Women who Changed the World - "for Rebel Girls"

Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli have put together two volumes of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, aimed at aged 6 and up. The books were funded through crowdfunding . These are collections of bedtime stories about women who changed the world. The books each feature short stories about 100 real women who can be role models to children. The women featured are not "Saints" and include many women who would not be seen as stereotypical portrayal of girls and women. The lists are multi-national. It focuses on telling young girls that they can grow up to be whatever they wish, regardless of what other people think. Some inclusions, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, have not been well received and there have been demands that she be removed from future editions.

Elena Favilli

Elena Favilli is a media entrepreneur and a journalist. She has worked for Colors magazine, McSweeney's, RAI, Il Post, and La Repubblica, and has managed digital newsrooms on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2011, she created the first iPad magazine for children, Timbuktu magazine. She is the founder and CEO of Timbuktu Labs.

Francesca Cavallo

Francesca Cavallo is a writer and theatre director. Her award-winning plays have been staged all across Europe. A passionate social innovator, Francesca is the founder of Sferracavalli, an International Festival of Sustainable Imagination in Southern Italy. In 2011, Francesca joined forces with Elena Favilli to found Timbuktu Labs, where she serves as Creative Director.

The object of this project is to link as many of the women listed below to Geni Profiles. Help is always welcome!!

Bold links are to Geni Profiles.

Arranged Alphabetically by first name - as arranged in the publications

Volume 1

Women featured

• Ada Lovelace - (1815 - 1852) English Mathematician
• Alek Wek b. 1977 - South Sudanese-British Supermodel
• Alfonsina Strada (1891 - 1959) Italian Cyclist
• Alicia Alonso (b.1920) - Cuban Ballerina
• Ameenah Gurib-Fakim – President and Scientist
• Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) - American Aviator
• Amna al Haddad - Weightlifter
• Ann Makosinski - Inventor
• Anna Politkovskaya - Journalist
• Artemisia Gentileschi - Painter
• Ashley Fiolek – Motorcross Racer
• Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) - Swedish Writer
• Aung san suu Kyi b.19 June 1945 - Burmese Politician Aung San Suu Kyi
• Balkissa Chaibou - Activist
• Brenda Chapman (b.1962) - American writer, animation story artist and director
• The Brontë Sisters - Writers

• Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855)
  
• Emily Brontë (1818–1848)
  
• Anne Brontë (1820-1849)
  

