Famous female spiritual leaders. The most famous women Salma Hayek and Frida Kahlo

It is customary to think that making history is a purely masculine thing, and the main characters in it are brutal commanders, courageous rulers, talented orators, restless revolutionaries and public figures. However, in the history of our country there were many strong and smart women who made an invaluable contribution to its development.

Women scientists, women empresses, women writers - it was they who meticulously built and methodically destroyed the careers of great men, more than once sharply turning the course of history and culture. Women who were ahead of their time more than once, women who showed real endurance and incredible firmness, women whom we admire and who we still try to imitate.

Duchess Olga

Princess Olga - ruler ancient Russian state from 945 to about 960. The first of the Russian rulers adopted Christianity even before the baptism of Russia and the first Russian saint. After the death of her husband, Prince Igor Rurikovich, she cruelly and subtly took revenge on the worst enemies of the Drevlyans for his death, and then completely gathered an army for a military campaign, walking through the Drevlyan land with a sword, setting tributes and taxes.

Thus, the unity of the territory was preserved and even increased, and Olga herself was considered among the people as a wise and fair ruler.

After her triumphant return to Kyiv, with her fearlessness, wisdom, will and cunning, she proved that she was able to single-handedly manage the state, protecting it from enemies. Leaving external affairs, she turned to internal problems: she held the first in the history of Russia financial reform, marked the beginning of stone town planning.

Although both the squad and the Russian people under her were pagans, Olga herself was baptized, and after her death she was canonized as a saint Equal-to-the-Apostles. Only 5 other holy women in Christian history have received such an honor (Mary Magdalene, First Martyr Thekla, Martyr Apphia, Empress Helena Equal-to-the-Apostles and Enlightener of Georgia Nina).

Feodosia Morozova

Boyar Theodosius Morozova (Julia Melnikova). Shot from the film "Split"

Boyarynya Morozova is the most famous Old Believer, who has become a symbol of masculinity, iron will and fearlessness in the struggle for her beliefs. The main activist of the Russian Old Believers, an associate of Archpriest Avvakum for her adherence to the "old faith" was arrested by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and then deprived of her estate and all honors, was exiled to the Pafnutyevo-Borovsky Monastery, where she was subjected to severe torture and interrogations and withstood them, was she was imprisoned in an earthen prison in Borovsky city prison, and 14 of her servants were burned in a log house for belonging to the old faith at the end of June 1675. Dying from physical exhaustion, Feodosia Morozova asked her jailer to wash her shirt in the river before her death in order to die in a clean shirt. Revered by the Old Believer Church as a saint.

Ekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova-Dashkova

One of the notable personalities of the Russian Enlightenment, Ekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova-Dashkova became the first woman in the world to manage the Academy of Sciences. Friend and associate of the future Empress Catherine II, an active participant in coup d'état 1762, which she described in great detail in her memoirs.

However. After accession to the throne of the empress, Dashkova did not play any role in politics. At her suggestion, the Imperial Russian Academy was also established, with one of its main goals being the study of the Russian language. On her own initiative, the magazine "Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word" was founded, which was published in 1783 and 1784 (16 books) and was of a satirical and journalistic nature. The best literary minds of that time were published in it: Fonvizin, Derzhavin, Kheraskov, Knyazhnin and Bogdanovich.

Dashkova translated Voltaire's "Experience on Epic Poetry" with her own hand, wrote poetry in Russian and French, and was the author of several academic speeches.

Catherine II the Great

The All-Russian Empress, who ruled from 1762 to 1796, who came to power as a result of palace coup, who overthrew her husband Peter III, unpopular among the people and guards, from the throne. As a result of the reign of Catherine, there was a significant strengthening of the Russian state, and her policy was called enlightened absolutism. Culturally, the Empress contributed to the entry of Russia into the ranks of the great European powers, she herself was fond of literary activity, was engaged in patronage, collected masterpieces of painting and was in correspondence with the French enlighteners. Under her, the boundaries of the empire were greatly expanded: the annexation of Novorossia, the Crimea, partly the Caucasus, as well as sections of the Commonwealth.

Sofia Kovalevskaya

The first in Russia and in Northern Europe female professor and the world's first female professor of mathematics. Foreign Corresponding Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Daughter of Lieutenant General of Artillery V.V. Korvin-Krukovsky and Elizaveta Feodorovna, who received her first mathematics lessons from governesses and a home tutor.

The admission of women to higher educational institutions in Russia at that time was prohibited and the only way to continue their education was to go abroad to enter foreign university. However, a travel passport could only be issued with the permission of the parents or husband. The father opposed the "scientific" future of his daughter, so Sophia had to independently organize a fictitious marriage with a young scientist V. O. Kovalevsky.

In 1874, after defending her dissertation at the University of Göttingen, Kovalevskaya was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

In 1879 she made a presentation at the 6th Congress of Naturalists in St. Petersburg, and in 1881 Kovalevskaya was elected a member of the Moscow Mathematical Society.

In 1884 he was a professor at the Department of Mathematics at Stockholm University, and in 1888 he was a laureate of the Borden Prize of the Paris Academy of Sciences.

