23 Items Tagged

Female Explorers

For 17 days in Scotland's remote Cairngorms mountains, British traveler Elise Wortley retraced the journey of early-20th-century writer Nan Shepherd.

female explorers

Returning to the Valley of the Assassins in the Footsteps of Explorer Freya Stark

British adventurer Elise Wortley is about to retrace a historic journey through Iran.

Sarah Durn March 14, 2022

In the 18th century, Anne Bonny and Mary Read were the two most feared pirate queens of the Caribbean. Here they're shown brandishing their cutlasses in an illustration from the 1724 book <em>A General History of the Pyrates</em>.

9 Female Adventurers Who Journeyed Into the Unknown

From the Inupiat seamstress who killed polar bears to the Black motorcycle queen of Miami, these daring women lived life on their own terms.

Sarah Durn March 10, 2022

Herne Bay, England

Amy Johnson Statue

A statue paying homage to a world-record-setting aviator who disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Main-a-dieu, Nova Scotia

Beryl Markham's Landing Site

This remote piece of Cape Breton coast was the unceremonious landing site of the first solo, east-west transatlantic flight made by a female aviator.

Washington, D.C.

Grace Hopper's Bug

A computer bug so primitive it was an actual insect.

The airfiled

Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador

Earhart Airfield

From this isolated strip of land in Newfoundland, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

Menie Muriel Dowie

The 1890 Version of 'Wild' Saw a 10-Week Slog Through the Carpathian Mountains

Feminist travel writer Menie Muriel Dowie was understandably irate about her book's reception.

Atlas Obscura June 30, 2016

space exploration

Why It's Still a Struggle to Put Women in Space in 2016

The German search for its first female astronaut is only latest in long string of fits and starts.

Megan Gannon April 18, 2016

female explorers

The World’s First Global Dance Critic Was a Victorian Aerobics Teacher

Beryl de Zoete scoured the world for all the best dance moves.

Ailsa Ross March 2, 2016

The Insouciant Heiress Who Became the First Western Woman to Enter Palmyra

Ailsa Ross February 10, 2016

The Hudson's Bay Company's outpost on the shore of Lake Saskatoon, Canada. Gunn traveled 1,800 miles between remote trading posts, disguised as a man.

female explorers

The Teen Who Trekked 1,800 Miles Through the Canadian Wilderness Disguised as a Man

Her ruse worked—until she had a baby.

Ailsa Ross January 27, 2016

How Lady Bible Hunters Made the Victorian Era's Most Stunning Scriptural Find

Ailsa Ross January 20, 2016

A signed photograph of Harriet Quimby and Matilde Moisant.

The Daredevil Gal Pals Who Conquered the Sky

Harriet Quimby and Matilde Moisant were best friends and the first women licensed as pilots in the United States.

Hadley Meares October 12, 2015

pointing at fossil on ground

The Scrappy Female Paleontologist Whose Life Inspired a Tongue Twister

Tao Tao Holmes October 7, 2015

Mary Kingsley: celebrity explorer, stickler for female fashions.

female explorers

The Victorian Traderess Who Battled Colonialism and Crocodiles in Africa

Mary Kingsley collected fish and insect samples, poked a hippopotamus, and climbed one of Africa’s tallest mountains—all while wearing a skirt.

Tao Tao Holmes September 16, 2015

An illustration of Anne Bonny and Mary Read from the 1724 book <em>A General History of the Pyrates</em>.

How Two 18th-Century Lady Pirates Became BFFs on the High Seas

Mary Read and Anne Bonny were the most feared pirate queens in the Caribbean.

Hadley Meares September 9, 2015

The Socialite Who Stopped at Nothing to Hunt Down Ancient Music

Damaris Colhoun September 2, 2015

Hannah Snell

Britain's Most Famous 1700s Sailor Spent 4 Years Disguised as a Man

After sailing across much of the world, Hannah Snell starred in a one-woman show and became the subject of a bestselling biography.

Sarah Laskow July 1, 2015