Female Explorers
Why A Site About Female Explorers?
Why do we need a site about Female Explorers? Why not a site about all explorers? Here's my explanation...
More than a decade ago I moved to a small town in Central California and soon set about learning the history of my new home. One day the newspaper printed a feature about a famous woman explorer (of her time) - Harriet Chalmers Adams - who had been a local resident. I was amazed to find that I had never heard of Ms. Adams! Since that time I have been a passionate researcher and reader of the life stories of women explorers.
You've probably heard of Amelia Earhart and Isak Dinesen, but I'm willing to bet most of you have never learned anything about the lives of phenomenal female explorers like Gertrude Bell, Alexandra David-Neel, Florence Von Sass Baker, Isabella Bird Bishop, or Annie Peck. When the youth of today are asked to name explorers, they commonly mention Magellan, Columbus, Erik the Red, or Lewis & Clark. Nobody ever names Delia Akeley.
In 1925 four women founded the Society of Women Explorers to fill a need for an organization which would support and encourage women in their explorations. At that time, no other "explorer" organization allowed women members. These four women, Marguerite Harrison, Blair Niles, Gertrude Shelby, and Gertrude Emersen Sen, determined that "geographer" should carry a broad meaning to include such disciplines as anthropology, geology, biology, archaeology, oceanography, ecology, and even specialized aspects of the arts. Today, the Society boasts more than 600 members, yet very few people outside the organization seem to know of its existence.
Women, especially young women, need a resource that will show them the possibilities in their lives. They need a place that will provide them with role models and resources for their personal life exploration. And men, especially young men, can benefit from a site showing that women, too, can be explorers and adventurers in their chosen fields.
So - please join me in an exploration of the lives of women explorers. Be prepared for adventure!
(Photo Credit: Owned Image)
My First Book About Female Explorers!
Female Explorers - Women Who Dared [Kindle Edition]
I'm happy to announce that the first volume in the Female Explorers series is now available on Amazon!
Female Explorers in Volume 1:
Harriet Chalmers Adams
Ruth Harkness
Isabella Bird Bishop
Margaret Bourke-White
Louise Arner Boyd
Gudridur
Gertrude Bell
Carrie Adell Strahorn
Harriet Chalmers Adams
Confidante of Savage Head Hunters
Adams' first major expedition was a three-year trip around South America. She and her husband, Franklin Adams, visited every single country in South America and even crossed the Andes on horseback. Regarding that journey, the New York times wrote that she "reached twenty frontiers previously unknown to white women." On subsequent trips she retraced the steps taken by Christopher Columbus' early discoveries in the Americas and crossed Haiti on horseback.
Harriet was also a war correspondent for Harper's Magazine in Europe during World War I. She and Franklin also toured eastern Bolivia during a second trip to South America.
From 1907 to 1935, she wrote twenty-one articles for the National Geographic Society that featured her photographs, including "Some Wonderful Sights in the Andean Highlands" (September, 1908), "Kaleidoscopic La Paz: City of the Clouds" (February, 1909) and "River-Encircled Paraguay" (April 1933). She wrote on Trinidad, Surinam, Bolivia, Peru and the trans-Andean railroad between Buenos Aires and Valparaiso.
Ironically enough, in Harriet's time women were not allowed to join the National Geographical Society as full members. Harriet took of the cause for the recognition of female explorers, and helped launch the Society of Woman Geographers in 1925. She then served as its first president through 1933. .
It has been estimated that Adams traveled more than a hundred thousand miles during her explorations. The New York Times wrote "Harriet Chalmers Adams is America's greatest woman explorer. As a lecturer no one, man or woman, has a more magnetic hold over an audience than she."
Harriet died in Nice, France, in 1937, at age 62. Her obituary in the Washington Post called her a "confidant of savage head hunters" who never stopped wandering the remote corners of the world."
(Photo Credit: Stockton.Lib.Ca.US)
Harriet Chalmers Adams: Adventurer and Explorer
Harriet Chalmers Adams: Adventurer and Explorer, Second Edition [Paperback]
This wonderful book - written for readers of all ages - is now available in a new second edition!
Harriet Chalmers Adams: Adventurer And Explorer is the true story of one of the most acclaimed female explorers of the early twentieth century.