In 1889 he was awarded the Swedish Academy of Sciences and was elected a corresponding member of the Physics and Mathematics Department. Russian Academy Sciences. In addition to mathematics, she was engaged in literary work: the author of several stories, essays and a book of memoirs.

Anna Pavlova

One of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century, whose name is still a symbol of Russian ballet of the 20th century. According to some critics, the main difference between Pavlova and other dancers who shone on the stages of theaters before and after her was her unique and incomparable character, personality and temperament. She herself was the living embodiment of dance: she lived by it, lived in it and for its sake.

After the end of the Imperial theater school, Pavlova was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater and, after 7 years of performing parts in classical ballets, took the place of the leading dancer of the troupe. In 1907, at a charity evening at the Mariinsky Theater, she performed the miniature The Dying Swan, fateful for her career, composed for her by M. Fokin and brought her fame, and after participating in Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in Paris, she became world famous. .

“The secret of my popularity is in the sincerity of my art,” Pavlova repeated more than once, drawing up her tour routes, crossing all the continents of the earth, carrying choreographic culture even to the most remote corners of the world. It is with her name that the Russian ballet school is still associated.

Natalia Goncharova

The famous painter, theater artist and graphic artist, whose name is associated with the art of the avant-garde era in Russia, was the great-grandniece of Pushkin's wife, Natalya Nikolaevna Goncharova. She was actively engaged in book illustration, lithography, poster art, participated in productions of Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, and was engaged in solo exhibitions. Natalya Sergeevna Goncharova was distinguished by her incredible ability to work.

At one of the exhibitions in Moscow, she presented 762 works. According to the memoirs of her contemporaries, she had extraordinary charisma and was a brilliant orator. Her exhibitions continue to be very popular even after her death, and her paintings are more expensive than any other artists in the world of art.

Anna Akhmatova

The greatest Russian poetess, one of the most prominent figures Silver Age Russian culture, whose poems remain relevant for any time. Her bright talent, outstanding personality and incredibly tragic fate left perhaps one of the deepest traces not only in the culture of the 20th century, but in the history of Russia in general.

Translator and literary critic, nominee for Nobel Prize in literature, mother and wife, a disgraced poetess - all this is one person, a woman who, in pre-revolutionary Russia managed to feel the taste of fame, publishing her first collections in considerable editions. In post-revolutionary Russia, however, there was not and could not be a place for Akhmatova, as well as for many talented people, scientists, cultural and art workers.

And then everything rolled into the abyss: the arrests of relatives, the exile of the only son, executions, Patriotic War and the blockade of Leningrad ... Akhmatova's tragedy is the tragedy of an entire people, which she embodied in her poems, talking about the monstrous and unfair upheavals that befell them.

Having passed the literary path from poetry, according to Akhmatova herself, which were “suitable only for lyceum students in love”, and ending with essays about Soviet repressions, Akhmatova became a symbol of several eras that hastily, bloody and cruelly succeeded each other.

Vera Cold

Extraordinary appearance, natural charm and naturalness helped Vera Kholodnaya to become the most famous and famous actress of her time in a very short period of her film career. "Queen of the Screen", trendsetter, the personification of a new decadent type that came to Russia in the 1910s, replacing the rather boring image of a "cheeky, ruddy Russian beauty."

Vera Kholodnaya was filmed by the best directors of that time: E. Bauer, V. Viskovskiy, P. Chardynin, Ch. Sabinsky. In 1917, one of her best films, By the Fireplace, was released on the screen, which was a resounding success with the public and, of course, was later destroyed. Soviet power, like other popular pre-revolutionary films.

Vera Kholodnaya was incredibly popular abroad: films with her participation were shown on the screens of Europe, America, Turkey and mysterious and unknown Japan. She was offered contracts by European film studios, but she refused, saying that her place was only in Russia.

It seemed that nothing threatened her popularity: neither the revolution nor Civil War, but the sudden and early death of the actress disrupted all plans and led to a long series of rumors and disputes about the true reason for her sudden death. Thus, Vera Kholodnaya went down in history not only as the most popular actress of the silent film era in Russia, but also as one of the most mysterious women in her history.

Valentina Tereshkova

The world's first and so far the only woman in the world to have made a space flight alone, Valentina Tereshkova was born in the family of a tractor driver and a textile factory worker.

At the beginning of 1962, out of several hundred applicants, she was selected as candidates for the role of the first female astronaut in history. During the training, she underwent endless training on the stability of the body and parachute training. The launch of the Vostok-6 spacecraft took place on the morning of June 16, 1963, and the first female cosmonaut in history landed on the morning of June 19.

In total, the flight lasted two days, 22 hours and 41 minutes. During this time, Valentina Tereshkova made 48 orbits around the Earth. By the way, naturally, Valentina Tereshkova did not tell her relatives about her flight: firstly, it was a military secret, and secondly, like the rest, she did not know how such a flight could end. So the relatives of Valentina Tereshkova learned about the feat of the hero on the radio.

