#celebratingwomen — Public Fediverse posts

From @joannechocolat

Aesara of Lucania (Greek, 4th or 3rd century BC) was a Pythagorean philosopher, who wrote a work entitled "On Human Nature", of which a fragment is preserved by Stobaeus.

Aesara argues that it is by studying our own human nature (and specifically the human soul) that we can understand the philosophical basis for natural law and morality.

She divides the soul into three parts: the mind, which performs judgment and thought, the spirit, which contains courage and strength, and desire, which provides love and friendliness.

These things, being divine, are the rational, mathematical, and functional principles at work in the soul. Aesara's theory of natural law concerns three applications of morality, concerning the individual, the family, and social institutions.

The Pythagoreans were notable for including women in their ranks. This did not necessarily equate to modern ideas of equality; they believed that women were responsible for creating harmony and justice in the home, and that men had the same responsibility towards the state.

Seen in this context, Aesara's theory of natural law is fundamental to justice and harmony in society as a whole.

#CelebratingWomen

From @joannechocolat, cont'd

She met John "Calico Jack" Rackham, captain of the pirate sloop Revenge, who became her lover. They escaped the island together and she became a member of Rackham's crew, disguised as a man.

She took part in combat alongside the men, & accounts of her exploits present her as competent, fierce in combat, & respected by her shipmates. Governor Rogers had named her in a "Wanted Pirates" circular published in the continent's only newspaper, The Boston News-Letter.

. .. ..

On a personal note, #pirates are crossing my timeline a lot right now. If you are interested in more, also check out 'The Untitled #History' podcast on 'The Golden Age of Piracy - How Piracy Actually Worked' by @garius, available in your podcast app of choice or on YouTube below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXtW_6SfEHk

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#CelebratingWomen #Anne_Bonny #AnneBonny

From @joannechocolat

Anne Bonny (1697? –1782?) was an #Irish pirate operating in the #Caribbean, and one of several noted women in piracy.

She was the daughter of a servant woman, Mary Brennan, & her employer, lawyer William Cormac. Official records & letters dealing with her life are scarce, and most modern knowledge stems from Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates (a collection of pirate biographies).

Bonny's father, William Cormac, first moved to London to get away from his wife's family & he began dressing his daughter as a boy and calling her "Andy".

It is recorded that she had red hair & was considered a "good catch", but had a fiery temper; at age 13, she supposedly stabbed a servant girl with a table knife.
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She married a poor sailor & small-time pirate named James Bonny, who hoped to win possession of his father-in-law's estate, but she was disowned by her father, who did not approve of the connection.
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Between 1714 and 1718, the couple moved to Nassau, on New Providence Island, known as a sanctuary for English pirates, where James Bonny became an informant for the governor. Disapproving of her husband's work for the governor, Anne began mingling with #pirates in the local taverns.
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#CelebratingWomen #Anne_Bonny #AnneBonny

Dear Lovely Peeps,

Do I have anyone who enjoys the #CelebratingWomen posts (by Joanne Harris, & that I sometimes add to) who might be willing to provide alt-text for the images?

She posts about so many great & interesting women, but each of them takes me about an hour to publish and it is daunting - and discouraging because so much of the time I just do not have the words (or vocabulary) to describe the image.

Yet I don't want to publish without the image because they are usually so interesting, and in some cases directly relevant.

Posting without alt-text is not an option.

It seems they come out (on average) about three times a week. Sometimes she posts almost every day, and then there is a lull for a few weeks.

I don't want to give up on them, but right now I have very limited spoons for even being online, let alone posting anything, and I have heard there is this thing one can do, called 'asking for help' ... 😄

I do know Alt-for-me exists, but I worry it might be hit or miss, and would appreciate having a couple of people who are interested in history, good with descriptions (some of you are FABULOUS at this! 🤩), who would be willing to help out.

If that is you, please let me know!! Thank you! 🙏

~

I should say, I take alt-text very seriously & want it to actually describe the image, not just 'woman in blue dress'.