Not only did Harriet record - in words and photographs - her three-year, 40,000 mile journey through South America, but when WWI broke out 1914, she was the first woman correspondent to travel to the front lines of France.
Later, she was instrumental in organizing the Society of Woman Geographers and even served as the organization's first president!
Female Explorers in the News
Isabella Bird
If you think you need to be young, healthy and wealthy to be an explorer - think again!
Isabella Bird, often described as "short and dumpy," was over 60 when she had some of her most dramatic adventures, suffered from ill health throughout much of her life, and was a woman of only modest means.
And yet, she is widely recognized as one of the great explorers of the Victorian era.
Isabella Bird published ten books about her travels, numerous articles, and two books of photographs.
She was the first woman to travel up the Yangtze River, and her written accounts of the assassination of the Korean Queen and Japan's invasion of Korea were considered major news stories.
She was the first woman ever to be appointed in the Royal Geographical Society in London, and the first woman ever to address a meeting of that Society.
Quite a list of accomplishments!
Six Months in the Sandwich Islands
A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains
Isabella Bird Videos
"I've never found my sex a hinderment; never faced a difficulty which a woman, as well as a man, could not surmount; never felt a fear of danger; never lacked courage to protect myself. I've been in tight places and have seen harrowing things." -- Harriet Chalmers Adams
Ruth Harkness
The 'Panda Lady'
Ruth Harkness was an American fashion designer and socialite, who traveled to China after the death of her husband and brought back the first live giant panda to the United States - not in a cage, or on a leash, but wrapped in her arms.
The Giant Panda, today recognized on sight by every schoolchild, was once only a 'phantom animal' to the Western world. No description of this animal even reached Western society until 1869, and it took another sixty-seven years for someone to bring a live panda out of China.
It was not until 1937, some sixty-seven years after the panda's discovery by Westerners, that Ruth Harkness and Gerald Russell captured a live giant panda for the first time. During this period twelve well staffed and equipped professional expeditions failed to collect a single live specimen of the giant panda.
Mrs. Harkness and the Panda [Hardcover]
The Lady and the Panda [Paperback]
Ruth Harkness Links
- The Panda Baby
- Nature show featuring Panda's and discussion of Ruth Harkness' role in bringing back the first live speciman. Additional site features include Panda Scrabble, Panda Facts (Panda Pearls), Panda Resources!
- China: The Panda Adventure
- Discusses the IMAX movie "China: The Panda Adventure"
- Vicki Constantine Croke
- Site of Vicki Constantine Croke, author of "The Lady and the Panda: The True Adventures of the First American Explorer to Bring Back China's Most Exotic Animal."
List of Female Explorers
Female Explorers and More Female Explorers...
Below you'll find an ever-growing list of female explorers. Feel free to leave me a comment if your favorite female explorer is missing from the group!- Harriet Chalmers Adams - Premier Female Explorer of Her Time!
- Gertrude Bell - "Queen of the Desert"
- Isabella Bird - Victorian Traveler of the World
- Margaret Bourke-White - First Female Photojournalist and War Correspondent
- Louise Arner Body - Arctic Explorer
- Fanny Bullock Workman
- Arlene Burns
- Elisabeth Casteret
- Constanza Ceruti
- Emma Shaw Colcleugh
- Violet Cressy-Marcks
- Constance Gordon Cumming
- Sophia Danenberg
- Alexandria David-Neel - Student of Tibet
- Laura Dekker
- Catherin Destiville
- Eva Dickson
- Isak Dineson
- Christina Dodwell
- Lady Hay Drummond-Hay
- Amelia Earhart - Pilot
- Sylvia A.Earle - Oceanographer
- Isabella Eberhardt
- Barbara Anne am Ende
- Jane Franklin
- Birut Galdikas
- Lene Gammelgaard
- Mary Gaunt
- Isabel Grandmaison y Bruno Godin
- Frances Wilson Grayson
- Gudridur - Most Traveled Woman of the MIddle Ages
- Ruth Harkness - The Panda Lady
- Margaretha Charlotta Heijkenskold
- Susan Helms - Alpha's First Female Astronaut
- Sue Hendrickson
- Eleanor Hibbert
- Barbara Hillary
- Mina Hubbard
- Mae C.Jamison
- Amy Johnson
- Osa Johnson
- Lois Jones
- Mary Kingsley
- Marie-Anne Lagmodiere
- Annie Lister
- Elizabeth Mackintosh
- Ella Maillart
- Beryl Markham
- Kate Marsden
- Mireya Mayor
- Ynex Mexia
- Yva Momatiuk
- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
