In celebration of this year’s International Women's Day, Google has put together one of its iconic Google Doodles.
The Doodle features 13 “female pioneers”; many of whom are not known outside of their respective fields. If you’re wondering who these incredible women are, here they all are.
Ida Wells
Born into slavery, Wells was an anti-lynching crusader and suffragette. After three of her friends were attacked and lynched by a mob, Wells began a campaign speaking against the practice. She would later go on to become one of the founding members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Lotifa El Nadi
El Nadi earned her pilot’s license at the age of 26, after only 67 days of training. Because she could not afford the lessons, she worked as a receptionist at the airport. She is both the first Arab and African woman to fly a plane and is the second woman in the world to fly solo, after Amelia Earhart.
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Frida Kahlo
Considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists, Frida Kahlo began painting after being nearly killed in a bus accident. Because she was bedridden, Kahlo focused specifically on self-portraits. Her paintings were influenced heavily by indigenous Mexican culture as well her personal pain.
Lina Bo Bardi
Bardi was an architect and an artist, and when her office in Italy was destroyed in World War II, she moved to Brazil. She is regarded as one of Brazil’s most important architects of the 20th century and was the architect behind the São Paulo Museum of Art and the Glass House.
Olga Skorokhodova
After losing both her vision and hearing at age 5 because of meningitis as well as both of her parents, Skorokhodova became a writer, a scientist and a scholar. At the age of 35, she released a book titled How I Perceive the World, before writing two follow-ups. She was the world’s only deafblind researcher.
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It's #IWD2017 around the 🌍! Celebrate women pioneers who have shaped history in today's #GoogleDoodle → https://t.co/fWWhkbKLY3 pic.twitter.com/PeCRDGprWc
— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) March 8, 2017
Miriam Makeba
Also known as ‘Mama Africa’, Makeba is a South African singer and activist. She was discovered soon after becoming a teen mother. She won a Grammy in 1965 for Best Folk Recording and is credited for bringing Xhosa and Zulu songs the attention of the West.
Sally Ride
Ride got her Ph.D at the age of 27, right after which she joined American space program NASA. And at the age of 32, she became the first American woman, the third woman ever, and the first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) person to go into space.
Halet Cambel
Cambel was an athlete and an archaeologist who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, and was the first Muslim woman to compete in the Games. While she did not take home a medal, Cambel was invited to meet then-chancellor Adolf Hitler, but refused and was met with international acclaim.
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Ada Lovelace
The daughter of poet Lord Byron, Lovelace is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer. Lovelace’s contributions to computer science were not discovered until the 1950s, but has since received many posthumous honors.
Rukmini Devi
An activist and a dancer, Devi is seen as the lead revivalist in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. Before her, Bharatanatyam was considered a “vulgar” art, especially to those of a higher caste, and her performances would cause public protests.
Cecilia Grierson
The first Argentinian woman to receive a medical degree, Grierson was also a pioneer of modern kinesiology. After the harassment she faced while in college, Grierson was an open supporter of feminism and was the vice president of the 1889 meeting of the International Council of Women.
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Lee Tai-young
Tai-young was South Korea’s first female lawyer and judge. At 32, she became the first woman to enroll at Seoul National University, and after earning her law degree in three years, became the first woman to pass the national judicial examination.
Suzanne Lenglen
Before there was Serena, there was Suzanne. The French tennis player won 31 championship titles between 1914 and 1926. She was the first international female sports star and was featured in publications like The New York Times and Vogue. (sul/kes)
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