If you read any of my alt-text in previous posts, you'll see what I mean. 😊

Thank you! 🙏

From @joannechocolat

Selika Lazevski was an #equestrienne in Belle Époque Paris. In 1891, she was the subject of a series of six portraits at the studio of Paul Nadar in Paris.

Little is known of her life, but she was a horsewoman who rode haute école at the Nouveau Cirque (1886-1926) on rue Saint-Honoré, Paris.

On a personal note: today I (also) learned about haute école:

'The first women to perform on horseback in the circus were trick riders & acrobats with tantalizingly short skirts, bare arms, and exposed pantaloons.

In the 1830s, when the sidesaddle was reinvented, some women moved on to the haute école, the striking, disciplined '#equestrian ballet' that had evolved from Xenophon’s 'On Horsemanship' to the power play of early-modern court carousels & cavalry-school drills.

These écuyères de haute école were among the first women to undertake this most masculine and prestigious of equestrian sports as professionals, and they did it à l’amazone (sidesaddle), en amazone (in a riding habit), & as amazones (the savage, romantic warriors of the Bronze Age transformed into brave but genteel sportswomen).

To the dance steps of the passage and the skipping one-tempi canter, the horse & écuyère added perilous stunts: the horse walking on its hind legs as its mistress lay on his back ...; the horse and amazone jumping high hurdles ...; the horse skipping a rope turned by its rider ...' - by Susanna Forrest in The Paris Review

#CelebratingWomen #BlackHistory

From @joannechocolat

#Anyte of Tegea (#Greece: early 3rd century BC) was an Arcadian poet. She is named as one of the nine outstanding women poets of antiquity by Antipater of Thessalonica in the Palatine Anthology.

No reliable information about her life survives, and she can only be approximately dated by the style of her work. She was known for her #epigrams, and she introduced rural themes to the genre.

Only one story about Anyte's life is preserved. #Pausanias claims that Anyte was once visited by the god #Asclepius while she was asleep, and told to go to Naupactus to visit a certain blind man there. On doing so, the man was cured, and he built a temple to Asclepius.

Though so little is known about Anyte's life, more of her #poetry survives than any other ancient #Greek woman, with the exception of #Sappho.

Personal note: Joanne's 'Celebrating Women' posts never fail to send me down *multiple* rabbit holes, and this one was a veritable warren of warrens! 😄 But interesting!

#CelebratingWomen #AncientGreece

From @joannechocolat

#Maria_Gaetana_Agnesi (1718 – 1799) was an #Italian mathematician, philosopher, theologian, & humanitarian. She was the first woman to write a #mathematics handbook and the first woman appointed as a mathematics professor at a university.

Maria was recognized early on as a child prodigy; she could speak both Italian and French at five years of age. By her eleventh birthday, she had also learned Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, German, and Latin, and was referred to as the "Seven-Tongued Orator".

When she was nine years old, she composed & delivered an hour-long speech in #Latin to some of the most distinguished intellectuals of the day. The subject was "A Woman's Right to be Educated."

As an adolescent she suffered convulsions, which were attributed to excessive studying, but when it was noted that her health deteriorated when she was not allowed access to books, she was permitted to continue.

She never married, and although her father would not allow her to enter a convent, lived in semi-seclusion throughout most of her adult life, devoting herself to her studies. After her father's death in 1752 she devoted herself to the poor, giving away the gifts she had received.

She is credited with writing the first book discussing both differential and integral #calculus and was a member of the faculty at the University of Bologna, although she never served. In spite of her family's wealth, she died in poverty and was buried in a pauper's grave.

#CelebratingWomen

From @joannechocolat

Lucy Eldine Gonzalez Parsons (c. 1853 – March 7, 1942) was an American labour organizer, feminist and radical socialist. She is remembered as a powerful orator.

Personal note: Her early days are difficult to pin down. It is believed she was born into slavery, although she said she was born to Mexican & Native American parents.