- Anne Morrow-Lindbergh
- Dervla Murphy
- Marianne North
- Annie Oakley
- Caroline Paine
- Josephine Diebitsch Peary
- Annie Smith Peck
- Ida Pfeiffer
- Susie Carson Rijnhart
- Jackie Ronne
- Emily Ruete
- Sacajawea
- Kira Salak
- Roz Savage
- Mary Schaffer
- Sheila Scott
- Ellen Churchill Semple
- May French Sheldon
- Mary Slessor
- Elinor Smith
- Lady Hester Stanhope
- Freya Stark
- Katherine Stinson
Col. Susan J. Helms: Alpha's First Female Astronaut
Susan Helms, the first woman to live on International Space Station 'Alpha', as a member of the second crew to inhabit the Station, arrived home on earth recently after spending some 5.5 months in orbit.
The Expedition-2 crew, composed of two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut, launched on March 8, 2001 onboard STS-102 Discovery and successfully docked with the station on March 9, 2001.
Helms was the first woman to live on the ISS, but the second American woman to live on a space station. The first, Shannon Lucid, spent six months on Russia's Mir in 1996.
Susan was born February 26, 1958, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Later, her family moved to Portland, Oregon, and she graduated from Portland's Parkrose Senior High School in 1976.
After High School, Susan attended the U.S. Air Force Academy, receiving a B.S. degree in aeronautical engineering in 1980. After receiving her commission, she moved to Eglin AFB, Florida, where she served as an F-16 weapons separation engineer with the Air Force Armament Laboratory.
In 1984 Susan was selected to obtain graduate school, and she obtained a M.S. degree in aeronautics/astronautics from Stanford University in 1985.
After receiving her M.S., Helms was assigned as an assistant professor of aeronautics at the USAF Academy. In 1987, she attended the AF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California.
After completing one year of training as a flight test engineer, Helms was assigned as a USAF Exchange Officer to the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment, Canadian Forces Base, Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, where she worked as a flight test engineer and project officer on the CF-18 aircraft.
As a flight test engineer, Helms has flown in 30 different types of U.S. and Canadian military aircraft. She was managing the development of a CF-18 Flight Control System Simulation
Check Out The Following Books About Women in Space!
Women in Space - Following Valentina
Sally Ride: The First American Woman in Space
Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the Space Race
The Women of Apollo [Paperback]
Exploration Associations
- Society of Woman Geographers
- SWG members are women who love adventure. Whether circling the globe or delving into research, we define "geographer" in the broadest sense, as people who have added to the world's knowledge. As anthropologists, geologists, journalists, biologists, archaeologists, oceanographers, geographers, economists, diplomats, explorers and ecologists, we meet to share our discoveries and adventures.
- The Royal Scottish Geographical Society
- Founded in 1884, the RSGS is an educational charity the aims of which are to advance the science of Geography and create a greater understanding of the wider world, in the belief that geographical knowledge makes a significant difference to the way in which we view and shape the world we live in.
- National Geographic Society
- The National Geographic Society is the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organization. Their website gives the following history: "On the evening of January 13, 1888, thirty-three men traveled on foot, horseback, and in horsedrawn carriages through the streets of Washington to the Cosmos Club, then on Lafayette Square across from the White House. They convened around a large mahogany table to discuss "the advisability of organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge."
- The Association of American Geographers
- The Association of American Geographers (AAG), founded in 1904, is a scientific and educational society. The website states that "Its members share interests in the theory, methods, and practice of geography, which they cultivate through the AAG's Annual Meeting, two scholarly journals (the Annals of the Association of American Geographers and The Professional Geographer), the monthly AAG Newsletter, and the activities of its two affinity groups, nine regional divisions and 53 specialty groups. The AAG conducts educational and research projects that further its interests and programs."