Madonna and Eva Peron

In the 1996 film Evita, Madonna played the Argentine actress and first lady Eva Duarte, the wife of Colonel Juan Peron, who became a tyrannical president.

Nicole Kidman and Virginia Woolf

In 2002, Nicole Kidman radically changed her appearance in order to play the famous British writer in the film Hours.

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Marion Cotillard and Edith Piaf

For the role of the legendary "Sparrow" in the 2007 film "Life in Rose" Marion Cotillard received an Oscar.

Salma Hayek and Frida Kahlo

In the 2002 drama, the Mexican Hayek played her famous compatriot, the artist Frida. The acting of the actress impressed not only the jury of prestigious film awards, but also Frida's niece, who presented Salma with the artist's necklace as a sign of gratitude.

Fanny Ardan and Maria Callas

In the same 2002, the drama Callas Forever, dedicated to the great opera diva, was released. True, the events that occur with Callas in the picture are fictional.

Naomi Watts and Diana

The plot of the 2013 film Diana: A Love Story is based on real romance Princess of Wales with Pakistani cardiac surgeon Hasnat Khan, but the details of the secret love affair are fictitious, because of which the leading lady Naomi Watts came under an avalanche of criticism from both members of the royal family and Khan himself.

Nicole Kidman and Grace Kelly

In 2013, another film was released about a beautiful blonde who, like Diana, “retrained”, like Diana, into a princess from a mere mortal. And like Diana, actress Nicole Kidman has been heavily criticized for playing Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco. The story described in the picture has little to do with reality, and Kidman's game caused discontent and ridicule.

Julia Peresild and Lyudmila Gurchenko

In 2015, the series about the great Soviet artist caused discontent among Gurchenko's fans. However, the main complaints were about the script of the series, but the critics were satisfied with the performance of Yulia Peresild.

Michelle Williams and Marilyn Monroe

Michelle Williams was nominated for an Oscar for the title role in the melodrama 7 Days and Nights with Marilyn.

Lindsay Lohan and Elizabeth Taylor

The 2012 film Liz & Dick tells the controversial love story of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The stormy romance of the two actors is really worthy of a film adaptation, but not the one where LiLo played. Critics smashed both her game and the entire project as a whole.

Katie Holmes and Jackie Kennedy

The mini-series The Kennedy Clan tells the tragic story of the 35th President of the United States and his first lady, played by Holmes. By the way, in this film, Marilyn Monroe, with whom Kennedy had an affair, was played by Canadian actress Charlotte Sullivan.

Meryl Streep and Margaret Thatcher

Meryl Streep received her third Oscar for the role of the Iron Lady, but the hero of the occasion herself was not satisfied with the film.

If Streep decided to play only the British Prime Minister, then Helen Mirren swung at the Queen herself. And moreover, in the most controversial period of her life - when Elizabeth II was supposed to officially indicate her position on the fact of the death of Princess Diana. For courage and talent, Mirren was awarded an Oscar, but Her Majesty politely refused to watch, because she did not want to relive "one of the worst weeks of her life."

For the fashion world of the 80s, the name Gia Carangi meant the same as Kate Moss in the 90s. A resounding success, a tragic addiction to drugs and, unfortunately, a sad end. Gia went down in history not only as a supermodel: her death is the first recorded case of a female death from AIDS.

Scarlett Johansson and Janet Leigh

In the 2012 biopic Hitchcock, Scarlett played an episodic role, embodying the image of the famous actress Janet Leigh, the star of the legendary thriller Psycho.

Laetitia Casta and Brigitte Bardot

Another artistic fantasy based on real events is a film about the legendary French singer and poet Gainsbourg. Hooligan love. One of the musician's mistresses, actress Brigitte Bardot, was played by supermodel Laetitia Casta.

Jennifer Love Hewitt and Audrey Hepburn

The 2000 film The Audrey Hepburn Story was not a big success and never helped actress Jennifer Love Hewitt climb into first-tier actresses.

Cate Blanchett and Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn, the famous Hollywood beauty, died in 2003 - a year before the premiere of the drama "The Aviator", where she was played by Cate Blanchett, receiving her first Oscar.

Another heroine of The Aviator is the sex symbol of the 30s, Jean Harlow. At one time, Marilyn Monroe also intended to play her, but did not have time due to her sudden death. For the singer Gwen Stefani, the role of Harlow - one of the lovers of the eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes - was the first and only.

Audrey Tautou and Coco Chanel

Keira Knightley was up for the title role in the drama Coco Before Chanel, but who better to play the iconic Frenchwoman than the Frenchwoman herself? The role went to Audrey Tautou.

In the series "Orlova and Alexandrov", dedicated, of course, to the actress Lyubov Orlova, episodic, but bright role Faina Ranevskaya was played by Yulia Rutberg.

They have amazing fortitude, are not afraid to take risks and are definitely ahead of their time. They delight, fascinate, turn consciousness and history in general - 33 women who changed the world.

And if suddenly you lack inspiration right now, let their stories become a source of that very charge of energy with which you can achieve no less success.