She led the first May Day parade in #Chicago in 1886, and also unionized the city’s only female workers organization at the time, Working Women’s #Union No. 1 (WWU).

She was feared & revered for her ability to organise, and in the words of the Chicago police she was “more dangerous than a thousand rioters.”

For readers, you might be interested in a biography titled 'Goddess of Anarchy : The Life and Times of Lucy Parsons, American Radical' by #Jacqueline_Jones

#CelebratingWomen #Lucy_Parsons #Lucy_Eldine_Gonzalez_Parsons #Resistance #History #HistoryMatters #BlackHistory

From @joannechocolat

Wallada bint al-Mustakfi (born in Córdoba in 1001 – died 1091), was an Andalusian poet. The only child of Muhammad III of Córdoba, Wallada inherited his fortune, and used it to open a palace and literary hall in Córdoba.

There she offered instruction in #poetry and the arts of love to women of all classes, from those of noble birth to slaves.

She was considered a great beauty for her time: blonde, fair-skinned and blue-eyed, in addition to being intelligent, cultured and proud.

She was also controversial, walking out in public without a hijab, wearing transparent tunics with her verses embroidered on her clothing. Her behaviour was regarded by the local mullahs as perverse and was harshly criticized, but she also had a tremendous following.

#Wallada gained recognition for her skill in public poetry competitions, which was at the time a male pursuit. It was during one of these competitions that she met her great love, the poet Ibn Zaydún, though their relationship had to remain a secret.

Only 9 poems by Wallada have survived. Eight of these were written about this relationship. One implies that the relationship ended because of an affair between Zaydún and a black (male) lover.

She writes:

"You know that I am the moon of the skies, But, to my disgrace, you preferred a dark planet."

Reminder to those still unconvinced about the historical realism of various kinds of diversity:

THIS WAS THE EARLY ELEVENTH CENTURY.

#CelebratingWomen

Radia Joy Perlman came up with a brilliant solution in just a few days to make computer networks both larger and more reliable.

She created #STP, which allows networks to have backup paths for safety, but turns off any extra paths that could cause a loop. This leaves just one clear, active path for data to travel between any two points on the network.

Perlman even wrote a short #poem, called "Algorhyme," to explain how STP works: 🤩

I think that I shall never see
A graph more lovely than a tree.

A tree whose crucial property
Is loop-free connectivity.

A tree which must be sure to span
So packets can reach every LAN.

First the root must be selected.
By ID it is elected.

Least cost paths from root are traced.
In the tree these paths are placed.

A mesh is made by folks like me
Then bridges find a spanning tree.

— #Radia_Joy_Perlman

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#CelebratingWomen #Poetry #Computer_Science

From @joannechocolat

Radia Joy Perlman (born 1951) is an American computer programmer, network engineer, & major figure in assembling the networks and technology to enable what we now know as the Internet.

Personal note:

First of all, I love her name! "Radiating (happy, bright) Joy" - and all the photos of her I have seen seem to bear that out! 😊

Her best-known contribution is the Spanning Tree Protocol (#STP), which transformed Ethernet from a technology limited to a few hundred nodes confined w/i a single building into a technology that can create large networks with hundreds of thousands of computers, & made fundamental contributions to internet routing, making it more resilient, scalable & easy to manage. The protocols she designed in the 80s remain widely deployed today.

At the time, if a network had extra connections (called redundant links), it could create a "loop." A loop would cause data to circle around forever, flooding the network and causing it to fail.

Perlman came up with a brilliant solution in just a few days. She created STP, which allows networks to have backup paths for safety, but turns off any extra paths that could cause a loop. This leaves just one clear, active path for data to travel between any two points on the network.

Perlman even wrote a short #poem, called "Algorhyme," to explain how STP works: 🤩

(To be continued ...)

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#CelebratingWomen #Radia_Joy_Perlman #Computer_Science

From @joannechocolat

Maria Anna Mozart (1751 – 1829) was the sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As a child she accompanied him on foreign tours, often earning top billing, and excelled in both performance and composition, but when she reached marriageable age at 17, she was no longer allowed to perform.

