EIGHT HEROINES WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
Today is a celebration of women’s achievements and the constant fight for equality. Historian MICHELLE ROSENBERG looks at women who lived by their own rules, no matter what society thought...
Dismissed as the Flanders Mare, Henry VIII’S fourth wife arguably got a good deal by being relieved of royal duties early. The one wife for whom the famed lothario couldn’t perform, her physical reality may not have lived up to Hans Holbein’s charming portrait. “I like her not! I like her not!” Henry yelled. His attempts at surprising his bride-to-be with a kiss whilst disguised reputedly led to a slew of German curses. Anne, 24, kept a level head (pun intended) and outlived her ex and all his other wives. She lies in Westminster Abbey, the only one of Henry’s wives to do so.
Born a girl when her parents wanted a boy, Christina’s father was adamant that gender wasn’t going to stop him raising a prince. She cut her hair short, wore men’s clothes and swore like a trooper. An arts patron she is thought to have had a lesbian relationship with a lady-in-waiting. She converted to Roman Catholicism, a criminal offence, and moved to the Vatican to further her intellectual pursuits. She is buried in St Peter’s in the Vatican rare for anyone, let alone a woman.
One of the richest Jewish women in the European Renaissance, Gracia was “Saviour of the Jews”. In 1536 the Pope set up a Portuguese Inquisition, based on the horrific Spanish version, a disaster for families like Gracia’s who, while outwardly conforming to Catholic tradition, secretly practised Judaism. She fled to Flanders, helping other families flee.
Hatshepsut (1508 – 1458 BC)
The second female pharaoh (14 centuries later Cleopatra was the third), Hatshepsut was Egypt’s longest reigning queen.a brilliant political operator, she would manipulate her image to suit her ends, depicted as a bearded, muscled male in images and statues, reverting to female form when needed. She is buried in the Valley of Kings, but Thutmose III destroyed many of her statues.
Flora Sandes (1876 – 1956)
The only British woman to officially fight in the First World War, Flora was desperate for the freedom her brothers enjoyed. She took part in suffrage events and, at 40, joined the St John Ambulance bound for Serbia. At Valjevo, hit by typhus, she nearly died. She joined the Serbian army and, wounded by a grenade, was honoured, promoted and hailed a hero back home – where the freedom of war vanished. She retired to Suffolk, a rebel in an electric wheelchair.
Hypatia (370 – 415)
The first female mathematician and astronomer in recorded history, she was probably one of the last scientists to have access to Egypt’s Library of Alexandria. She dedicated her life to study and her students, but was murdered on church steps, aged 45.
Mary Anning (1799 – 1847)
Mary never went to school but was a brilliant palaeontologist. Her father, a carpenter, passed on his fossil-hunting passion during walks on the Dorset coast. She and her brother found the first complete ichthyosaur, the “fish lizard”, still at London’s Natural History Museum. Mary was 10 when her father died and sold fossils to tourists to survive. She also found the first plesiosaurus (selling it for £100) which established her
scientific reputation.
● Historical Heroines: 100 Women You Should Know About by Michelle Rosenberg and Sonia D Picker (Pen & Sword, £14.99). For free UK delivery, call Express Bookshop on 01872 562310 or order via expressbookshop. co.uk