• Catherine the Great (1729-1796 – Russian Empress
• Cholita Climbers - Mountaineers - Bolivian women with indigenous heritage known for their colourful attire, round top hats and ornate earrings
• Claudia ("Marisa") Ruggerini (1922-2016) - Partisan
• Cleopatra - last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt - Pharoah
• Coco Chanel (1883-1971 – French Fashion Designer
• Cora Coralina(1889-1985) – pseudonym of the Brazilian writer and poet Anna Lins dos Guimarães Peixoto Bretas Poet and Baker
• Coy Mathis – Elementary School Student
• Elizabeth I (1533-1603) - Queen of England
• Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza (b.1979) – Mexican Activist and Politician
• Evita Peron (1919-1952) - Argentinian Politician
• Fadumo Dayib - Somali Politician
• Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) - English Nurse
• Frida Kahlo - born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón; (1907 – 1954) was a MexicanPainter
• Grace Hopper (1906-1992) – American Computer Scientist
• Grace O’Malley (1530-1603) - Irish Pirate
• Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) – American Abolutionist Freedom fighter
• Hatshepsut (1507-1458 BC) - Egyptian Pharoah
• Helen Keller(1880-1968) - American author and Activist
• Hillary Rodham Clinton (b.1947) – American Presidential Candidate
• Hypatia (c.360-415) – Egyptian Mathematician and Philosopher
• Irena Sendlerowa (1910-2008) – Polish War Hero
• Isabel Allende (b.1942) – Chilean Writer
• Jacquotte Delahaye (fl.1656)- Pirate active in the Caribbean sea
• Jane Austen (1775-1817) - English Writer
• Jane Goodall (b1934) - English Primatologist
• Jessica Watson (b1993) - Australian Sailor
• Jill Tarter (b.1944) - American Astronomer
• Jengu - Empress
• Joan Jett (b.1958) – American Rock Star
• Julia Child (1912-2004) - American Chef
• Kate Sheppard (1848-1934) - English Suffragette
• Lakshmi Bai (1828-1858) – Indian Queen and Warrior
• Lella Lombardi (1941-1992) – Italian Formula One Racer
• Lozen (c.1840-1889) - Chihenne Warrior
• Mae C Jemison (b.1956) – American engineer, physician and NASA astronaut
• Malala Yousafzai - Pakistani Activist
• Margaret Hamilton (b. 1936) – American Computer Scientist
• Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) – British Prime Minister
• Margherita Hack (1922-2013) - Italian Astrophysicist
• Maria Callas (1923-1977) – American born Greek Opera Singer
• Maria Montessori (1870-1952) – Italian Physician and Educator
• Maria Reiche (1903-1998) - German born Peruvian Archaeologist
• Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) - German born Naturalist
• Marie Curie(1867-1934) - Polish, Naturalised French Scientist
• Mary Anning (1799-1847) - English Paleontologist
• Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) - American abolitionist and prohibitionist, prisoner of war and Civil War Surgeon
• Mary Kom - Indian Olympic Boxer
• Matilde Montoya (1859 - 1939) - Mexican Doctor
• Maud Stevens Wagner (1877-1961) - American Tattoo Artist and circus performer
• Maya Angelou (1928-2014) - Writer
• Maya Gabeira (born 1987) - Brazialian Surfer
• Melba Liston (1926-1999) - American Jazz Trombonist
• Michaela Deprince (b.1995) - Sierra Leonean-American Ballerina
• Michelle Obama (b.1964) – American Lawyer and First Lady
• Millo Castro Zaldarriaga - Drummer
• The Mirabal Sisters - Dominican Republic Activists

• Paitra
  
• Minerva
  
• Maria Teresa
  
• Dedé
  

• Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) – South African Activist and Singer
• Misty Copeland (born 1982) - American Ballerina
• Nancy Wake (1912 New Zealand -2011) - Spy/Secret Agent WWii
• Nanny of the Maroons - (c.1686-1733) Jamaican Queen
• Nellie Bly (1864-1922) - American Reporter
• Nettie Stevens (1861-1912) - American Geneticist
• Nina Simone (1933-2003) - American Singer
• Policarpa Salavarrieta (1795-1817) - Columbian Spy
• Rita Levi Montalcini (1909-2012) - Italian Scientist
• Rosa Parks 1913 - 2005) - American Activist
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (b.1933) – American Supreme Court Judge
• Ruth Harkness (1900-1947) - American fashion designer and socialite and Explorer
• Seondeok of Silla Queen - Korea
• Serena Williams (b.1981) and Venus Williams (b.1980) – American Tennis players
• Simone Biles - American Gymnast
• Sonita Alizadeh - Afghan Rapper
• Sylvia Earle (b.1935) – American Marine biologist, explorer, author and lecturer
• Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980) - Polish Painter
• Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) - English Writer
• Wangara Maathai (1940-2011) - Kenyan Activist
• Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994) - American Athlete - Sprinter
• Yaa Asantewaa (1840-1921) - queen mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire – now part of modern-day Ghana;

She led the Ashanti war known as the War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa war, against British colonialism

• Yoko Ono (b.19330 - Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist who is also known for her work in performance art and filmmaking
• Yusra Mardini (b.1998) - Syrian born swimmer currently living in Berlin, Germany.