Instead she became a music teacher. Letters from her brother show that he thought very highly of her compositions, but none of them have survived. Her father took charge of her eldest son Leopold when he was born - supposedly to help out after the birth - but the boy never returned to his mother.

She had several other children, and lived till the age of 78. People often ask themselves what would have happened if Wolfgang Amadeus had survived beyond the age of 35. To me, the real question is: what would have happened if his sister had been allowed to pursue her talent?

#CelebratingWomen #MariaAnnaMozart #Maria_Anna_Mozart #Mozart #MusicHistory

From @joannechocolat

Naqiʾa was a wife of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (705–681 BC).

She was highly influential in Assyrian #history as well as being one of only a few Assyrian women to be depicted in art,

... and is the only known ancient Assyrian figure other than kings to write and issue a treaty. 🤩

#CelebratingWomen #Zakūtu #Naqiʾa #Assyria

From @joannechocolat

Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794 – 1871), was a pioneering #French marine biologist, described by English biologist Richard Owen as the "Mother of Aquariophily."

In 1832 she was the first person to invent and create aquaria for experimenting with aquatic organisms.

Personal note: She created the first offshore research stations — a system of immense cages she anchored off the coast of #Sicily, complete with observation windows through which she could study #argonauts * undisturbed. 🐙

(* an octopus known as paper #nautilus for the thin, intricately corrugated shell of its females and the sail-like membranes protruding from it like a pair of bunny ears)

Every day, she prepared food for them, rowed her boat to the cages in her long skirts (👀 !!), and knelt at the platform, observing for hours on end.

As one can imagine, that got old fast (!!) so, in order to transfer her observations and experiments ashore, she pioneered the #aquarium.

For interested readers, you might want to check out The Lady and the #Octopus:
How #Jeanne_Villepreux_Power Invented #Aquariums and Revolutionized #Marine_Biology by #Danna_Staaf

or this essay https://www.themarginalian.org/2022/12/26/jeanne-villepreux-power-argonaut/

#CelebratingWomen #MarineBiology #Cephalopods

From @joannechocolat

#Veleda (AD 69–84) was a seeress of the #Bructeri, a Germanic people who achieved prominence during the Batavian rebellion of AD 69–70, headed by the Batavian chieftain Gaius Julius Civilis, when she correctly predicted the initial successes of the rebels against Roman legions. #CelebratingWomen

From Wiki:

'The ancient Germanic peoples discerned a divinity of #prophecy in women & regarded prophetesses as true and living goddesses. In the latter half of the 1st century AD, Veleda was regarded as a deity by most of the tribes in central #Germany and enjoyed wide influence.' 😃

She has been referenced in art, music, and books - and for fans of historical mystery / crime genres, in The Iron Hand Of Mars and Saturnalia, both in the Marcus Didius Falco series by #Lindsey_Davis.

#CelebratingWomen #Laurent_Marqueste #HistoricalFiction #Historical_Fiction #HistoricalMystery #Historical_Mystery

From @joannechocolat

#Benerib (c. 3050 BC) was a queen consort of ancient #Egypt from First Dynasty.

She was a wife of #pharaoh Hor-Aha, but it is unclear which one ("Benerib" means "sweetheart.")

Either way, she was loved. 🥰

(Image below is a fragment of an ivory box with the names of Hor-Aha and Benerib, found at #Abydos.)

Personal note: In researching this, I came across a different ivory panel described as 'serekh of Hor-Aha in the centre, and Benerib's name is only partially visible at the bottom'.

#TIL from Wiki a 'serekh' is a rectangular enclosure representing the niched or gated façade of a palace surmounted by (usually) the Horus falcon, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name.

The serekh was the earliest convention used to set apart the royal name in ancient Egyptian iconography, predating the later and better known #cartouche by four dynasties and five to seven hundred years.

(And 'cartouche' is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the feature did not come into common use until the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu.)