Maria Sklodowska-Curie

French experimental scientist of Polish origin, teacher, public figure. Known for her research in the field of radioactivity, she was awarded the Nobel Prize: in physics and in chemistry, the first twice Nobel laureate in history.

Margaret Hamilton

She was the lead software engineer on the Apollo lunar mission project, and in the photo above she is standing in front of a code printout for the Apollo onboard computer, much of which she wrote and revised herself.

Catherine Schwitzer

American writer and television commentator, best known for being the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon. The photo shows how difficult it was for her. A representative of the organizers of the marathon tried to force her away from the track and, according to Schwitzer, demanded that she "return the number and get the hell out of his marathon." Photos of this incident hit the front pages of the world's leading publications.

Valentina Tereshkova

The world's first female astronaut to fly solo. Flight to spaceship"Vostok-6" lasted almost three days. By the way, Tereshkova told her family that she was leaving for paratrooper competitions, they learned about the flight from the news on the radio.

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Keith Sheppard

Leader of the suffragette movement in New Zealand. Exactly New Zealand became the first country where suffragettes were successful: in 1893, women gained the right to vote in elections.

Amelia Earhart

American writer and aviation pioneer who became the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, for which Amelia was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. She wrote several best-selling books about her flying, and she was one of the founders of the Ninety-Nine organization of women pilots and was elected its first president.

Kamako Kimura

Famous Japanese suffragist and activist. In this photo, Kamako Kimura is captured at a march in New York dedicated to the fight for the right of women to vote. October 23, 1917.

Elisa Zimfirescu

Along with the Irish Alice Perry, the Romanian Elisa Zimfirescu is considered one of the first female engineers in the world. Due to prejudice against women in science, Zamfirescu was not accepted into the National School of Bridges and Roads in Bucharest. But Eliza did not give up her dream and in 1909 she entered the Academy of Technology in Berlin. Eliza led several surveys that helped find new sources of coal and natural gas.

Rosa Lee Parks

American social activist, founder of the movement for the rights of black citizens in the United States. During a December 1, 1955 bus trip in Montgomery, Rose refused to give up her seat to a white passenger in the colored section of the bus when all the seats in the white section were full. This event led to a massive boycott of public transport by the black population and brought national fame to Rosa Lee Parks. The U.S. Congress honored her with the epithet "Mother of the modern civil rights movement."

Sofia Ionescu

An eminent Romanian neurosurgeon, it is generally accepted that Sofia was one of the first female neurosurgeons in the world.

Anne Frank

Maud Wagner

First known American female tattoo artist. Now, maybe there is nothing outstanding in how densely her body is covered with tattoos, but think for a moment how provocative it looked in 1907!

Nadia Comaneci

World famous Romanian gymnast. From early childhood, Nadia Comaneci was engaged in gymnastics and enjoyed it a lot. According to the athlete herself, playing sports gave her more possibilities than her peers, because already at the age of 9-10 she visited many countries of the world. Comaneci went down in history as a five-time Olympic champion, the first in the history of gymnastics to receive 10 points for her performance.

Sara Thakral

The first female pilot in Indian history. Sarah received her license at the age of 21.

Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonje Boyagiu)

World-famous Catholic nun, founder of the women's monastic congregation "Missionary Sisters of Love", engaged in serving the poor and sick. From the age of 12, Gonja began to dream of becoming a monk and going to India to take care of the poor. In 1931, she took the tonsure and took the name Thérèse, after the canonized Carmelite nun Thérèse of Lisieux. For about 20 years she taught at the St. Mary's Girls' School in Calcutta, and in 1946 she received permission to help the poor and disadvantaged - to create schools, shelters, hospitals for the poor and seriously ill people, regardless of their nationality and religion. In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for her work in helping a suffering person."

Ana Aslan

Romanian researcher who directed her activities to combat aging. Aslan founded the only Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Bucharest in Bucharest and developed a drug for elderly people suffering from arthritis, thanks to which they began to recover - they began to walk, regained strength, flexibility and were even able to return to work and play sports. Ana also created the drug "Aslavital for children", intended for the treatment of childhood dementia.

Annette Kellerman

Australian professional swimmer. At the age of 6, Annette was diagnosed with leg disease and to overcome her disability, her parents enrolled her in a swimming school in Sydney. At the age of 13, her legs were practically normal and at the age of 15 she began to participate in swimming competitions. In 1905, 18-year-old Annette became the first woman to dare to cross the English Channel. After three unsuccessful attempts, she stated: "I had stamina, but not enough brute strength". Annette also encouraged women to be allowed to wear one-piece bathing suits (1907). After this photo, by the way, she was arrested for indecent behavior.

Rita Levi-Montalcini

Italian neuroscientist, Nobel laureate, which she received for the discovery of growth factors. She decided to put her life on the altar of science and never regretted her choice, constantly emphasizing that her life was "rich in excellent human relations, work and hobbies. The researcher continued her active work after her retirement. Rita Levi-Montalcini even established a special charitable foundation helping women from third world countries to get higher education. She became the first woman admitted to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences; and in 2001 she was appointed Senator for Life of the Italian Republic.

