I broke a reading slump by reading something different from my normal fare: Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson, which is a nonfiction book about the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. Turns out that the Lusitania had a lot of kickass women on board when it sank. One of its survivors was Theodate Pope Riddle, one of the first women to be a certified architect in America. She was also … Continue reading Kickass Women: Theodate Pope and Belle Naish→
This edition of Kickass Women in History is by Pam G. PamG’s most interesting era was middle age when she returned to school to earn a BA in English, spent a decade practicing judo with family and friends, and subsequently converted to devout Band Boosterism when her daughter embraced the cult of Marching Band. Ms G is currently spending her twilight years wrangling teenagers in her alma mater’s library media center by day and her … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Rusty Kanokogi→
This month’s Kickass Women in History is all about two kickass sisters from Ukraine, Lesya Ukrainka (born Larysa Petrivna Kosach) and her sister, Olha Petrovna Kosach-Kryvyniuk. These two sisters were literary powerhouses and feminist activists. The sisters came from a literary family. Their mother, Kickass Woman Olha Petrivna Kosach, who used the pen name Olena Pchilka, was a famous writer, translator, and feminist activist. Their father, Petro Antonovych Kosach, was, among other things, an accomplished … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Lesya Ukrainka and Olha Petrovna Kosach-Kryvyniuk→
The Battle of the Greasy Grass, also known as The Battle of the Little Bighorn, or as Custer’s Last Stand, took place on June 25, 1876 in what is now Montana. It was fought between U.S. troops, led by George Custer, against Lakota Sioux, Arapaho, and Northern Cheyenne warriors led by Sitting Bull, Chief Gall, and Crazy Horse. The Lakota Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne won the battle. While most fighters on both sides were men, … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Buffalo Calf Road Woman→
This month we look to Vietnam for Kickass Women. The Tru’ung Sisters led a rebellion against the Chinese in Vietnam and ruled for three years. They lived from around AD 12 to AD 43. This entry comes with a few caveats. For starters, the history of Vietnam is long and complicated and not something I presume to have digested properly in the time it took to research this post. Secondly, stories about the Tru’ung sisters … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: The Tru’ung Sisters→
For this month’s Kickass Women in History, I’m highlighting the book The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs. I was so impressed and moved by this story of three kickass women who have been largely ignored by history: Louise Little, Alberta Williams King, and Berdis Jones. The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and … Continue reading Kickass Women In History: Louise Little, Alberta Williams King, Berdis Jones→
This guest post for Kickass Women in History was written and researched by J.A. Miller: “I am a retired systems analyst and ex-historian who now writes political fantasy. I became involved with the Quakers here in Lenni Lenape lands thanks to General Smedley “War is a Racket” Butler, aka the Fighting Quaker. Though I have left academic-style history behind I still love to snoop historically and have been delighted to learn about the numerous and … Continue reading Guest Kickass Women in History: Elizabeth Heyrick→
This month I’ve been reading about Virginia Hall, one of our better known Kickass Women. Virginia Hall was an American spy who recruited and organized resistance workers in France during WWII. She had a brilliant mind, a relentless work ethic, and an unparalleled ability to keep secrets and evade discovery despite being a tall, beautiful American who spoke French with a distinctly American accent and who walked with the aid of a wooden leg named … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Virginia Hall→
Thanks to Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History, by Sam Maggs , I heard about Ogino Ginko, the first woman doctor in Japan. This woman broke barriers by means of intelligence and persistence, and to the question “marriage or career?” she answered, “Why not both?” Ogino was born in 1851. She married a banker when she was sixteen and divorced him three years later after he gave her gonorrhea. Her treatments … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Ogino Ginko→
Thanks to a recommendation from Dennis, we have Fannie Sellins as this month’s Kickass Woman in History. Sellins was a labor rights activist who lived from 1872 to 1919. She was murdered while fighting for the rights of miners in Pennsylvania. For much of her life, Sellins (born Fannie Mooney) lived a typical urban working-class life. Sellins was born in Cincinnati, but her family soon moved to St. Louis. Her father was a house painter … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Fannie Sellins→
In this month’s Kickass Women in History, we take a trip to the Ashanti Empire, where reigned Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother during the War of the Golden Stool. Born around 1840, she was instrumental in the fight against British Colonialism. The Asante Confederacy (also referred to as the Ashanti Empire) was located in what is now Ghana. It lasted from approximately 1670 to 1902 (when it officially became a British protectorate). Today it is recognized … Continue reading Kickass Women in History: Yaa Asantewaa→