#CelebratingWomen #HorAha #Hor_Aha #Hieroglyphs

From @joannechocolat

C (1914 – 1944) was a British agent in France in the Second World War who served in the Special Operations Executive.

She became the first female #wireless operator to be sent from the UK into occupied France to aid the French #Resistance during #WW2.

From the BBC history archives:

She was born in Moscow to an Indian father & American mother and was a direct descendant of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century Muslim ruler of Mysore. Khan's father was a musician and Sufi teacher who moved his family first to London, then to Paris, where Khan was educated and later worked writing childrens' stories.

She escaped to England after the fall of France. In November 1940, she joined the WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) and in late 1942, she was recruited to join SOE as a radio operator.

Sounds like quite the life!

#CelebratingWomen #Nora_Baker #Noor_Inayat_Khan #FrenchResistance #French_Resistance

From @joannechocolat

Maddalena Casulana (1544–1590) was an Italian #composer, lutenist, and singer.

In #Venice, her book of madrigals for four voices, "Il primo libro di madrigali", was the first printed and published work by a woman in Western #music #history.

Personal note: much of her work has been lost or is incomplete, but several pieces have been found, restored, & were performed for the first time in 400 years in 2022, on BBC Radio 3 for #InternationalWomensDay

#CelebratingWomen #Italy #Maddalena_Casulana #IWD #Artemisia_Gentileschi #Madrigals

From @joannechocolat

Fatima al-Fihri (died 880 CE) is credited with founding the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, #Morocco.

The mosque subsequently developed into a teaching establishment, and ultimately became the modern University of al-Qarawiyyin in 1963, making it the oldest university in the world.

. .. ...

Personal note: The University of al-Qarawiyyin is still in operation today, and amid its other attractions, houses one of the world’s oldest #libraries, with over 4000 manuscripts, including the famous historian Ibn Khaldun’s 14th-century text Muqaddimah.

The #library was carefully renovated in 2016, pioneered by female architect Aziza Chaouni, who also wanted to make it accessible to the general public, not just researchers

That has now happened, and amongst other treasures, exhibits Fatima al-Fihri’s original diploma!

#CelebratingWomen #Education #Fatima_al_Fihri #Aziza_Chaouni #Architecture

From @joannechocolat

Elizabeth J. Magie Phillips (1866-1948) was an American game designer, #inventor, feminist, and writer. She invented The Landlord's Game, the direct precursor to #Monopoly, although she was never credited for this during her lifetime.

. .. ...

Personal note: she said “the object of the game is not only to afford amusement to the players, but to illustrate to them how under the present or prevailing system of land tenure, the landlord has an advantage over other enterprises and also how the single tax would discourage land speculation.”

She was a proponent of #Georgism, a single tax movement widely popularized by charismatic politician Henry George through his first book, Progress and Poverty - an economic ideology that government should be funded by a tax on land rent (wealthy landlords) & not by taxes on labour.

He might have been on to something! 🧐 Can we have this now? Please? 🙏

#CelebratingWomen #BoardGames #Henry_George #Landlords #Taxes #Elizabeth_J._Magie_Phillips

From @joannechocolat

Louise Thuliez (1881 – 1966) was a French schoolteacher, author and #resistance fighter during World War I and World War II.

Despite having been caught, condemned to death, and narrowly escaping a German firing squad during World War I, Thuliez volunteered again in World War II.

. .. ...

Personal note: When asked why she took such risks - especially since she was already well-known for her actions in WWI and the danger would be so much greater, she replied 'Because I am a French-woman'' Vive la France! 🇫🇷

Again, her life is so much more interesting than these few lines can show. She wrote of her time in prison (during the first war) in 'Condemned to Death' in 1933,which won a #Montyon Prize in 1935

#CelebratingWomen #France #Teachers

From @joannechocolat

Savitribai Phule (1831 – 1897) was an Indian educator, social reformer, and #poet, regarded as the first female #teacher of modern India.

