Women Who Left Their “Stamps” on History

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Each of the following women have made a significant contribution to society. As a result, they (or works of art created by them) have been pictured on U.S. postage stamps.

Name Year Issued Contribution
Queen Isabella of Spain 1893 Her patronage of Christopher Columbus made his trips to the New World possible.
Queen Isabella Commemorative Stamp
Martha Washington 1902 First First Lady of the United States.
Martha Washington Commemorative Stamp
Pocahontas 1907 The Powhatan princess who saved the life of Captain John Smith.
Pocahontas Commemorative Stamp
Molly Pitcher1928 Mary Hayes McCauley earned the name Molly Pitcher by carrying water to the men in the battle of Monmouth in 1778.
Molly Pitcher
Eleanor Roosevelt 1930, 1984, 1998American diplomat, writer, social reformer, and First Lady to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Eleanor Roosevelt Commemorative Stamp (1930)
Susan B. Anthony 1936, 1955 Feminist who spent more than 50 years fighting for women's rights.
Susan B. Anthony Commemorative Stamp
Virginia Dare 1937 First European child born on American soil, in 1587.
Virginia Dare Commemorative Stamp
Louisa May Alcott 1940 American author famous for her books Little Women and Little Men.
Frances E. Willard 1940 Educator, reformer, lecturer, and women's suffrage supporter.
Frances E. Willard Commemorative Stamp
Jane Addams 1940 Founder of Hull House in Chicago, a social welfare center.
Jane Addams Commemorative Stamp
Clara Barton1948 Founded the American Red Cross.
Clara Barton Commemorative Stamp
Juliette Gordon Low 1948 Founded the Girl Scouts of America.
Juliette Gordon Low Commemorative Stamp
Moina Michael 1948 Initiated the Veterans of Foreign Wars fundraising drive, selling red poppies in 1915.
Moina Michael Commemorative Stamp
Betsy Ross1952 America's most famous flagmaker.
Betsy Ross Commemorative Stamp
Sacajawea 1954 Shoshone guide who led the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804.
Sacagawea Commemorative Stamp (Lewis & Clark)
Amelia Earhart 1963 First woman to fly solo, nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean.
Mary Cassatt 1966, 1988 American painter best known for her works of mothers and children.
Mary Cassatt Commemorative Stamp
(Painting by Mary Cassatt)
Lucy Stone 1968 Nineteenth century abolitionist and women's rights leader.
Lucy Stone Commemorative Stamp
Grandma Moses 1969 Anna Mary Robertson Moses took up painting at the age of 76. She continued to paint until her death at age 101.
Grandma Moses Commemorative Stamp
(Painting by Grandma Moses)
Emily Dickinson 1971 American poet who wrote more than 1,700 poems.
Emily Dickinson Commemorative Stamp
Willa Cather 1973 Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist.
Willa Cather Commemorative Stamp
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell 1973 First woman physician in the U.S.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell Commemorative Stamp
Sybil Ludington 1975 Sixteen-year-old Revolutionary War hero.
Clara Maass 1976 Twenty-five-year-old U.S. Army nurse who advanced medical science when she volunteered to be bitten by a mosquito carrying yellow fever.
Clara Maass Commemorative Stamp
Harriet Tubman 1978 Leader of the Underground Railroad, which brought slaves to freedom.
Harriet Tubman Commemorative Stamp
Emily Bissell 1980 Leader in the fight against tuberculosis who introduced Christmas seals in the United States.
Emily Bissell Commemorative Stamp
Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan 1980 Famous student who overcame tremendous handicaps and her extraordinary teacher.
Hellen Keller Commemorative Stamp
Dolley Madison 1980 First Lady who saved White House treasures during the capture of the capital by the British in 1814.
Dolley Madison Commemorative Stamp
Frances Perkins 1980 First woman member of the presidential Cabinet (Secretary of Labor) appointed by F.D. Roosevelt.
Frances Perkins Commemorative Stamp
Edith Wharton 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist known for her novels Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence.
Edith Wharton Commemorative Stamp
Rachel Carson 1981 The publication of her book Silent Spring in 1961 touched off a major controversy over the effects of pesticide.