- The Canadian Association of Geographers
- The Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) is the national organization representing practising geographers from public and private sectors and from universities. The CAG is active on many fronts: from the dissemination of geographic research to the promotion of geographic education and cooperation with international organizations.
- The National Council for Geographic Education
- The National Council for Geographic Education works to enhance the status and quality of geography teaching and learning.
- The Explorers Club
- Their website states that "The Explorers Club is dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration, and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. We foster these goals by providing research grants, educational lectures and publications, expedition planning assistance, exciting adventure travel programs, and a forum where experts in all the diverse fields of science and exploration, can meet to exchange ideas."
"I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others." -- Amelia Earhart
Hear From & About Female Polar Explorers!
Read all About Female Polar Explorers!
There are so many great female polar explorers!
Ann Bancroft, an American author, teacher, and adventurer was the first woman to successfully finish a number of arduous expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. She was inducted as honorary member of the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1995
Another of my favorite female explorers, Louise Arner Boyd is credited with being the first woman to fly over the Geographic North Pole. She made this trip to the Pole at the age of 67, after having devoted her life to the scientific exploration of the Arctic.
Additional female explorers of note include Sophia Danenberg, Barbara Hillary, Agnes Deans Cameron, Kate Marsden, Ida Pfeiffer, and Helen Thayer!
Check out some of these great books about female polar explorers!
Polar Dream: The First Solo Expedition by a Woman and Her Dog to the Magnetic North Pole
No Horizon Is So Far: Two Women and Their Historic Journey Across Antarctica
Four to the Pole!: The American Women's Expedition to Antarctica, 1992-1993
A Thought-Provoking Article About Female Explorers
Recommended Reading!
- Can female explorers save us from extinction?
- Check out this thought-provoking article by Mikael Strandberg
"Who knows the flower best? The one who reads about it in a book, or the one who finds it wild on a mountainside?" -- Alexandra David-Neel
Learn About Gertrude Bell
"Queen of the Desert"
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell was born in July 1868 to a wealthy, titled and politically active family.
Bell's uncle, Sir Frank Lascelles, was British ambassador at Tehran, Persia. After completing her education at Queen's College in London and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, Gertrude traveled to Persia for a visit.
She spent the next ten years traveling around the world. She also became fluent in Arabic, Persian, French and German as well as also speaking Italian and Turkish.
Altogether she traveled across Arabia six times in the next twelve years.
In partnership with T. E. Lawrence - aka "Lawrence of Arabia", Gertrude helped establish and assisted in the administration of what is now the modern state of Iraq.
Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations
Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell
The Desert and the Sown: The Syrian Adventures of the Female Lawrence of Arabia
"Adventure is worthwhile in itself."-- Amelia Earhart
More Female Explorer News!
Learn More About Female Explorers
Watch & Learn!
Thank You for the Purple Star!
I'm So Grateful for the Support
Are You An Explorer?
Keep Track of Your Travels With These Fine Journals!
Men Can Be Explorers Too! :)
Visit These Great Lenses about Male Explorers & Men of Adventure!
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Do You Have a Favorite Female Explorer?
Let's Talk About Her!
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siobhanryan Apr 15, 2013 @ 12:13 pm | deleteBlessed-It has to be Ruth Harkness for me -
Blessed-It has to be Ruth Harkness for me -
Fascinating list! I truly hadn't heard of most of these women. I'm so glad you wrote this article and I hope many educators find this. Also, you might want to add Jane Goodall to your list. -
DanaQ Mar 17, 2013 @ 9:55 pm | deleteHow about Alice Eastwood, pioneer SW botanist and intrepid desert explorer? -
Dana - Thanks for the new name - I'll add her to my list! -
Thank you for shedding some light on a much neglected subject. Inspiring to say the least. We need to hear more about these neglected heroine's. -
Not an explorer - but I do have female heros -
Love, love this lens--I am sojourner-1 in another squid world...and I love to explore and learn about new places. Great lens! -
Yes, we only hear of the men explorer, never the female explorers. Why should the guys have all the fun?? :) A lot of great information that we should know about. Great lens!! -
Great lens and well done! :) - Load More
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