She played a pivotal role in advancing women's rights and education, and her legacy continues to influence social reform movements across #India.

. .. ...

Personal note: again, Joanne only has limited characters with which to write a bio; I encourage you to do even a single rudimentary search on #Savitribai_Phule - what she did for women, child brides, widows, and lower castes was extraordinary.

#CelebratingWomen #Education #WomensRights #Poetry #SocialReform

From @joannechocolat

Élisabeth Thible (1757–1785) was the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon.

She was a professional #opera singer, and during her first flight, sang several operatic duets whilst also feeding the balloon's firebox, dressed as the goddess #Minerva.

Illustration credit: Bernardo França

#CelebratingWomen #Élisabeth_Thible #HotAirBalloon #Hot_Air_Balloon

From @joannechocolat

Caroline Herschel (1750 – 1848) was a German astronomer, whose most significant contributions to #astronomy were the discoveries of several comets, including the periodic comet 35P/Herschel–Rigollet, which bears her name.

. .. ...

Personal note: I hope these posts whet some appetites! Joanne is limited to less than 300 characters, and there is always SO much more that could be said about these women!

One can start with 'The Comet Sweeper: Caroline Herschel’s Astronomical Ambition' by Claire Brock. It is based substantially on the autobiographical writing of Herschel, but she was sufficiently well-known at the time to be referenced elsewhere, and later in her life she was bestowed with various honours and medals for her astronomical work.

#CelebratingWomen #Caroline_Herschel #BookRecommendation

From @joannechocolat, March 17, 2026

Renée Richards (b. 1934) is a former tennis player who fought to compete as a woman in the 1976 US Open.

The New York Supreme Court ruled in her favour, a landmark case in transgender rights.

After retiring from play, she coached Martina Navratilova to two Wimbledon titles.

#CelebratingWomen #TDOV #Renée_Richards #Tennis

From @joannechocolat

Elizabeth, Lady Wilbraham (1632 – 1705) was a member of the English aristocracy and a major architectural patron.

Unable to become an #architect because she was a woman, she studied in #Italy and tutored Christopher Wren, who may have been given credit for hundreds of her designs.

. . ...

(For those of you who may not know, this series originally began as # Neglected Women & was to highlight women whose achievements have been usurped by men.

It became # CelebratingWomen', which is much more positive, and then became more about remarkable women in general - including many now who are still alive - but it is still interesting to see this calling back to the original idea, and to realise how much of the *full* identity of woman has been lost.)

This ainting of Lady Elizabeth Wilbraham is by Sir Peter Lely, 17th century. (Peter Lely, 1618-1680)

#CelebratingWomen #Christopher_Wren #Architecture #Lady_Elizabeth_Wilbraham #Sir_Peter_Lely

From @joannechocolat

Amina (1533 -1610) was a #Hausa #queen in the city-state of #Zazzau (now #Zaria), in what is now the north-west region of #Nigeria.

A fearsome leader, she built huge fortifications, massively expanded her territory over 35 years and created trade routes throughout Northern #Africa.

#CelebratingWomen

From @joannechocolat

Rani Lakshmibai was a leading figure of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British rule.

Born in 1828, she became the queen of #Jhansi after marrying the king, was widowed at a young age and refused to surrender to the British, leading her own army in the rebellion.

#CelebratingWomen #Rani_Lakshmibai #India

From @joannechocolat

Sigríður Tómasdóttir (1871–1957) was an Icelandic environmentalist whose activism helped preserve the Gullfoss waterfalls, protecting them from industrialization.

She is widely seen as Iceland's first #environmentalist and is memorialized on a sculpture near #Gullfoss.

#CelebratingWomen #Sigríður_Tómasdóttir #Iceland #Environmentalism

From @joannechocolat

Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din (1205 – 1240), popularly known as Razia Sultan, was the Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate from 1236 until her deposition in 1240.

She was the first female #Muslim ruler of the subcontinent, and the only female Muslim ruler of #Delhi.

#CelebratingWomen