Rachel Carson Commemorative Stamp
Edna St. Vincent Millay 1981 American poet whose work was first published when she was just 14 years old.
Edna St. Vincent Millay Commemorative Stamp
Mildred (Babe) Didrikson Zaharias 1981 One of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century. She excelled in track, golf, baseball, and basketball.
Babe Didrickson Commemorative Stamp
Dr. Mary Walker 1982 Devoted herself to the care and treatment of the sick and wounded during the Civil War.
Dorothea Dix 1983 Nineteenth-century crusader for the poor and mentally handicapped.
Dorothea Dix Commemorative Stamp
Pearl S. Buck 1983 Author of more than 100 books, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Good Earth.
Pearl S. Buck Commemorative Stamp
Lillian M. Gilbreth 1984 Engineering pioneer who analyzed how tasks are done, hoping to increase the efficiency of workers.
Abigail Adams 1985 First Lady to John Adams, she influenced American politics through her letters to her husband.
Abagail Adams Commemorative Stamp
Mary McLeod Bethune 1985 Educator and social activist who founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, currently known as Bethune-Cookman College.
Mary McLeod Bethune Commemorative Stamp
Belva Ann Lockwood 1986 First woman candidate for president.
Belva Ann Lockwood Commemorative Stamp
Margaret Mitchell 1986 Pulitzer Prize-winning author best known for Gone with the Wind.
Sojourner Truth 1986 Born Isabella Baumfree, she was the first black woman to speak publicly against slavery.
Sojourner Truth Commemorative Stamp
Julia Ward Howe 1987 Composer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Julia Ward Howe Commemorative Stamp
Mary Lyon 1987 Education pioneer who founded Mount Holyoke College.
Mary Lyon Commemorative Stamp
Helene Madison 1990 A gold medalist in the 1932 Olympic Games in swimming.
Marianne Moore 1990 Poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1951 for her Collected Poems.
Ida Wells 1990 Civil rights activist who cofounded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Ida B. Wells Commemorative Stamp
Hazel Wightman 1990 Olympic gold medalist credited with doing more to build American and international women's tennis than any other player.
Fanny Brice1991 Singer and comedienne who created the “Baby Snooks” radio character.
Harriet Quimby 1991 First American woman pilot to fly the English Channel.
Harriet Quimby Commemorative Stamp
Dorothy Parker 1992 Poet and short story writer.
Patsy Cline1993 Popular American country singer.
Grace Kelly1993 American film actress.
Dinah Washington1993 “Queen of the Blues.”
Clara Bow, ZaSu Pitts, Theda Bara1994Silent film actresses.
Theda Bara Commemorative Stamp
Nellie Cashman 1994 The “Angel of Tombstone,” an anti-violence advocate who raised orphans and campaigned against public hanging.
Nellie Cashman Commemorative Stamp
Ethel Waters,
Bessie Smith,
Billie Holiday,
Mildred Bailey,
Ethel Merman
1994Famous American singers.
Annie Oakley1994American sharpshooter.
Virginia Apgar1994Doctor who developed a newborn assessment method.
Ruth Benedict1995American anthropologist.
Ruth Benedict Commemorative Stamp
Mary Chesnut, Phoebe Pember1995Heroic Confederate women.
Mary Chestnut Commemorative Stamp

Phoebe Pember Commemorative Stamp
Bessie Coleman1995First woman to earn an international pilot's license.
Bessie Coleman Commemorative Stamp
Alice Hamilton1995Pioneer in industrial medicine.
Alice Hamilton Commemorative Stamp
Marilyn Monroe 1995 American film actor.
Alice Paul1995Founder of National Women's Party and author of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Alice Hamilton Commemorative Stamp
Jacqueline Cochran1996Pioneer pilot who had more than 200 aviation records, firsts, and awards. She was the first woman to break the sound barrier.
Georgia O'Keeffe1996Abstract American painter. Her most famous and popular works are of huge flowers.
