SHARI J. RYAN
—INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR—
5 of the Most Influential Women in History
To narrow down a list of influential women to just five is incredibly hard. Even today, some women surpass excellence in various fields and often live as unsung heroes or silent partners. This isn't necessarily because of gender in the 21st century, but credit is hard to come by unless proof is public.
In recent years, I've come to see how inaccurate credibly is when it comes to praise for particular people, especially when the praise should go to others who may have built the foundation to a project or developed the science behind a solution. There are engineers, medical experts, scientists, artists, and many other industries who have hidden gems below the visible layer of who should be publicly known as an industry leader. Much like grade school, the world runs on popularity, fame, and even how loud a voice might be, but the true heroes often have their nose in a book, very few friends, a quiet book, and a disinterest in fame. Those are the leaders who are working to achieve goals that will eventually lead to a world change.
As women of the 21st century, intelligence and accomplishments shouldn't be more pronounced because of a marketable personality. A sense of recognition should be given to someone who stands above all others due to their perseverance. The proof is always present, but sometimes we have to look a little harder.
These are my picks for the top 5 most influential women in history:
Clara Barton
Virginia Hall
Harriet Tubman
Martha Gellhorn
Amelia Earhart
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Clara Barton: A teacher, a nurse, and founder of the Red Cross, Mrs. Barton was born in 1821 in Oxford, MA, and spent most of her life devoting her services to others. Mrs. Barton became a teacher at the age of fifteen, then offered aid during the Civil War by collecting supplies for soldiers. Since Mrs. Barton was not a military member, she provided her nursing skills independently to aid the soldiers in their time of need. After the Civil War, Mrs. Barton continued to assist by reuniting soldiers with their families. It wasn't until 1881, and after years of experience in serving as a devoted nurse, she successfully started a foundation, The American Red Cross, to continue the assistance in relief work for victims of war and environmental disasters. Her legacy has continued for two hundred years.
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Virginia Hall : A woman known by two code names, Marie and Diane, worked with the UK's Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II from the heart of the battlefield in France. Virginia's job was to spy, sabotage, and research findings from Nazi Germany. She was the first female agent to work for the SOE. She led and supported the other espionage agents for over a year until she was forced to flee France before potentially being captured by the Germans. With the war still blazing, she later returned to France in 1944 to continue her work and assistance to the other agents. She became known as one of "the most dangerous of all Allied spies."
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Harriet Tubman : Born into a life of slavery but didn't surrender to the life she was being held hostage to, Mrs. Tubman rescued about seventy other slaves while utilizing a network of activists and safe houses as the Underground Railroad. After serving as a spy during the Civil War, Mrs. Tubman carried on with her activist measures in a movement for women's suffrage. She is now known as an icon for the meaning of freedom and courage.
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Martha Gellhorn : Though her presence became known through her short-lived marriage to Ernest Hemingway between 1940 and 1946, Ms. Gellhorn made her existence memorable through her journalism and correspondents through most major wars during her sixty-year-long career. Ms. Gellhorn was also one of the very first female war correspondents.
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Amelia Earhart : Born in 1897, Ms. Earhart was one of the first female American aviators. She set out to break multiple flying records and became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Between 1928 and 1937, Ms. Earhart succeeded in several endeavors, from launching a clothing line to volunteering as a nurse's aid. SAt the peak of her career, she spent time conducting speeches and counseling students who sought a career in Aeronautics. In 1937, Ms. Earhart's plane disappeared somewhere over the Pacific ocean. To this day, her plane is still missing, though there are several theories on her disappearance.
I would love to list hundreds and hundreds of more names, but these particular women have always stood out to me.
Since I was a little girl, I decided no one should tell me there is anything I can't do because of my gender. At the age of six, I went on a strike against the color pink and refused to play with dolls because I was "supposed to like" these things. I didn't understand why there was a difference in gender roles, but I refused to give in to the ones I noticed over the years. As a grown woman, I appreciate the will and determination I had in my earlier years, never giving into gender-based stereotypes. I'm certainly nowhere near as brave as the aforementioned women above. Still, I think it's so important to teach current and future generations to come that they, no matter their gender, are capable of whatever they want to do in life.
For these personal reasons, I wrote Last One Home , centered around a vivacious young woman who refused to succumb to the gender assigned role she was intended to play—a housewife. Instead, she saved hundreds of soldiers, prisoners of war and devoted her life to supporting the fight for freedom.
With drive and determination, there's no saying who will accomplish the next greatest achievement in life.
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