She was a member of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team (ROT)

• Zaha Hadid – Iraqi-British architect.
• Zhang Xian (b.1973) – Chinese-American Ochestra conductor
• Zhenyi Wang (1768-1797) – Chinese Astronomer

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Volume 2

Women featured

• Agatha Christie (1890-1976) – English Writer
• Aisholpan Nurgaiv – Eagle Huntress

The Eagle Huntress is a 2016 Kazakh-language British-Mongolian-American documentary film directed by Otto Bell and narrated by executive producer Daisy Ridley. It follows the story of Aisholpan, a 13-year-old Kazakh girl from Mongolia, as she attempts to become the first female eagle hunter to compete in the eagle festival at Ulgii, Mongolia, established in 1999.

• Alice Ball (1892-1916) – Afro-American Chemist
• Andrée Peel (1905-2010) – French Resistance Fighter
• Angela Merkel (b.1954) – German Chancellor
• Anita Garibaldi (1821-1849) – Brazilian Revolutionary
• Anne Bonny (1696-1720) – Irish Pirate
• Audrey Hepburn (19029-1993) – British Actress
• Beatrice Vio (b.1997) – Italian wheelchair Fencer
• Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) – British Writer and Illustrator
• Beyoncé (b.1981) – American Singer, Songwriter and Businesswoman]
• Billie Jean King (b.1943) – American Tennis Player
• The Black Mambas – South African Rangers.

The Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit is the first majority female anti-poaching unit in South Africa founded in 2013 by Transfrontier Africa NPC, to protect the Olifants West Region of Balule Nature Reserve. Within the first year of operation the Black Mambas were invited to expand into other regions and now protect all boundaries of the 52,000ha Balule Nature Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger National Park.

• Boudicca (c.30-c.62) –British Queen
• Brenda Milner (b.1918) – British-Canadian Neuropsychologist
• Buffalo Calf Road Woman (c.1850-1879) – Northern Cheyenne Warrior
• Madam C J Walker (1867-1919) – African American Businesswoman
• Carmen Amaya (1918-1963) – Romani Dancer born in Barcelona
• Celia Cruz (1925-2003) – Cuban-American Singer
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (b.1966) – Nigerian Writer
• Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) – Queen
• Clara Rockmore (1911-1998) – Russian Musician
• Clara Schumann (1819-1896) – German Pianist and Composer
• Clemantine Wamariya – Storyteller and Activist

"In her memoir, The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Clemantine Wamariya, with co-author Elizabeth Weil, describes a childhood brutally disrupted by the Rwandan genocide in 1994. At age 6, she fled on foot with her sister Claire, nine years her senior, into Burundi. The pair moved through southern Africa, staying in refugee camps or scratching out a living, before being granted asylum in the United States in 2000." See Vogue article

• Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983) – Dutch Watchmaker
• Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) – American Politician
• Ellen Degeneres (b.1958) – American Comedian and TV Host
• Florence Chadwick (1918-1995) – American Swimmer
• Gae Aulenti (1927-2012) – Italian Architect and Designer
• Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) – American Painter
• Gerty Cori (1896-1957) – Jewish Austrian-American Biochemist
• Giusi Nicolini (b.1961) – Italian Mayor

Giusi Nicolini, the mayor of a small Italian island with a population of 6,000, received the prestigious UNESCO Peace Prize. Lampedusa, the island 70 miles from the Tunisian coast that she has been governing since 2012

• Gloria Steinem (b.1934) – American feminist Activist
• Hedy Lanarr (1914-2000) – Austrian-born American film actress and inventor
• Hortensia – Roman Orator
• Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) – American Dancer
• J K Rowling (born 1965) – British Writer
• Jeanne Baret (1740-1807) – Housekeeper and Explorer

Jeanne Baret was a member of Louis Antoine de Bougainville's expedition on the ships La Boudeuse and Étoile in 1766–1769. Baret is recognised as the first woman to have completed a voyage of circumnavigation of the globe. She joined the expedition disguised as a man, calling herself Jean Baret. She enlisted as valet and assistant to the expedition's naturalist, Philibert Commerçon (anglicised as Commerson), shortly before Bougainville's ships sailed from France. According to Bougainville's account, Baret was herself an expert botanist

