The Coolest Female Firsts in History

Marie Curie won the first Nobel Prize for women in 1903.

Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor in the United States in 1849.

Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928.

Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963.

In 1921, Bessie Coleman became the first woman of African American and Native American descent to earn her pilot's license.

Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female US Supreme Court Justice in 1981.

Aretha Franklin was the first female Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 1987.

Jacqueline Cochran broke the sound barrier in flight in 1953.

Admiral Michelle Howard became the first female Four Star Admiral in the US Navy in 2014.

Benazir Bhutto became the first female head of state of a Muslim Nation in 1988.

Juliana Morell earned her doctorate degree in 1608, making her the first female to do so.

Females graduated from the US Army Ranger School first in 2015.

Edith Wharton was the first female in 1921.Edith Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Katie Higgins became the first female Blue Angels Pilot in 2015.

Junko Tabei climbed Mt. Everest first in 1975.

Victoria Woodhull was the first female US Presidential Candidate in 1872.

Bobbi Gibb ran the entire Boston Marathon first in 1966.

Belva Ann Lockwood argued before the US Supreme Court first in 1873.

Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to the US House of Representatives in 1916.

Frances Perkins became the first female Presidential Cabinet Member in 1933.

Hélène de Pourtalès was the first female in 1900.Hélène de Pourtalès won the Olympic Gold Medal.

Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to do a spacewalk in 1984.

Margaret Thatcher was the first woman in 1979.Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of Britain.Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of Britain.

Katharine Graham became the first female Fortune 500 Company CEO in 1972.

Mary Davenport Engberg conducted the first symphony orchestra first in 1914.

An Anonymous Marine became the first female graduate of the US Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course in 2017.

Madeleine Albright became the first female US Secretary of State in 1997.

Anne Bradstreet published the first American author in 1650.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first female Head of State in Africa in 2006.

Sarah Thomas became the first female NFL Official in 2015.

Jessica Meir and Christina Koch completed the first all-female spacewalk.Jessica Meir and Christina Koch completed the first all-female spacewalk.The spacewalk happened outside the Internationals Space Station on October 18, 2019. It lasted seven hours, from 7:38am ET to 2:55pm ET.

Upon returning to Earth, Koch set the record for the longest female spaceflight at 328 days in orbit.Koch stayed in orbit for 328 days.Peggy Whitson held the previous record, staying in space for 288 days between 2016 and 2017.

Susanna M. Salter became the first female Elected Mayor in the US in 1887.

Kathryn Bigelow won the first Academy Award for Best Director in 2010.

Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1977.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first female Head of Government in 1960.

Constance Markiewicz became the first woman elected to the British Parliament in 1918.

Elizabeth Cowell became the first female Television Announcer in 1936.

Kristen Griest became the first female infantry officer in the US Army in 2016.

Barbara Mikulski became the first woman to wear pants on the US Senate Floor in 1993.

Diane Crump became the first female Jockey in the Kentucky Derby in 1970.

Sahle-Work Zewde became the first female president of Ethiopia in 2018.

Laura Keene became the first Female Theatre Owner and Manager in 1855.

Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Award in 1929.

Stacey Cunningham became the first Female CEO of the New York Stock Exchange in 2018.

Drew Gilpin Faust became the first Female President of Harvard in 2007.

Cristeta Comerford became the first Female White House Executive Chef in 2005.

Angela Merkel became the first Female Chancellor of Germany in 2005.

Sandra Oh was the first Asian Female Emmy Nominee in a Lead Actress Category (Drama) in 2018.Sandra Oh starred in Killing Eve.Sandra Oh starred in Killing Eve.

Jen Welter became the first Female NFL Coach in 2015.

Maud Wagner became the first Known Female Tattoo Artist in the US in 1911.