Bertha von Sutner

Austrian leader of the international pacifist movement. In 1889, her book "Down with weapons!" (“Die Waffen nieder”) tells about the life of a young woman whose fate was crippled by the European wars of the 60s. 19th century The world spoke about her as a leading fighter for peace. At a time when women hardly took part in public life, Zutner, an active fighter for peace, gained universal respect, including Alfred Nobel, with whom she corresponded, informing him of the activities of pacifist organizations and agitating to donate funds to peacekeeping activities. In 1905, Bertha became the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and the second woman to receive the Nobel Prize.

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Irena Sendler

During World War II, Irena Sendler, an employee of the Warsaw Health Department and a member of the Polish underground organization (under the pseudonym Iolanthe), often visited the Warsaw ghetto, where she monitored sick children. Under this cover, she and her comrades took 2,500 children out of the ghetto. Irena Sendler wrote down the data of all the rescued children on narrow strips of thin paper and hid this list in a glass bottle. According to an anonymous denunciation in 1943, she was sentenced to death, but she was saved. Until the end of the war, Irena Sendler was in hiding, but continued to help Jewish children.

Gertrude Caroline

First woman to swim across the English Channel (1926). "Queen of the Waves" - that's what they called her in the USA. She crossed the canal breaststroke, spending 14 hours and 39 minutes on it.

Hedy Lamarr

Popular in the 1930s and 1940s, Austrian and later American film actress and inventor. Her story is one of those that would have caused an accusation of implausibility if something like that had been composed for feature film: A mysterious European-born Hollywood star and an avant-garde composer (speaking of George Antile) come up with a new way to encode signals to prevent them from being jammed. Lamarr, whose film career continued after World War II, not only saved many ships of the US Navy from enemy torpedoes (her technology was rediscovered and began to be widely used already in the 1960s, starting with the Cuban Missile Crisis), but also became the progenitor of Wi-Fi standards and bluetooth.

Ada Lovelace

British mathematician, considered the first programmer in history. At the very beginning of her studies in mathematics, she met Charles Babyge, a mathematician and economist who connected his life with the idea of ​​​​creating an "analytical engine" - the world's first digital computer with program control. Mankind had to live for more than a century to understand the great meaning and significance of Bebidzh's idea, but Ada immediately appreciated the invention of her good friend and, together with him, tried to substantiate and show what it promises to humanity. Her hand wrote programs strikingly similar to the programs compiled later for the first computers. By the way, Ada is the daughter of the famous poet George Gordon Byron.

Ludmila Pavlichenko

The legendary female sniper in world history hails from Belaya Tserkov. During the Second World War, she participated in the battles in Moldova, in the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. In June 1942, Lyudmila was seriously wounded, after which she was evacuated, and then, together with a delegation, was sent to the United States. During her visit overseas, Pavlichenko attended a reception with US President Franklin Roosevelt and even lived in the White House for some time at the invitation of his wife. Many will forever remember her speech in Chicago: “Gentlemen, I am twenty-five years old. At the front, I have already managed to destroy three hundred and nine fascist invaders. Don't you gentlemen think you've been hiding behind my back for too long?!

Rosalind Franklin

The role of Rosalind Franklin in the discovery of the structure of DNA, which many consider the key scientific achievement XX century, was belittled for many decades (which contributed a lot to the early death of Franklin from cancer). Despite the fact that the decision of the Nobel Committee, which deprived Rosalind of her role of the prize and noted only James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, cannot be canceled, the truth is true: it was Franklin's X-ray diffraction analysis of DNA that was the missing step that made it possible to finally visualize the double helix .

Jane Goodall

The famous English ethologist Jane Goodall spent more than 30 years in the jungles of Tanzania in the Gombe Stream valley, observing the behavior of chimpanzees. She began her research in 1960, when she was 18 years old. At the beginning of her work, she had no assistants and, in order not to leave her alone, her mother went to Africa with her. They pitched a tent by the lake and Jane bravely began her wonderful explorations. Later, when the whole world became interested in her data, she developed close contacts with scientists who came to her from different countries. Today, Goodall is the United Nations Peace Ambassador, a leading primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist from the UK.

Billie Jean King

The famous American tennis player, the record holder for the number of victories at the Wimbledon tournament. On her initiative, the World Women's Tennis Association was created with its own calendar and prize money, no less than in men's tennis. Trying to establish equal rights for women in sports, in 1973 King held an exhibition match with the former first racket of the world, 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, who spoke unflatteringly about the level of women's tennis. King won a resounding victory and literally crushed Riggs. Since that moment, according to many experts, tennis has become one of the most popular sports among spectators, almost national religion in the USA.

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson, an American biologist, became world-famous for her book "Silent Spring", dedicated to the harmful effects of pesticides on living organisms. After the publication of the book, Rachel Carson was immediately accused by representatives chemical industry and some members of the government in alarmism. She was called a "hysterical woman", incompetent to write such books. However, despite these reproaches, the book is considered the initiator of the development of a new environmental movement.

