Wyrd Women

Sophie Blanchard

Sophie Blanchard was a French aeronaut and the first woman pilot balloonist.

Zheng Yi Sao was one of the most successful pirates in history.

Wang Zhenyi was a Chinese scientist and astronomer from the Qing dynasty.

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun was a prominent French portrait painter of the late 18th century best known for her portraits of Marie Antoinette.

Maria Anna Mozart was the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She was a musical virtuoso whose talent was unacknowledged due to her gender.

Julie d’Aubigny, better known as Mademoiselle Maupin or La Maupin, was a flambouyant bisexual, sword duelist, and opera singer.

Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn who came to the throne and ruled as the virgin queen defying the conventions of the time.

Christine de Pizan, famous for her Book of the City of Ladies, was a medieval writer, illuminator, and bastion of women’s rights.

Guan Daosheng is credited with being the most famous female painter and calligrapher in Chinese history.