The Coolest Women's Firsts in History

Juliana Morell, a Dominican nun, was the first woman to earn a university degree. She was educated in various languages starting at the age of four. At 12, she successfully defended her thesis in ethics and dialectics.

Sophie Blanchard was afraid to ride in a carriage, but not afraid to fly high. Her daring and extremely dangerous balloon flights, which she demonstrated at special events, attracted thousands of spectators. She was the world’s first female balloonist. In 1819 she became the first woman to be killed in an aviation accident.

The debate about who was the nation’s first woman cop has been going on for some time, with various cities claiming to have had the first. But after long-lost records resurfaced as a federal agent was researching the Chicago police, evidence was found that Marie Owens became a police office there in the 1890s.

Marie Curie was the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize — and she won it for physics in 1903. A few years later she earned the same award but for chemistry, making her the first, and so far the only, woman to have been so honored twice.

Aviator Charles Voisin suggested Raymonde de Laroche take up flying over dinner. He even taught her himself. She died during a flight that would have made her the first female test pilot.

Little is known about the life of Princess Shakhovskaya. She took up flying in 1911 in Germany. She gave it up to become an instructor but the Imperial Russian Air Force convinced her to go back. She flew reconnaissance missions and did not fight in combat.

Marvingt was an athlete and won gold medals in several sports, including skiing and rifle shooting. She competed with such passion, she was called a poor example for young women in France who were expected to be more ladylike. At one point she even disguised herself as a man to serve in the army. She flew fighters in World War I and made it her life’s mission to make planes part of medical support for injured people.

Sanger was not only the first woman but also the first person to open a birth control clinic in the United States. It was in Brooklyn, New York. She was a nurse who was inspired by the story of a woman who died from complications of an unintended pregnancy.

Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel, and she did it in style. She was more than two hours faster than the former (male) record holder. She even wore a two-piece bathing suit, an unconventional choice for the time.

Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, five years after the first man to do so. She took off from Newfoundland, Canada, and landed in Ireland after about 15 hours. She and her co-pilot mysteriously disappeared during a flight that would have made her the first woman to fly around the world.

Perkins was a teacher and very active in the movement for women’s right to vote and for better working conditions. Largely because of her efforts, a law was passed limiting the work week to 54 hours for women and children. She was President Franklin Roosevelt’s secretary of labor and a key figure behind his signature New Deal.

Photographer Bourke-White was the first woman ever accredited to fly a mission over enemy territory. She was nicknamed “The Indestructible” because of her response to why she was never scared: “The sound and movement were so rhythmic. It was like music — and so reassuring.”

Pieper couldn’t run the Boston Marathon because women were not allowed, so she chose Colorado’s Pikes Peak Marathon instead. She finished a 13.3-mile trail run going up more than 7,000 feet, and also the marathon, running up and down the mountain in about nine hours.

The first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame had a woman’s name, that of Joanne Woodward. She won an Oscar for her role in “The Three Faces of Eve” in 1957, playing a woman who suffers from multiple personality disorder.

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was an expert in parachuting, which is what spurred her interest in space. During her flight in space, which lasted just over 70 hours, she went around the Earth 48 times.

Miller left from Oakland, California, flying a Piper Apache. She stopped in Hawaii, Canton Island, Fiji, and New Caledonia. Her final destination was Brisbane, Australia, where she landed 20 days later. She got out of her plane wearing a cotton dress and high heels.

She is known as the “Flying Housewife.” She is said to have been in an unofficial race with Amelia Earhart but only Mock’s flight was officially sanctioned by the National Aeronautic Association.

Guthrie made history in 1977 when she became the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500. She achieved the same feat at the Daytona 500 in the same year. She was Top Rookie. When a year later she finished ninth, racing for a team she managed herself, it was the best result by a woman until 2005.

The Texas native was the first woman to ever serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She was on the bench from 1981, when President Ronald Reagan nominated her, until 2006, when she retired. She was known as a moderate conservative and for extensively researching her opinions.

Bancroft made history by becoming the first woman to successfully finish expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic. In 1986, after 56 days, she and her team arrived at the North Pole by dogsled without stopping for supplies. In 1993, she led a women’s team that reached the South Pole on skis, making her the first woman to have been to both poles.

The queen of soul was also the first queen of rock and roll. Her induction led the way for other women to be included in the prestigious group, which was already being criticized for never having a woman. Franklin has a total of 18 Grammys, making her one of the most awarded artists in music history.

Rheaume was the first woman to play a game in the National Hockey League. She was the goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game in 1992 and stopped seven out of nine shots.

Collins was the first female shuttle commander. Before that she was the first woman to pilot a space shuttle mission, during which she was second in command. She logged hundreds of hours in space before retiring in 2006.

Lieberman, or “Lady Magic,” as she is also known, has made history several times: first, when she became the head coach of the Texas Legends of the D-League, which was the first time a woman had coached a men’s professional basketball team, and then when she became the assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.

Although Bigelow was not the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, she was the first one to win (and she beat her ex-husband, “Titanic” and “Avatar” director James Cameron) in 2010 for “The Hurt Locker.” Only one woman has been nominated since then — Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird.”

Have you see Kung Fu Panda 2? It is the second highest-grossing film directed by a woman, and that woman was Nelson. It was also the first major animated movie produced by a Hollywood studio directed by a woman. Nelson was also the first woman to be nominated for an Oscar in the animated feature category by herself.

Welter was an intern for the Arizona Cardinals in 2015. She worked for six weeks in the summer as an assistant coach under linebacker coach Bob Sanders, who said he was not afraid to be different by working with a woman. “It’s time,” he added. The first woman to be hired full time as coach was Kathryn Smith.

Jenkins directed the highly successful “Wonder Woman.” It’s the first superhero movie directed by a women, the highest grossing such feature directed by a woman, and the movie directed by a woman with the best opening weekend, making over $100 million.

She was born in Louisiana just a few years after the end of the Civil War and her parents were former slaves. She made her fortune selling hair products for black women.

It took Wanderwell seven years to travel around the world in a car. She started her adventure when she was only 16. It began as a challenge. She signed up to travel with a man to see who could visit the most countries in the world.