," solo around the globe setting a world record.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Who Was the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World?

President Biden announced his pick to fill the US Supreme Court vacancy on Friday: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

What to Know About Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Historic Nomination to the Supreme Court