1899
One of the first women's basketball teams.Wikimedia Commons1905
Native American women on a Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana circa 1905.Denver Public Library1889
Susan La Flesche, the first Native American physician, graduated medical school as the valedictorian in 1889.Wikimedia Commons1907
Annette Kellerman posing in the swimsuit that got her arrested for indecency Wikimedia Commons1900's
Eskimo women in Alaska Library of Congress1934
Margaret Bourke-White climbs on the Chrysler Building to take a photographPinterest1913
Inez Millholland Boissevain prepares to lead the suffrage parade while wearing a crown in Washington D.C. on March 3, 1913. Library of Congress1914
Suffragette Emmeline Parkhurst is arrested outside of Buckingham Palace Library of Congress1915
Suffrage envoys from San Francisco are greeted in New Jersey as they travel to Washington to present a petition with 500,000 signatures to CongressLibrary of Congress1916
Four women attend a convention for former slaves in Washington.Washington Post Archives1918
Women deliver heavy blocks of ice after male workers were drafted into World War IPublic Domain1920
Officers of the National Woman's Party hold a banner outside of their headquarters in June 1920. The 19th Amendment was passed two months later.Public Domain1926
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel Wikimedia Commons1928
American Elizabeth Robinson (featured) becomes the first woman in history to win Olympic gold in track-and-field during the 1928 Olympic Games, the first in which women could compete in many sports. The 16-year-old high school student was discovered by her coach as she was running to catch a train.Public Domain1934
Louis Armstrong once called Valaida Snow (seen here conducting a London orchestra in 1934) the second best trumpet player in the country - after himself.YouTube1930
YMCA camp for girlsNational Museum of American History1936
Amelia EarhartLibrary of Congress1940
Hattie McDaniel becomes the first black woman to win an Academy Award for her role in Gone With The WindPublic Domain1944
Female volunteers at Pearl HarborPinterest1944
Women in the NavyU.S. Navy Archives1945
Female pilots during World War IIPinterest1950's
British scientist Rosalind Franklin, who helped discover DNAPinterest1954
National Council of Negro Women Committee National Museum of American History1956
Rosa Parks is fingerprinted by Montgomery police after refusing to give up her bus seat Gene Herrick/AP/Wikimedia Commons1960
An 18-year-old Aretha FranklinFrank Driggs Collection/Getty Images1961
Puerto Rican-born Rita Moreno is one of only 12 people to have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards (an EGOT). She broke into stardom with her role in West Side Story.YouTube1962
Rachel Carson helped found the environmentalist movement with her prophetic book Silent Spring. YouTube1966
Roberta Louise "Bobbi" Gibb is the first woman to have run the entire Boston Marathon. After having received a letter from the race director informing her that women were not physiologically capable of running marathon distances, she had to hide in the bushes and sneak into the race. She finished ahead of two-thirds of the male runners. Pinterest1969
Margaret Hamilton, lead software engineer of the Apollo Project, stands next to the code she wrote by hand and that was used to take humankind to the moonWikimedia Commons1970
The Women's Strike for Equality saw more than 20,000 women gather in New York City to protest for equal rights, access to abortion and free childcare. Michael Abramson/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images1971
Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisolm and Betty Friedan form the National Women’s Political Caucus YouTube1972
Civil rights activist Angela Davis gives an interview from a California jailYouTube1973
Billie Jean King makes women everywhere proud by defeating Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis matchAllsport UK/Allsport1970's
Ellen O'Neal, one of the first female professional skateboarders, flies down a streetPinterest1976
Ms. is the first national magazine to discuss domestic violenceMs. Magazine1983
Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space Wikimedia Commons1984
Elspeth Beard, the first English woman to ride a motorcycle around the world, poses next to her bike. After two years of biking (excluding trips over the ocean), she arrived back in the United Kingdom having travelled 48,000 miles.Wikimedia Commons1977
Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to drive in the Indy 500. Though mechanical difficulties forced her to drop out of the race on her 1977 try, the next year she finished in ninth place (with a broken wrist, no less). YouTube1981
Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court after being appointed by Ronald ReaganWikimedia Commons1989
Norma McCorvey (aka Jane Roe from the landmark case Roe v. Wade) and her attorney Gloria Allred, right, celebrate as they leave the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. after sitting in while the court listened to arguments in a Missouri abortion case. Wikimedia Commons1992
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Guatemalan presidential candidate Rigoberta Menchu has been a lifelong advocate for the rights of indigenous peopleJOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images1993
Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. President Bill Clinton's first Supreme Court nominee, displays a book written by her grandson during her first day of confirmation hearingsJENNIFER LAW/AFP/Getty Images1996
Madeleine Albright, who became the first female Secretary of State after being unanimously confirmed by a Senate vote of 99 - 0JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images1997
Ellen Degeneres becomes the first openly gay TV star by coming out in a TIME articleTIME Archives2001
Oscar winner Halle Berry accepts the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first African-American woman to win the honorGetty Images2007
Terri Gurrola is reunited with her daughter after serving in Iraq for seven monthsGetty Images2008
General Ann Dunwoody's husband attaches her new shoulder boards following her promotion ceremony to the rank of four-star general. She is the first woman to hold the honor in the country.Win McNamee/Getty Images2014
Malala Yousafzai, an activist for education, is the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize.2016
Hillary Clinton is the first woman to be the presidential candidate of a major political party.Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images2017
Protesters walk during the Women's March on Washington, the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. historyMario Tama/Getty ImagesTelling women that they can't do things seems to be one of man's most beloved pastimes.
You can't eat that apple, you can't vote, you can't play sports, you can't run for office, you can't serve in the military, you can't be a scientist, you can't go to space, you can't wear that outfit.
And yet, women have.
Time and time again, women have overcome barriers and expectations to accomplish incredible and important things. And we have the photos to prove it.
Looking through these 50 snaps of cool women doing cool things and looking cool doing them, a quote from Canadian politician Charlotte Whitton comes to mind:
"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good," she said. "Luckily, this is not difficult."
Next, check out some of history's most powerful speeches given by women. Then, learn about the eight most badass women of World War II.
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