Georgia O'Keeffe Commemorative Stamp
(Painting by Georgia O'Keeffe)
Dorothy Fields1997Popular song writer of the 1920s and 1930s. She wrote the words for “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”
Lily Pons,
Rosa Ponselle
1997Opera singers.
Lily Pons Rosa Ponselle Commemorative Stamp
Women in Military Service1997This stamp honored the nearly 2 million women have have served and are serving in the U.S. armed forces.
Women in Military Service 2 Commemorative Stamp
Mary Breckinridge1998Founder of the Frontier Nursing Service.
Mary Breckinridge Commemorative Stamp
Mahalia Jackson,
Roberta Martin,
Sister Rosetta Tharpe,
Clara Ward
1998Gospel singers.
Margaret Mead1998Famous anthropologist who studied child rearing, personality, and culture, mainly in the South Pacific.
Margaret Mead Commemorative Stamp
Madame C. J. Walker1998African American who became one of the wealthiest women in the 1910s by developing and selling hair care products.
C. J. Walker Commemorative Stamp
Ayn Rand1999Author of the novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
Patricia Roberts Harris2000Lawyer and political adviser; in 1977 she became the first African American woman named to a presidential cabinet.
Patricia Harris Commemorative Stamp
Louise Nevelson2000Twentieth-century American sculptor who worked with wood, metals, and found objects.
Louise Nevelson Commemorative Stamp
(Details of Sculptures by Louise Nevelson)
Hattie Wyatt Caraway2001First woman elected to U.S. Senate.
Rose O'Neill2001American illustrator.
Rose O'Neill Commemorative Stamp
(Painting by Rose O'Neill)
Lucille Ball2001Famed American comedienne and actress.
Frida Kahlo2001 Influential Mexican artist.
Nellie Bly, Marguerite Higgins, Ethel Payne, Ida Tarbell2002 Journalists
Zora Neale Hurston2003 African American novelist in the Harlem Renaissance
Audrey Hepburn2003 Film actress and goodwill ambassador for UNICEF
Mary Cassatt2003 American artist known for her portraits of motherhood
Agnes de Mille, Martha Graham2004 Choreographers
Wilma Rudolph2004 Track and field star
Marian Anderson2005 Opera singer who was the first African-American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera
Greta Garbo2005 Actress of the silver screen
Hattie McDaniel2006 Singer and actress who was the first African-American to win an Oscar
Frances E. Willis2006 Diplomat
Judy Garland2006 Actress and singer, star of The Wizard of Oz
Ella Fitzgerald2007 Jazz singer
Ella Fitzgerald
Gerty Cori2008 biochemist Gerty Cori
Bette Davis2008 actress
Martha Gellhorn2008 journalist who covered the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Vietnam War
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Yearling
Mary Eliza Church Terrell2009civil rights and women's rights activist
Mary White Ovington2009civil rights activist
Daisy Gatson Bates2009civil rights activist
Fannie Lou Hamer2009civil rights activist
Ella Baker2009civil rights activist
Ruby Hurley2009civil rights activist
Mary Lasker2009health activist and philanthropist
Anna Cooper2009African-American scholar
Lucille Ball2009actress
Vivien Vance2009actress
Dinah Shore2009entertainer
Fran Allison2009actress
Gracie Allen2009entertainer
Harriet Nelson2009actress
Katharine Hepburn2010entertainer
Kate Smith2010singer
Mother Teresa2010religious figure
Julia de Burgos2010poet
Carmen Miranda2011Latin music legend
Selena2011Latin music legend
Celia Cruz2011Latin music legend
Oveta Culp Hobby2011first secretary of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, first commanding officer of the Women's Army Corps
Helen Hayes2011actor
Maria Goeppert Mayer2011scientist
Greta von Nessen2011industrial designer
Barbara Jordan2011American politician and a leader of the Civil Rights movement
Elizabeth Bishop2012poet
Gwendolyn Brooks2012poet
Denise Levertov2012poet
Sylvia Plath2012poet
Edith Piaf2012singer
Isadora Duncan2012choreographer
Katherine Dunham2012choreographer
Lady Bird Johnson2012First Lady
Rosa Parks2013Civil Rights activist


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