Grace Hopper

American scientist and rear admiral of the United States Navy. A pioneer in her field, she was one of the first to write programs for the Harvard computer. She also developed the first compiler for a computer programming language, developed the concept of machine-independent programming languages, which led to the creation of COBOL, one of the first high-level programming languages. By the way, it is Grace who is credited with popularizing the term debugging to fix computer malfunctions.

Maria Teresa de Philippis

Italian race car driver. First woman to become a Formula 1 driver. At the age of 28, she became the second in the national championship of Italy in ring racing. She made her Formula One debut in 1958, placing fifth at the Syracuse Grand Prix, an off-the-record race. The first race of the championship for Marie-Thérèse de Philippis in the same year was the Monaco Grand Prix. She failed to qualify, but she was ahead of many men, including future Formula 1 functionary Bernie Ecclestone.

Anna Lee Fisher

The first mother is an astronaut. Her daughter Krisny Ann was just over one year old at the time of her shuttle Discovery flight as a flight specialist.

Stephanie Kwolek

Polish American chemist who invented Kevlar. For 40 years of work as a research scientist, she received, according to various sources, from 17 to 28 patents. In 1995, she became the fourth woman to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 2003 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Malala Yousafzai

Pakistani human rights activist. Malala became an activist at the age of 11 when she started blogging for the BBC about life in the Taliban-occupied city of Mingora. In 2012, they tried to kill her for her activities and statements, but doctors saved the girl. In 2013, she released her autobiography and gave a speech at the UN Headquarters, and in 2014 she received the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest recipient (17 years old).

From time immemorial, power has been the prerogative of men. Tsars and kings, khans and shahs became fathers to their peoples, led countries to prosperity and prosperity. The role of a woman in power was limited to dynastic marriage and the birth of healthy, strong heirs. However, since the time of the pharaohs, there have been wise and majestic persons who can bear the weight of the Monomakh's cap.

Hatshepsut

"Woman with a beard". The beliefs of Egypt required that the holder of the crown of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms embodied the god Horus. Therefore, Hatshepsut, having ascended the throne after the death of her husband Thutmose II, was forced to wear men's clothes and wear a false beard. She was the eldest daughter and sole heiress of Pharaoh Thutmose I - the future Thutmose III, the illegitimate son of her husband, was barely six years old. Having come to power, she sent the bastard prince to be raised in the temple and single-handedly led Egypt for 22 years. The country ravaged by nomads under the rule of Hatshepsut experienced an unprecedented the economic growth, construction and trade developed, Egyptian ships reached the country of Punt. The female pharaoh personally led a military campaign in Nubia and won. Hatshepsut was supported by the priestly elite and loved the people. The only thing she (like most female rulers) can be reproached for is her favorite, the architect Senenmut, the son of a simple scribe. He, of course, could not marry a living incarnation of God, but he loved his queen so much that he even erected a tomb for himself, exactly repeating the sarcophagus of his beloved.

« You will proclaim her word, you will obey her command. Whoever worships her will live; he who blasphemously speaks ill of her majesty will die» (Thutmose I about Queen Hatshepsut).

Cleopatra

"Fatal Beauty". To understand the irony of Cleopatra VII's fate, you need to know the history of her "fun" family. Egyptian rulers, descendants of Ptolemy, commander Alexander the Great, married sisters for 12 generations in a row, executed, slaughtered and poisoned children, parents, brothers, husbands and wives. To ascend the throne, Cleopatra had to defeat two sisters - Berenice and Arsinoe, marry alternately two young brothers and poison both. She charmed the young Caesar and bore him a son, Ptolemy Caesarion, to rule in his name. She fell in love with the elderly Roman commander Mark Antony and bore him three children. She almost managed to embarrass Emperor Octavian, but age still took its toll. And at the same time, Cleopatra should not be considered a frivolous depraved woman. In terms of education, the Egyptian princess surpassed most of the ladies of her time - she knew eight languages, understood not only Homer, but also tactics, medicine, and toxicology. And for almost 30 years she successfully fought against Rome, defending the independence of Egypt.

« Although the beauty of this woman was not that which is called incomparable and strikes at first sight, her manner was distinguished by irresistible charm. The very sounds of her voice caressed and delighted the ear, and her tongue was like a multi-stringed instrument, easily tuned to any tune.» (Plutarch about Cleopatra).

Elizabeth Taylor as Queen Cleopatra in the film of the same name (1963, dir. J. Mankiewicz)

Princess Sophia

"Bogatyr-princess". Undeservedly forgotten, slandered and relegated to the shadows, the regent-ruler, the elder sister of Peter I from another mother (Miloslavskaya). The very fact of its existence denies rumors about the illegal origin of the first All-Russian emperor - brother and sister resembled each other, like twins, with iron will, stubbornness, tenacious mind and exorbitant ambition. If Pyotr Alekseevich had been born as weak as his older brothers Ivan and Fyodor, the history of Russia would have taken a different path - Sofya Alekseevna not only tried on Monomakh's hat, but also wore it with pride. Unlike the princess sisters, she was educated, composed poetry, received ambassadors, founded the first higher education in Russia in Moscow. educational institution- Slavic-Greco-Roman Academy. And she would have been a good queen ... but Peter turned out to be stronger.

