5 More Amazing Historical Women & What They Teach Us

To wrap up Women’s History Month, I’m sharing 5 more awesome historical women. If you missed the first five, click here to catch up. After I shared that post in our company chat room, we had a fun discussion about other inspiring historical women. Number five on today’s list comes by popular demand from that discussion.

But first, I want to give a special shout-out to the women of Pinney Insurance. There isn’t a thing we do that they haven’t improved, whether it’s our vision, our process, or the way we present ourselves within the industry. To Katie Cumalat, Tracy Meier, Mary Ellen Meteer, Candi Brundage, Christine Orris, Virginia Unruh, Lory Williams, Dianne Nielsen, Jenni Wiltz, and all the ladies who bring so much intelligence, humor, and talent to our company – thank you for all you do.

Now, let’s meet five more awesome women and see what they can teach us about building and growing a business today.

1. Tomoe Gozen

A woman who fought for a samurai and beheaded warriors on horseback? I bet you’re not surprised she’s on my list. ??

Tomoe Gozen’s story is shrouded in myth and mystery. We know she was an onna musha (a woman who fought in battle) for a samurai named Minamoto Kiso Yoshinaka. She’s described as a fearless rider, an expert with sword and bow who was “fit to meet either god or devil.” She used both a naginata, a long sword mounted on a pole that was excellent for beheading warriors on horseback, and a katana, the traditional long sword of a samurai.

In 1184, Yoshinaka led 300 warriors – including Tomoe Gozen – against a much stronger force of 6,000 men at the Battle of Awazu. Despite the odds, Tomoe personally defeated two generals: she beheaded one, and a second ran away rather than be killed by a woman. At the end of the battle, she was one of only a handful of Yoshinaka’s fighters left standing. 

Tomoe Gozen killing Uchida Saburō Ieyoshi at the Battle of Awazu by Ishikawa Toyonobu, c. 1750. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

There are several different versions of what happened to her afterward. She may have become a nun or been taken prisoner. Personally, I like the version that says she hunted down all of Yoshinaka’s enemies, then carried his head into the sea to keep those enemies from desecrating it.

What can we learn about business from Tomoe?

Sometimes you have to fight against seemingly impossible odds – but don’t let that stop you. Trust your skill, trust your training, and you just might be one of those five people left standing at the end.

2. Victoria Woodhull

You’d think being the first female candidate for U.S. president would be enough of a claim to fame – but Victoria Woodhull is an over-achiever.

Born in 1838, she spent her childhood pretending to be a fortune teller and faith healer, forced into the deception by an abusive con-artist father. When she was 15, her parents married her to a wealthy doctor, Canning Woodhull – but the guy wasn’t really a doctor, and he spent all his money on alcohol and other women. She divorced him and became a single mom to their two kids, one of whom was mentally handicapped.

Later, by drawing on her experience as a faith healer, she caught the eye of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was interested in the popular spiritualist movement. With his investment, she and her sister opened the first female-run Wall Street trading firm.

Victoria Woodhull. Photo by Mathew Brady, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1870, she announced another first – her campaign for president. She wanted to give women the right to manage their relationships – marry, divorce, and have kids – with no social stigma or government interference. Days before the 1872 election, she was arrested on charges of indecency for mailing out a newspaper with articles on women’s rights, including a proposal for sex education in schools. There’s no record of how many popular votes she received, but she received zero electoral college votes.

After the election, she faced more charges of obscenity and libel for her newspaper articles. Out of cash, she closed the paper in 1876. She divorced her second husband and eventually moved to England, where she married a third time and stayed out of the limelight. She died there in 1927.

What can we learn about business from Victoria?

Have the courage to do what you believe is right, even if no one else agrees. And, if you live and breathe for your cause or your company, don’t be afraid to aim as high as possible. That authenticity and passion will help generate the publicity you need.

3. Hedy Lamarr

Born in Vienna in 1914, Hedy Lamarr grew up with a father who encouraged her curiosity. She loved taking things apart to see how they worked. But when a director discovered her as a teenager, the film industry became her focus. She married an Austrian arms dealer at 19, but fled to London in 1937 to get away from his controlling ways – and his Nazi business partners. Producer Louis B. Mayer met her in London and brought her to Hollywood, where she dated Howard Hughes and became the visual inspiration for Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

1940 MGM publicity shot, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

After meeting composer George Antheil in 1940, she realized they had a shared interest in technology. Together, they designed a torpedo guidance system with a signal no enemy ship could jam because the transmitter and receiver hopped frequencies in tandem. They patented their invention and hoped the Navy could use it, but their idea was rejected. Later, in the 1950s and 60s, when lighter-weight transistors were available, U.S. ships carried torpedoes armed with that very technology – after the patent had expired.