• Joan Beauchamp Proctor (1897-1931) – British Zoologist
• Johanna Nordblad – Ice Driver
• Katherine Johnson (b.1918) Afro-American Mathematician/ Computer Scientist, Dorothy Vaughan (1910-2008) Afro-American Mathematician/ Computer Scientist and Mary Jackson – Computer Scientists
• Katia Krafft – Volcanologist
• Khoudia Diop – Model
• Lauren Potter –Actress
• Leymah Gbowee – Peace Activist
• Lilian Bland – Aviator
• Lorena Ochoa – Golfer
• Lowri Morgan – ultramarathon Runner
• Luo Dengping – Extreme Rock Climber
• Madam Saqui – Acrobat
• Madonna (b.1958) – American Singer, songwriter and Businesswoman
• Marie Tharp – Geologist
• Marina Abramovic – Performance Artist
• Marta Vieira da Silva – Soccer Player
• Mary Fields (1832-1914) – African-American Mail Carrier
• Mary Kingsley – Explorer
• Mary Seacole (1805-1881) – Jamaican Nurse
• Mary Shelley (1797-1851) – English Writer
• Maryam Mirzakhani (1977-2017) – Iranian Mathematician
• Mata Hari (1876-1917) – Dutch Spy
• Matilda of Canossa (1046-1115) – Feudal Ruler Tuscany
• Merritt Moore – Quantum Physicist and Ballerina
• Molly Kelly, Daisy Kadibill and Gracie Fields – Freedom Fighters
• Nadia Comaneci – Gymnast
• Nadia Murad – Human Rights Activist
• Nadine Gordimer – Writer and Activist
• Oprah Winfrey – TV Host, Actress and Businesswoman
• Pauline Leon – Revolutionary
• Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979) – American Art Collector
• Poorna Malavath (b.2000) – Indian Mountaineer
• Qiu Jin (1875-1907) – Chinese Revolutionary
• Rachel Carson (1907-1964) – America Marine biologist, Environmentalist
• Rigoberta Menchu Tum (b.1959) – Political Activist from Guatemala
• Rosalind Elsie Franklin (1920-1958) – English Chemist and X-Ray Crystallographer
• Ruby Nell Bridges (b.1954) – American Civil rights Activist
• Samantha Cristoforetti (b.1977) – Italian Astronaut
• Sappho (c.630-570 BC0 – Greek Poet
• Sara Seager (b.1971 – Canadian-American Astrophysicist
• Sarinya Srisakul – New York Fire Department's first ever Asian American female firefighter
• Selda Bagcan (b.1948) – Turkish Singer and Songwriter
• Serafina Battaglia – Anti-mafia Witness
• Shamsia Hassani (b.1988) – SAfghan Graffiti Artist
• Simone Veil (1927-2017) – French lawyer and Politician
• Sky Brown – Skateboarder
• Sofia Ionescu (1920-2008) – Romanian Neurosurgeon
• Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) – African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist.
• Sonia Sotomayor (b.1954) – American justice of the Supreme Court
• Sophia Loren (b.1934) – Italian Actress
• Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) – Activist German student and anti-Nazi political activist
• Steffi Graf (b.1969) – German Tennis Player
• Temple Grandin (b.1947) -American Professor of Animal Sciences
• Troop 6000 – Girl Scouts
• Valentina Tereshkova (b.1927) – Cosmonaut
• Valerie Thomas (b.1943) – Afro-American Astronomer
• Violetta Parra (1917-1967) – Chilean Composer and Musician
• Virgina Hall Golliot MBE (1906-1982)– Spy
• Vivian Maier (1926-2009) – American Photographer
• Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012) – Polish Poet
• Yeonmi Park (b.1993) - North Korean Activist