« An example of a historical woman: she was freed from the tower, but did not take moral restraints out of it and did not find them in society» (S. Solovyov about Sofya Alekseevna).

Princess Sophia in Novodevichy Convent. I. Repin

Elizabeth of England

"Virgin Queen". Like many women-rulers of antiquity - with a difficult fate. Unloved daughter by Anne Boleyn, second wife of the king Henry VIII, executed by him allegedly for treason, in fact - for the inability to give birth to a son. She went through disgrace, exile, exile, imprisonment in the Tower, and still took royal throne. The reign of Elizabeth was called the "golden age", under her wise rule, England defeated the "Invincible Armada" of Spain and became the queen of the seas. Despite the fact that Elizabeth had an official favorite, Robert Dudley, and many courtiers swore love to their queen, who was indeed distinguished by her amazing beauty, at least in her youth, she claimed to have retained her virginity and was pure before God.

« I'd rather be a lonely beggar than a married queen».

Eleanor of Aquitaine

"Beautiful lady". Daughter and sole heiress of the Duke of Aquitaine, wife of Louis VII of France and Henry II of Plantagenet, mother of Kings Richard the Lionheart, John the Landless, Queens Eleanor of Spain and Joanna of Sicily. Ideal beloved, Beautiful lady of all the troubadours of her time. Self-willed, decisive, formidable, amorous and jealous - according to rumors, she poisoned the "beautiful Rosamund", Henry's lover, about which many sentimental ballads were composed. Married to the young French king by a 15-year-old girl, she did not love her husband, but lived with him for 20 years, bore him two daughters, and even went with him to Crusade. A year after the annulment of her first marriage, she married Heinrich, gave birth to seven more (!) Children. When her husband imprisoned her in a tower for insatiable jealousy, she raised her sons against him. Lived until age 80 last day actively participated in European politics, protecting the interests of children.

I'll call that lady young
Whose noble thoughts and deeds,
Whose beauty cannot be tarnished by rumor,
Whose heart is pure, far from evil.

(Troubadour Bertrand de Born about Eleanor of Aquitaine)

Queen Eleanor. Frederick Sandys

Elizaveta Petrovna

"Merry Queen" The daughter of Peter I and Catherine I, a carefree beauty, a skilled dancer and a kind-hearted person. She did not plan to take the Russian throne, being content with the life of a girl of royal blood. According to foreign ambassadors, it was not a serious political force. However, at the age of 31, she led a rebellion of the guards and ascended the throne, supported by the bayonets of the Preobrazhenians. The merry princess turned out to be a good ruler, at least she was smart enough to find herself wise ministers. She waged victorious wars, opened the first banks in Russia, the imperial theater, and a porcelain factory. And ... abolished the death penalty - a couple of hundred years earlier than in Europe. The queen was also lucky with her personal life - she entered into a morganatic marriage with the singer Razumovsky. He loved his wife so much that after his death he destroyed the wedding documents so as not to compromise Peter's daughter.

« I have no Alians and correspondence with the enemy of my fatherland».

Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. I. Argunov

"Land of the moon" - this is how the name of Indira is translated. Contrary to legend, she is not a daughter or even a relative of Mahatma (Teacher) Gandhi, but her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was one of his closest associates. The whole family of young Indira took part in the liberation struggle of India, in the destruction of the patriarchal order and the removal of caste restrictions. Contrary to class prejudices (in India they are still stronger than any laws), Indira married Feroz Gandhi, who professes Zoroastrianism. Marriage landed them in prison, but love was stronger. Even the birth of two sons did not prevent Indira from actively participating in the political life of the country. In 1964, she became Prime Minister of India and remained in power for twenty years, with few interruptions. Developed the country, eliminated dependence on food imports, built schools, plants, factories. She was killed by political opponents.

« You can't shake hands with clenched fists» .

Golda Meir

"Grandmother of the State" She was born into a hungry, impoverished family, the daughter of a nurse and a carpenter. Five of the eight children died from malnutrition and disease. Together with her parents, she emigrated to America, graduated from a free elementary school. She earned money for further education by teaching English to new immigrants. She married a modest young accountant who shared the ideas of Zionism, and together with him emigrated to Palestine in 1921. She worked in a kibbutz, washed clothes, participated in the resistance movement. merged into labor movement and soon became one of its leaders. In 3 months, she collected $50 million for the newly proclaimed Jewish state, was the ambassador to the USSR, negotiated with the king of Jordan, and eventually became the fourth prime minister of Israel. She never used makeup, didn't follow fashion, didn't dress up, but was always surrounded by admirers and romantic stories.

"A person who loses his conscience loses everything."

