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22 Women From History Who Were ‘Firsts’ in Their Fields

2 minute read

The launch of Firsts, a new TIME multimedia project, is a moment to celebrate women who broke ground in their fields — from the arts and politics to the world of science and the military. It’s thus an apt moment to celebrate the countless women who played pioneers in history.

Just a small sampling of them can be seen in the gallery above. There’s Jeannette Rankin, who was the first woman ever elected to U.S. national office — even before the 19th Amendment gave women across the country the right to vote. There’s Sarah Breedlove Walker, who turned her business savvy into an incredible record as the nation’s first woman to become a self-made millionaire. There’s Margaret Bourke-White, of LIFE Magazine, who, among her many photographic firsts, was the first woman to be accredited to cover World War II combat with her camera.

And the list goes on.

We encourage you to share your favorite stories of female firsts from history with us on Twitter at @LIFE and @TIMEHistory. In addition, we’re continuing to collect your stories of the groundbreaking women in your own life. If you know a woman or a girl who has been a “first” in ways big or small, share your photos and stories with us using the hashtag #SheIsTheFirst and we may feature you in TIME.

Watch Firsts, featuring candid interviews with groundbreaking women from Oprah Winfrey to Madeleine Albright to Sheryl Sandberg, at time.com/firsts

ALTHEA GIBSON: The first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis and th efirst person of color to win a Grand Slam title in 1956.
ALTHEA GIBSON became the first person of color to win the French Open—one of the Grand Slam tournaments—in 1956.Bettmann—Getty Images
AMELIA EARHART: The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic ocean, 1928.
AMELIA EARHART became the first woman to pilot, solo, a nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
EDITH WHARTON: The first woman in America to win the Pulitzer prize for fiction, 1921.
EDITH WHARTON became the first woman in America to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921.Apic—Getty Images
FRANCES PERKINS: First female member of a presidential cabinet (FDR's Secretary of Labor), 1933.
FRANCES PERKINS became the first female member of a presidential cabinet as FDR's Secretary of Labor in 1933.Library of Congress
GERALDINE FERRARO: First female vice presidential candidate representing a major American political party, 1984.
GERALDINE FERRARO became the first female vice presidential candidate to represent a major American political party in 1984.Tom Olmscheid—AP Photo
JACQUELINE COCHRAN: First woman to break the sound barrier, 1953.
JACQUELINE COCHRAN became the first woman to break the sound barrier in 1953.Chris Hunter—Corbis via Getty Images
JEANNETTE RANKIN: First woman to be elected to congress, 1916.
JEANNETTE RANKIN became the first woman to be elected to Congress in 1916 (representing Montana).Library of Congress
JUNKO TABEI: First woman to climb Mt. Everest, 1975.
JUNKO TABEI became the first woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest in 1975.Keystone—Getty Images
KATHARINE GRAHAM: First female Fortune 500 CEO, as CEO of the Washington Post, 1972.
KATHARINE GRAHAM became the first female Fortune 500 CEO as CEO of the Washington Post in 1972.Diana Walker—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Image
KATHY SWITZER: First woman to run the Boston marathon, 1967.
KATHY SWITZER became the first woman to run the Boston marathon in 1967.Boston Globe via Getty Images
LORETTA PERFECTUS WALSH: First woan to enlist in the U.S. Navy, 1917.
LORETTA PERFECTUS WALSH became the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Navy in 1917.Bettmann—Getty Images
MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE: First female war correspondent, 1941.
MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE became the first female photographer accredited to cover World War II combat zones in 1942.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
MARIE CURIE: first woman to win a Novel prize in Physics, 1930, and Chemistry, 1911.
MARIE CURIE became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911.Universal Images Group—Getty Images
PATSY MINK: First Asian-American woman in Congress, 1965.
PATSY MINK became the first woman of color elected to Congress in 1964 (representing Hawaii). Bettmann—Getty Images
PEARL S. BUCK: First woman to win the Nobel prize in Literature, 1938.
PEARL S. BUCK became the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938.Edward Steichen—Condé Nast via Getty Images
REBECCA FELTON: First woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, 1922.
REBECCA FELTON became the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate in 1922 (representing Georgia).Library of Congress
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR: First woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court, 1981.
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR became the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981.Consolidated News Pictures—Getty Images
MADAM C.J. WALKER (BORN SARAH BREEDLOVE) became the first female self-made millionaire in America in 1919.
MADAM C.J. WALKER (BORN SARAH BREEDLOVE) became the first female self-made millionaire in America in 1919. Madam Walker Family Archives/A'Lelia Bundles
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM: First African-American woman in Congress, 1969.
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM became the first African-American woman elected to Congress in 1968 (representing Brooklyn, N.Y.). Bob Peterson—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
VALENTINA TERESHKOVA: First woman in space (Russian), 1963.
VALENTINA TERESHKOVA, the Soviet cosmonaut, became the first woman in space in 1963.Keystone-France—Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
VICTORIA WOODHULL: First female to run for the President of the U.S., 1870.
VICTORIA WOODHULL became the first woman to run for president in 1872.Hulton Archive—Getty Images
WALLIS SIMPSON: First woman Person of the Year for TIME Magazine, 1937.
WALLIS SIMPSON became TIME magazine's first female Person of the Year for 1936.Dorothy Wilding—TIME Magazine

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