The technology she helped create became the basis of modern Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth devices. Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil won the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award in 1997. She died in 2000 and was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

What can we learn about business from Hedy?

Follow where your curiosity leads you. If you’re interested in something your peers aren’t, find someone who shares that interest instead of pushing it aside. You never know what might come of it – a partnership, an invention, a patent, or a life-changing new technology.

4. Okwei Afubeho

Born to a noble family in Ossomari (present-day Nigeria) in 1872, Okwei Afubeho was apprenticed to an aunt who traded produce and poultry. Most traders in the area at the time were women. Wives – even royal wives – traded goods to earn money for their families. Since daughters weren’t allowed to inherit property, those earnings were their lifeline.

After a brief marriage to a trader, Okwei struck out on her own. She used contacts she’d made during her marriage to expand her business. Later, when she married again, her second husband was happy to let her keep working (and bringing in profits).

Okwei traded with the British, who ruled Eastern Nigeria at the time. Under their “ticket” system, successful traders could redeem tickets for goods. At one point in 1910, Okwei earned 400 tickets a month, giving her ￡400 of credit with British merchants.

The Onitsha market today, which includes a street named after her. Image by Nwabu2010, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

She reinvested her profits and educated her sons so they’d be able to handle banking and negotiating. That foresight paid off, as she expanded into currency exchange and real estate after World War I.

She also gave back to her community, resolving disputes and upholding traditional beliefs. In 1935, she was crowned Omu (queen) of Ossomari. As Omu, she led the Council of Mothers, which maintained law and order in the local market. When she died in 1943, she was one of the wealthiest and most respected women in Nigeria.

What can we learn about business from Okwei?

What can’t we learn? Study under a master, and make contacts everywhere you can, even in your personal life. Reinvest in yourself and your business. Recruit the next generation if you can. And always make time for your community, because although your business can feel like the center of the universe, it’s not. It’s just as important that you contribute to the greater good.

5. Catherine the Great

Would you be surprised if I told you Catherine the Great wasn’t Russian…and her name wasn’t Catherine? Born Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, she was chosen by Russia’s Empress Elisabeth to marry her heir, Peter. But Peter wasn’t Russian either. He didn’t even like Russia and wasn’t thrilled about eventually becoming its next ruler.

But Sophia did like Russia…and realized she would do a better job than Peter ever could. She believed it was her destiny to rule Russia and played the long game to make it happen. She converted to Russian Orthodoxy (taking the new baptismal name of Catherine). She made friends with foreign ambassadors. She did favors for people. She listened, learned, watched, and watched for nearly 20 years.

Catherine painted by V. Eriksen. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Then, when the time was right, she struck.

In a bloodless coup, she and her allies ousted Peter from the throne in 1762. She spent the next 34 years reforming laws, prioritizing education (including for women), inviting scientists and philosophers to Russia, and having herself and her son inoculated against smallpox to convince everyone it was safe. In our office chat, Tanja Pederson also pointed out that she was one of the longest-serving leaders in Russian history.

And did I mention she appointed the first female Director of the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences?

What can we learn about business from Catherine the Great?

When you’re new at something, watch and learn before you act. Take advice, make friends, and find your footing before you launch. Then, once you reach your goal, never stop learning – and lead by example.

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Thank you for reading! Click here to check out my other LinkedIn articles.

Ryan J. Pinney, LACP is a twelve-year MDRT member with twelve Top of the Table qualifications. Recognized for using innovative technologies to drive insurance sales, streamline the application process, and speed up underwriting, Ryan has been honored by AdvisorToday as a “4 under 40” Financial Advisor, by LifeHealthPro Magazine as one of the “24 Most Creative People in Insurance,” and as a National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) ID Twenty award recipient. Utilizing a wide array of digital marketing tools and home-grown technology, his agency sold thousands of policies direct-to-consumer over the internet last year. Ryan is also active in the industry, where he has served as National Trustee for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and Divisional Vice President of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT).