Womanica

Sue Ko Lee (1910-1996) was a labor organizer who participated in one of the longest strikes in the history of San Francisco’s Chinatown. She and other garment workers joined forces with a white-led union to win better pay and shorter hours — and a huge victory for the Chinese American workforce.  For Further Reading:  Unbound Voices by Judy Yung - University of California Press Sue Ko Lee (U.S. Na...

Margo St. James (1937-2021) was a prominent advocate for the rights of sex workers. In 1962, she was wrongfully arrested on prostitution charges – an experience that inspired the rest of her life of activism.  For Further Reading:  Margo St. James, Advocate for Sex Workers, Dies at 83   Economic Justice for Sex Workers   Quentin Melson interviews Margo St. James in 1978  This month we’re talking a...

Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894) was an early suffragist, editor, and social advocate. After writing about a less-restrictive style of dressing for women, she became inextricably linked with it. She’s the reason we think of pantaloons as “bloomers.” And ever since, the women’s rights movement has used them as a symbol of protest and equality.  For Further Reading: Amelia Bloomer Didn’t Mean to Start a F...

Elizabeth Duncan Koontz (1919-1989) was an educator and civil rights leader, known for her pioneering efforts in advancing racial equality and women's rights. She was the first Black president of the National Education Association and later became the first Black woman to serve as the director of the Women's Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor.  For Further Reading: Elizabeth Koontz never stopp...

Whitney Duan, or Duan Weihong, (1966-unknown) is a Chinese real estate billionaire who made her fortune by mixing business with politics. In 2017, she suddenly went missing and has only resurfaced a handful of times since.   For Further Reading: Why the Ex-Husband of a Missing Chinese Billionaire Is Risking All to Tell Their Story Red Roulette: An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and...

Suzanne Roussi Césaire (1915-1966) was a Martinican writer whose essays criticized colonialism, civilization, and Caribbean identity. She helped found, write, edit, and publish Tropiques , a literary journal that gave voice to the Caribbean experience under colonialism. Although she was a significant contributor to Caribbean literature and Afro-surrealism, much of her efforts are attributed to her...

Rose Valland (1898-1980) was an art historian and curator based in Paris during the Nazi occupation. She hid in plain sight as a secretary, documenting the shipments of artistic masterpieces out of France, and is responsible for the discovery and protection of over 60,000 pieces of looted artwork. For Further Reading: Monuments Men and Women: Rose Valland Rose Valland: Art Historian Turned Spy To...

Sugawara no Takasue no musume (1008 - c. 1059), or Takasue’s daughter, was the author of “Sarashina Nikki,” or “Sarashina Diary,” a well-known book providing an in-depth look at life during Japan’s Heian period. While the book remains prolific and relevant even today, we don’t know the author's name.  For Further Reading: Heian Period (794–1185) The Sarashina Diary: A Woman’s Life in Eleventh Cent...

Anastasia Romanov (1901-1918) was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. Her death was hotly debated for years, as she was believed to have survived her family’s execution.  For Further Reading:  A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the court of Anna Anderson  The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra OTMA - The Romanov Sisters Will the Real...

Marguerite de la Rocque (c. 1542) was meant to disappear. That’s what her older relative, Sieur de Roberval, intended to happen when he marooned Marguerite on an uninhabited Canadian island. But against all odds, she survived instead.  For Further Reading: The Elusive Isle of Demons | Worlds Revealed LA ROQUE, MARGUERITE DE – Volume I (1000-1700) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography Alone Among Demo...

Barbara Newhall Follet (1914-unknown) was an American child prodigy novelist. She published two books before she was a teenager and wrote poetry as well. When she was in her twenties, she left her house after fighting with her husband and was never seen again. For Further Reading:  Farksolia: Barbara Newhall Follett’s life and letters Barbara Newhall Follett: A Life in Letters Vanishing Act Histor...

Clara Bow (1905-1965) was an American film star of the 1920s. Her flapper persona helped bring about the “it” girl and popularize the fads of the era. Her sudden retirement at the age of 28 essentially erased her from later films as the studio system grew, but she left an undeniable imprint on film history.  For Further Reading: Clara Bow: Biography Hollywood Walk of Fame Clara Bow: the hard-party...

Irmgard Keun (1905-1982) was a best-selling novelist in Germany in the early 1930s. After she ran afoul of Nazi censorship, she became an exiled, “anti-German” expatriate hiding from the Nazi regime. That’s when she was reported dead by suicide. But was that really the full story?  For Further Reading: The Extraordinary Disappearing Act of a Novelist Banned by the Nazis | History| Smithsonian Maga...

Nadine Hwang (1902-1972) was a Chinese pilot, a lesbian writer’s driver, a foreign diplomat, and a resistance fighter. In 1944, she was captured by Nazisand vanished into the Ravensbruck concentration camp – where she endured inhumane conditions, and, met the love of her life.  For Further Reading (And Watching!) Mysterious Displays of Will The story of Nadine Hwang: The ‘Chinese Joan of Arc’ Nell...

Yda Hillis Addis (c.1857-unknown) was an American writer in the California literary scene. She was the first American person to translate traditional Mexican stories into English. Her career was derailed by a life of salacious legal drama that ended in her disappearing after her release from jail.  For Further Reading: Los Angeles Times: A 19th century firecracker flames out in her private life Ac...

Petra Herrera (1887-1916) was a soldadera who dressed and lived under the name Pedro Herrera. While disguised as a man, she fought with the insurgent troops of the Mexican Revolution and reached incredible heights — but once it revealed she was a woman, she was refused military rank and removed from the army. Afterwards, she served undercover once again, this time, as a spy. For Further Reading: T...

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593- c.1656) was an Italian Baroque painter. She was one of the most accomplished 17th century artists, painting naturalistic depictions of forms and figures. But, her achievements have often been overshadowed by scandals in her personal life. For Further Reading:  A Fuller Picture of Artemisia Gentileschi Isn’t She Good – For a Woman? Artemisia’s Moment Orazio and Artemisi...

Marsha “Mudd” Ferber (1941-unknown) was a hippie, a back-to-the-lander, a revolutionary, and an outlaw. She was also the owner of The Underground Railroad, an alternative music haven in Morgantown, West Virginia that hosted the likes of The Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Grateful Dead. In 1988, she disappeared – and her whereabouts have remained a mystery to this day.  For Further Reading (and List...

Fanny Eaton (1835-1924) was a model and muse for dozens of iconic paintings from the pre-Raphaelite era. Her face can be found in museums around the world, and yet she remains unnamed and overlooked even today. For Further Reading: National Portrait Gallery: A Pre-Raphaelite Discovery   Art UK: Fanny Eaton: Jamaican Pre-Raphaelite muse   Tate Museum: Why were the Pre-Raphaelites so shocking?   His...

Jehanne D’Alcy (1865-1956) was the first French film actress. She was known for her work alongside illusionist and film director Georges Méliès. With the invention of the movie camera, she went on to star in his films - which included dozens of short, silent movies, across genres. The two are regarded as early pioneers of cinema, and remain inspirational to filmmakers even today.  For Further Read...

Ellen Craft (1826-1891) was an abolitionist and freedom seeker from Georgia. She disguised herself as a white enslaver to escape slavery with her husband, William. Their autobiography told the story of their relentless pursuit for freedom, and advocated against slavery. For Further Reading: The Remarkable True Story of the Couple Who Posed as Master and Slave to Escape Bondage "A Desperate Leap fo...

Connie Converse (1924-unknown) was an American singer songwriter who was active in the 1950s New York music scene. Her recordings are some of the earliest known recordings of the singer songwriter genre but were lost after her 1974 disappearance.  For Further Reading: Connie Converse Was ‘the Female Bob Dylan.’ Then She Disappeared. The Art of Disappearing   Connie Converse’s Time Has Come   Conni...

Gayl Jones (1949 - present) is a prolific author celebrated for her writing about Black womanhood, slavery, and the African Diaspora. She disappeared from public life by choice until very recently, when she reappeared in words with her 2021 novel, “Palmares.”  For Further Reading: “The Best American Novelist Whose Name You May Not Know”  “She Changed Black Literature Forever. Then She Disappeared....

Helga de la Brache (c.1817-1885) was the secret daughter of exiled King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. At least, that’s what she told people to earn their sympathies and money. But before there was Helga, there was Aurora Florentina Magnusson, a working class maid who transformed herself into a lost princess.  For Further Reading: Helga de la Brache: Heir to Sweden’s Throne? - Historic Mysteries Helga...

Mary Carleton (c.1634-1673) was a fraudster who posed as a German princess to marry a man she thought was a lord. When his family discovered her true identity, she was put on trial for bigamy – a trial that catapulted her to fame.  For Further Reading:  The Mary Carleton narratives, 1663-1673, a missing chapter in the history of the English novel The German princess; or, Mary Carleton in fact and...