Gertrude Ederle (1905 – 2003)

 

 

In the 1920's, teenage Olympic medal winning swimming sensation Gertrude Ederle from New York wanted to prove that a woman could complete a swimming challenge said to be as Difficult and dangerous as climbing Mount Everest.  Trudy wanted to be the first woman to swim across the freezing waters to the English Channel.

 

On her second attempt after swimming for 14 hours and 31 minutes, she reached the English coast.  Trudy had swum it her way and set a new record time, two hours faster than any of the men who had previously completed the swim.

 

Thanks to the fabulous book Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World by Kate Pankhurst.

Women in History: Katia Krafft (17 April 1942 – 3 June 1991)

 

Katia Krafft was a French volcanologist.  She chased volcanic eruptions the way some people chase tornadoes.

 

She took a lot of risks and in the end a volcano got her – on Mount Unzen in Japan in 1991. Over 40 people were killed when a lava flow unexpectedly changed direction.

 

Before her untimely demise she put together films and books about volcanoes.

 

Thanks to the fabulous book Fantastically Great Women Who Worked Wonders by Kate Pankhurst

Women in History – Madeleine Albright

 

Whatever one's politics, I think we can agree that Madeleine Albright is pretty special. She was born on 15 May in 1937 which makes her almost 84.

 

She was born in Prague in what was then Czechoslovakia. Her family had Jewish heritage but converted to Catholicism in 1941. Madeleine didn't learn of her Jewish roots until she was almost 60!

 

The family moved to the UK in 1939.  They emigrated to America in 1948 arriving at Ellis Island.

 

Madeleine married Joseph Albright in 1959 and hence became known as Madeleine Albright and also took up Episcopalian.

 

They had 3 children – all girls.  But sadly divorced in 1982.

 

She got involved in public service and was appointed by Bill Clinton as Ambassador to the UN in 1993.  In 1997 she became Secretary of State.

 

She now gives speeches, has lots of honorary degrees and is involved in charity work.  An inspiring story indeed.

 

Women in History – Margaret Thatcher

 
 

Margaret Thatcher was a polarising political figure.  But boy, she was an achiever at a time when things were even harder for women.

 

She died 8 years and 2 days ago.  She was brought up Methodist but the scientist in her even as a young girl made her a bit of a sceptic.  She once told a friend that she didn't believe in angels having calculated that they would need a 6 foot long breastbone to support their wings.  Much later she became an Anglican.

 

She had just been selected to contest a seat when she met her future husband, Denis.

 

She was nicknamed the Iron Lady by the Russians – but adopted it herself.

 

She was ousted as leader of her party in 1990 and left in tears – a sad figure, only to become sadder when diagnosed with dementia some years later.

Boudicca - what a woman!

 

Boudicca (or as I knew her growing up – Boadicea) was a Queen – of the Celtic Iceni tribe during the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD. 

 

She beat up on the Romans several times before being defeated. It is said she led her forces to kill over 50,000 enemies.  She did not let herself be captured – choosing death instead.

 

Thanks to the fabulous book Fantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst.

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Woman in History - Dame Valerie Adams

 

Dame Valerie Adams is a champion shot putter.  She won all sorts of medals including Olympic Gold.  She was made a Dame in 2017 and had her daughter that same year followed by a son in 2019.

Her mother is Tongan and her father is English.  She has a large and complicated family including 17 siblings. As an aside her youngest half-brother is Steven Adams who is now an NBA basketballer (Oklahoma City Thunder).

A Woman Who Shaped History – Amelia Earhart

The more I looked into the life of Amelia Earhart, the more impressed I became.  I knew that she was a record breaking aviator and that she disappeared on one of her expeditions in mysterious circumstances.  But there is so much more to this woman – who was certainly ahead of her time!

Earhart came from a disrupted family and spent her first years with her grandparents.  She trained as a nurse and nursed during the First World War – not for the faint hearted.

After the war and in her early twenties she took up flying in her spare time while working as a social worker.

She became the first woman to cross the Atlantic in a plane – but was only a passenger.  A few years later she did it on her own.  She became really famous.

In 1937 she and her co-pilot put out distress signals over the Pacific Ocean but were never found.

This record would have been impressive at any time – but in the times in which she lived – is truly inspirational.

A Woman Who Shaped History – Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

Mother Teresa was an inspirational figure.  She was in fact Albanian, being born in Skopje (which is now part of Macedonia).  At 18 she became a nun.  So young to make such a huge decision!

Her birth name was Agnes but, as is customary, on taking her vows, she took another name and became Sister Teresa.

In 1929 she started working in Calcutta as a teacher and did that for nearly 20 years.  She was so upset by the suffering on the streets that in 1946 she decided to devote her life to working for the poor.

She founded the Missionaries of Charity.  Their vows had the 3 usual ones – poverty, chastity and obedience – but also had another one pledging service to the poor.

Mother Teresa was awarded the 1975 Nobel Prize for peace and the Catholic Church has the sainthood process under way for her.

Apparently when people would ask what they could do to assist her, she used to tell them 'to find their own Calcutta'.  Meaning that if you want to work for a charity you need to find one that is the most meaningful to you.

A Woman Who Shaped History – Helen Keller (1880-1968)

Helen Keller was very influential in advocating for the disabled.  She got an illness as a baby that left her unable to see, speak or hear.

She was taught sign language by pressure on her hands and was able to attend Radcliffe College.

She wrote an autobiography – The Story of My Life.

She was active in supporting the Foundation for the Blind and in many other social reform movements.

In all she wrote 7 books and made 2 documentary films.

An inspiration to us all!