Mother Teresa
1910–1997)
Albanian nun and charity worker.
Devoting her life to the service
of the poor and dispossessed
Mother Teresa became a global
icon for selfless service to
others. Through her Missionary
of Charities organisation,
she personally cared for
thousands of sick and dying
people in Calcutta. She was
awarded the Nobel Peace prize
in 1979.
Dorothy Hodgkin
(1910–1994)
British chemist. Hodgkin was
awarded the Nobel prize for her
work on critical discoveries of
the structure of both penicillin
and later insulin. These
discoveries led to significant
improvements in health care.
An outstanding chemist,
Dorothy also devoted a large
section of her life to the
peace movement and
promoting nuclear
disarmament.
Rosa Parks
(1913–2005)
American civil rights activist.
Rosa Parks’ refusal to give
up her bus seat in
Montgomery, Alabama,
indirectly led to some of
the most significant civil
rights legislation of
American history. She
sought to play down her
role in the civil rights
struggle but for her peaceful
and dignified campaigning
she became one of the most
well respected figures in the
civil rights movements.
Indira Gandhi
(1917–1984)
First female prime minister
of India. She was in power
from between 1966–77 and
1980–84. Accused of
authoritarian tendencies she
only narrowly avoided a
military coup by agreeing
to hold an election at the
end of the “emergency period”
of 1977. She was assassinated
in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards,
in response to her storming
of the Golden Temple
Queen Elizabeth II
(1926–2022)
Elizabeth II was Britain’s
longest-serving monarch
(70 years). She witnessed
rapid social and economic
change and was been a
unifying and stabilising
influence for Britain and
the Commonwealth.
This series of pictures shows a number of famous women with information about why they are included.
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