Margaret Thatcher

"The Iron Lady". The path of this woman to power is an example of perseverance and long, hard work. Initially, Margaret did not plan to become a politician, she was attracted to chemistry. She received an Oxford scholarship, worked in the laboratory where they created one of the first antibiotics, under the direction of Dorothy Hodgkin, the future Nobel laureate. Politics was her hobby, her youthful passion, but you can't escape fate. First, Margaret joined the Conservative Party, then met her future husband, Dennis Thatcher, studied to be a lawyer, and gave birth to twins four months before passing the exam. Four years later, young Mrs. Thatcher entered the British Parliament. In 1970 she became a minister, and in 1979 - the prime minister of Great Britain. The "Iron Lady", as the Soviet newspapers called Margaret, many did not like her for her tough social policy, for the Falklands War and radical views. However, she improved the education system, making it more accessible to children from poor families, raised the economy and production. In 2007, a monument to Margaret Thatcher was erected in the British Parliament - she became the only English Prime Minister to receive such an honor in her lifetime.

« It is not at all necessary to agree with the interlocutor in order to find a common language with him.».

Vigdis Finnbogadottir

"Daughter of the Snows" De jure the second, de facto the first legally elected woman president in the world. She held this post four times, left it of her own free will. Initially, she had nothing to do with politics. Vigdis studied in Denmark and France, studied theater, French, returned to her homeland in Iceland, single-handedly raised children. On October 24, 1975, she became one of the initiators of the women's strike - all women refused to go to work and do housework in order to demonstrate how much work falls on their shoulders. In 1980, Vigdis was elected president of the country. She was a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, worked on women's issues, children's issues, and after leaving politics, she founded the Association for the Study of Trauma spinal cord- doctors of this organization collect and analyze world experience in the treatment of spinal injuries.

« Women are inherently closer to nature, especially girls and women from the "common people", who often have direct contact with environment. To succeed, to save mother earth from impending catastrophes, we must enlist the help of women.».

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5 most famous femme fatales in history

On October 15, 1917, one of the brightest seductress Mata Hari was executed. She became famous not only for her professional performance of Indian dances, but also for being one of the highest paid courtesans in Europe. At her feet, men from all over the world threw jewelry, money, sacrificed titles and lives. Therefore, for this insidious lady, the fame of not just a beautiful, but a “fatal woman” was fixed for a long time.

However, besides being one of the most beautiful women Parisa literally drove men crazy, forcing them to pay quite large sums for her love and affection, she also found out from her influential clients important information, including state secrets and data on secret developments government. Even many years after the death of this fatal woman, they remember her, they talk about her and make films. In memory of the beautiful and seductive Mata Hari, we decided to recall the 5 most famous fatal women in history.

So, the second bright "fatal woman" was Cleopatra. This great woman she was famous not only for her willpower and the art of persuasion, there were real legends about her about her ability to persuade, not very accommodating, the opposite sex to a frank conversation. Therefore, the charming dark-haired queen of Egypt could well be equated with a host of goddesses.

And although Cleopatra could not be called a beauty (her facial features were far from ideal), despite this, she could seize the mind of any man, seduce and subjugate her will. According to historians, this woman possessed a kind of love magnetism and the art of seduction. She skillfully used her charms and achieved her goal. So, Cleopatra had to seduce the famous dictator Julius Caesar in order to get the throne of the Egyptian queen. She seduced the successor of Tsar Mark Anthony and helped her son become the heir to the throne, and most importantly, she contributed to the development of the history of Egypt.

The third famous "fatal woman in history" was the philosopher, writer and psychotherapist Louise Gustavovna Salome. This woman did not pass without a trace creative people like Freud, Nietzsche, Rilke and others. And all these men were in love with a flirtatious lady who was only interested in intellectual conversations. All her life, Louise or Lou, as she was called by men in love with her, shared love and sex. She knew when and how to use her charms, and how to get the attention of this or that man.

However, Lu preferred to communicate with rich gentlemen, so she had many lovers and influential patrons. She herself threw unwanted men and found new ones, experimenting with methods of seduction. Louise lived beautiful life and did not deny herself anything, although she could not boast of a particularly remarkable appearance.

The fourth fatal woman, in truth, can be called Maria Tarnovskaya. This Ukrainian countess lived from 1877 to 1949. At the age of 17, she married a wealthy and enviable groom. Being with her husband, she corrupted her husband's younger brother. After losing a little with him, she left him. The boy could not stand the unhappy love and committed suicide.

Her sexual partners abandoned their wives and showered her with money, and those who could not withstand such fierce competition shot, hung themselves and took their own lives. because of a large number deaths in which the woman was implicated, she was brought to trial on charges of intentionally driving 14 people to suicide. And after a long litigation Maria was convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison.

The top five most famous "fatal women" in history closes the "blue angel" Marlene Dietrich. This singer and actress, thanks to her accurate calculation, easily outperformed her competitors and married the famous producer Rudolf Sieber. However, despite the fact that the woman "madly loved" her husband, she never refused the courtship of other gentlemen. She had love relationships with actor Jean Gabin and Ernest Hemingway, passionate kisses with Remarque, whose heart was broken by the incomparable Marlene, and other famous personalities.

The beauty even collected letters and rings from those men who had ever offered her a hand and a heart.

Here they are insidious and breathtaking " femme fatale”, who left a vivid imprint on their lives in history.