Celebrating influential women this Women’s History Month

The month of March is Women’s History Month – a celebration of the achievements of women throughout history. To mark the occasion, here are some of Britian’s incredible women and the amazing things that they achieved in their lifetimes.

Eleanor de Montfort

Eleanor de Montfort was born in 1215 and like many women of the time, found herself married off. However, unlike her peers, she cannot be described as the meek, submissive wife that many were labelled as. She was rebel and had an influential role in a civil war.

Her second husband, Simon de Montfort, became England’s de facto ruler during the Second Baron’s War when both Henry III and the future Edward I were captured. This didn’t last long though, when Edward escaped, both Eleanor’s husband and eldest son were killed in battle, leaving her living at Dover Castle and in a very vulnerable position. Rather than surrender, she held the castle against the king and his forces. Eventually the royal forces won, but Eleanor ended up negotiating a successful settlement, which saw her household pardoned and she was exiled to France.

Ada Lovelace

Being the only legitimate child of Lord Byron makes her interesting as it is, but Ada Lovelace is also credited with being the world’s first computer programmer. She was a mathematician and worked with Charles Babbage on his analytical engine, the precursor of the modern computer. To this day, programmes created by Ada Lovelace are used in computing making her an incredibly influential woman to acknowledge this month.

Rosalind Franklin

Another amazing woman working in a scientific field – Rosalind Franklin’s research into DNA molecules helped scientists identify the structure of DNA. Sadly, she died of cancer in 1958, a few years before her colleagues won a Nobel Prize for their work and was largely removed from the story until fairly recently when her work was finally acknowledged.

St Hilda

So influential, she was made a saint! St Hilda was the abbess of Whitby, a monastery for men and women back in Anglo Saxon England. In 664, she hosted the Synod of Whitby, which set the course for the future of Christianity in England.

Amy Johnson

You will have no doubt heard of Amelia Earhart but have you heard of Amy Johnson? She flew solo from Croydon to Australia in a second hand De Havilland Gipsy Moth and was the first woman to undertake such a journey. She went on to make and break many flight records and was the first British woman to qualify as a ground engineer.

Eleanor Coade

The second Eleanor on our list, this one lived during the Georgian era and was an entrepreneur at a time when it was virtually unheard of for women to do such a thing. She invented and manufactured a kind of high quality artificial stone and ran her own business making garden ornaments. Many items made from the material still exist today and were sold as far afield as South Africa! You can see some examples of her work at Chiswick House, Audley End House and Battle Abbey.

Kitty Godfree

For a long time, Kitty Godfree held the World Record for holding the most Olympic medals won at tennis. She made her debut at Wimbledon in 1919 and together with her husband, won the doubles in 1962. They remain the only married couple to have won the title. If being a tennis pro wasn’t enough, she was also an accomplished skater, golfer and cricketer and was also an Badminton champion!

Find out more about amazing women in history here.