9 women who marked the history of exploration
On the International Women’s Day we want to share the achievements of 9 women who challenged their society’s rules and opened new ways for women travelers.
Jeanne Baret
In 1766, the botanical and French explorer Jeanne Baret became the first woman to circumnavigate the world, but to do so she had to disguise herself as a man. At that time women weren’t allowed on board naval vessels for which she renamed herself, dressed as a man and sailed throughout the globe.
Annie “Londonderry” Cohen Kopchovsky
She was cyclist and journalist, but above all an adventurer. Annie Londonderry was the first woman to travel all around the world by bicycle, despite never having ridden before. She started in Boston and spent 15 months pedaling. Her adventure was described by the New York World as “the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman.”
(Right Image: Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, Wikipedia)
Amelia Earhart
Aviation pioneer, Amelia Earhart was the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932. In addition, in 1935, she became the first pilot that succeeded a flight between the island of Hawaii and the mainland United States. Unfortunately she failed to complete the last of its challenges: to circumnavigate the world by the line of Ecuador. She disappeared while trying to perform the feat .
(Left Image: Amelia Earhart, Wikipedia)
Grace Marguerite
Grace Marguerite was a British journalist and the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air. She did it in 1929 above a Zeppelin balloon. The articles she wrote recounting her adventures in each country were very successful in the newspapers of the time.
Valentina Tereshkova
Russian Valentina Tereshkova enters the female cosmonaut corps of her country in 1962. A year later, she was selected from over 400 candidates for a space mission that consecrated her as the first woman to travel into space being only 26 years old.
(Right Image: Valentina Tereshkova, Wikipedia)
Liv Arnesen
Liv Arnesen is a Norwegian skier who became the first woman in the world to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole. The expedition took place in 1994, during 51 days and 745 miles (1,200 km).
Rosie Swale Pope
In 2003, Rosie Swale Pope left her home in Wales (Great Britain) to run no less than 20.000 miles (32.000 kilometers) for five years, becoming the first person who went around the world trotting. To achieve this she used 52 pairs of shoes.
Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar
It is a Spanish mountaineer and the first woman to ascend to the 14 eight-thousanders, the mountains over 8,000 meters of the planet. She completed her feat in nine years. She began in 2001 with the ascent to the Everest and ended with Shisha Pangma in 2010.
(Left Image: Edurne Pasaban, Wikipedia)
Laura Dekker
This Dutch girl is the youngest sailor ever who sailed solo around the globe being only 15 years old. She spent two years sailing, beginning in Gibraltar in 2010 and finishing on the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean.
(Right Image: Laura Dekker, Wikipedia)