Inspiring women I've never heard of

Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter, an amazing woman, her work on Babbage's Counting Machine was so important the Alan Turin used it in his work on the Enigma machine. She basically invented the first computer!

Vera Britten is/was the mother of the well known Parliamentarian, Shirley Williams.

Agree with Szabo, actually watched the film again) a couple of weeks ago. I'm always ferreting about in our 4 local libraries for interesting biographies/life stories. My reading is extremely eclectic!

Artemisia Gentileschi
It's only in recent times that women artists have been 'discovered' and Artemesia was one of them, so for me she represents the hundreds of women artists throughout the centuries whose biographies have been suppressed but will hopefully 'emerge' in due course. To say her personal life was difficult is an understatement. She was raped as a teenager and to verify her claims , she was tortured. While her rapist was banished this judgment was never carried out. Artemesia pushed through and made a living as a painter.

I've always been inspired by the courage of Violette Szabo, an agent in the second world war who died for her country and never came home to her family. They made a film of her life 'Carve her name with pride'. I visited the German hospital in Jersey many years ago and there were photo's of her on the wall. She bore a strong resemblance to Ingrid Bergman and I read they wanted her to play Violette in the film but she turned it down. Violette was a posthumous recipient of the George Cross.

Back in early 1980s I decided to do some adult education sessions and one was A level Literature. One book was 'Testament of Youth' by Vera Brittain. I'd never heard of her but her life experiences inspired me.

Vera Mary Brittain was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse, writer, feminist, and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir Testament of Youth recounted her experiences during the First World War and the beginning of her journey towards pacifism.

I am sure I would discover unknowns if I bought this year"s Body S**p beauty advent calendar. Strange idea though - pull out a lip gloss and discover an inspirational woman - whatever next! By the way, sorry to hint at the C word in September

Here are more women you my not have heard of: www.amazon.co.uk/Woman-Rode-Shark-Women-Adventurers/dp/074958114X/ref=asc_df_074958114X/?hvlocphy=1007361&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=208279258722&hvpone&hvlocint&th=1&hvpos=1o1&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=gransnetforum-21&hvtargid=pla-683204400395&hvrand=12499909037027580959 written by our niece!!

I've learned about a few people on these but sadly my brain cells are such that I cannot recall a single one of them at this moment.

I hadn't heard of her, she sounds a wonderful person. But I knew about the leprosy hospitals in Pakistan.
Younger son ended up there as a student and later got a teaching job there. He married an english girl and she went out there and worked in one of those hospitals. They weren't there long, sounds like a very difficult place to live.
One of my heroines is Simone Veil
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Veil
What a life she had, after surviving Auschwitz.