Women Who Left Their “Stamps” on History

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Each of the following women have made a significant contribution to society. As a result, they (or works of art created by them) have been pictured on U.S. postage stamps.

Name	Year Issued	Contribution
Queen Isabella of Spain	1893	Her patronage of Christopher Columbus made his trips to the New World possible.
Martha Washington	1902	First First Lady of the United States.
Pocahontas	1907	The Powhatan princess who saved the life of Captain John Smith.
Molly Pitcher	1928	Mary Hayes McCauley earned the name Molly Pitcher by carrying water to the men in the battle of Monmouth in 1778.
Eleanor Roosevelt	1930, 1984, 1998	American diplomat, writer, social reformer, and First Lady to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Susan B. Anthony	1936, 1955	Feminist who spent more than 50 years fighting for women's rights.
Virginia Dare	1937	First European child born on American soil, in 1587.
Louisa May Alcott	1940	American author famous for her books Little Women and Little Men.
Frances E. Willard	1940	Educator, reformer, lecturer, and women's suffrage supporter.
Jane Addams	1940	Founder of Hull House in Chicago, a social welfare center.
Clara Barton	1948	Founded the American Red Cross.
Juliette Gordon Low	1948	Founded the Girl Scouts of America.
Moina Michael	1948	Initiated the Veterans of Foreign Wars fundraising drive, selling red poppies in 1915.
Betsy Ross	1952	America's most famous flagmaker.
Sacajawea	1954	Shoshone guide who led the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804.
Amelia Earhart	1963	First woman to fly solo, nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean.
Mary Cassatt	1966, 1988	American painter best known for her works of mothers and children.	(Painting by Mary Cassatt)
Lucy Stone	1968	Nineteenth century abolitionist and women's rights leader.
Grandma Moses	1969	Anna Mary Robertson Moses took up painting at the age of 76. She continued to paint until her death at age 101.	(Painting by Grandma Moses)
Emily Dickinson	1971	American poet who wrote more than 1,700 poems.
Willa Cather	1973	Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell	1973	First woman physician in the U.S.
Sybil Ludington	1975	Sixteen-year-old Revolutionary War hero.
Clara Maass	1976	Twenty-five-year-old U.S. Army nurse who advanced medical science when she volunteered to be bitten by a mosquito carrying yellow fever.
Harriet Tubman	1978	Leader of the Underground Railroad, which brought slaves to freedom.
Emily Bissell	1980	Leader in the fight against tuberculosis who introduced Christmas seals in the United States.
Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan	1980	Famous student who overcame tremendous handicaps and her extraordinary teacher.
Dolley Madison	1980	First Lady who saved White House treasures during the capture of the capital by the British in 1814.
Frances Perkins	1980	First woman member of the presidential Cabinet (Secretary of Labor) appointed by F.D. Roosevelt.
Edith Wharton	1980	Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist known for her novels Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence.
Rachel Carson	1981	The publication of her book Silent Spring in 1961 touched off a major controversy over the effects of pesticide.
Edna St. Vincent Millay	1981	American poet whose work was first published when she was just 14 years old.
Mildred (Babe) Didrikson Zaharias	1981	One of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century. She excelled in track, golf, baseball, and basketball.
Dr. Mary Walker	1982	Devoted herself to the care and treatment of the sick and wounded during the Civil War.
Dorothea Dix	1983	Nineteenth-century crusader for the poor and mentally handicapped.
Pearl S. Buck	1983	Author of more than 100 books, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Good Earth.
Lillian M. Gilbreth	1984	Engineering pioneer who analyzed how tasks are done, hoping to increase the efficiency of workers.
Abigail Adams	1985	First Lady to John Adams, she influenced American politics through her letters to her husband.
Mary McLeod Bethune	1985	Educator and social activist who founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, currently known as Bethune-Cookman College.
Belva Ann Lockwood	1986	First woman candidate for president.
Margaret Mitchell	1986	Pulitzer Prize-winning author best known for Gone with the Wind.
Sojourner Truth	1986	Born Isabella Baumfree, she was the first black woman to speak publicly against slavery.
Julia Ward Howe	1987	Composer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Mary Lyon	1987	Education pioneer who founded Mount Holyoke College.
Helene Madison	1990	A gold medalist in the 1932 Olympic Games in swimming.
Marianne Moore	1990	Poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1951 for her Collected Poems.
Ida Wells	1990	Civil rights activist who cofounded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Hazel Wightman	1990	Olympic gold medalist credited with doing more to build American and international women's tennis than any other player.
Fanny Brice	1991	Singer and comedienne who created the “Baby Snooks” radio character.
Harriet Quimby	1991	First American woman pilot to fly the English Channel.
Dorothy Parker	1992	Poet and short story writer.
Patsy Cline	1993	Popular American country singer.
Grace Kelly	1993	American film actress.
Dinah Washington	1993	“Queen of the Blues.”
Clara Bow, ZaSu Pitts, Theda Bara	1994	Silent film actresses.
Nellie Cashman	1994	The “Angel of Tombstone,” an anti-violence advocate who raised orphans and campaigned against public hanging.
Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey, Ethel Merman	1994	Famous American singers.
Annie Oakley	1994	American sharpshooter.
Virginia Apgar	1994	Doctor who developed a newborn assessment method.
Ruth Benedict	1995	American anthropologist.
Mary Chesnut, Phoebe Pember	1995	Heroic Confederate women.
Bessie Coleman	1995	First woman to earn an international pilot's license.
Alice Hamilton	1995	Pioneer in industrial medicine.
Marilyn Monroe	1995	American film actor.
Alice Paul	1995	Founder of National Women's Party and author of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Jacqueline Cochran	1996	Pioneer pilot who had more than 200 aviation records, firsts, and awards. She was the first woman to break the sound barrier.
Georgia O'Keeffe	1996	Abstract American painter. Her most famous and popular works are of huge flowers.	(Painting by Georgia O'Keeffe)
Dorothy Fields	1997	Popular song writer of the 1920s and 1930s. She wrote the words for “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”
Lily Pons, Rosa Ponselle	1997	Opera singers.
Women in Military Service	1997	This stamp honored the nearly 2 million women have have served and are serving in the U.S. armed forces.
Mary Breckinridge	1998	Founder of the Frontier Nursing Service.
Mahalia Jackson, Roberta Martin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Clara Ward	1998	Gospel singers.
Margaret Mead	1998	Famous anthropologist who studied child rearing, personality, and culture, mainly in the South Pacific.
Madame C. J. Walker	1998	African American who became one of the wealthiest women in the 1910s by developing and selling hair care products.
Ayn Rand	1999	Author of the novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
Patricia Roberts Harris	2000	Lawyer and political adviser; in 1977 she became the first African American woman named to a presidential cabinet.
Louise Nevelson	2000	Twentieth-century American sculptor who worked with wood, metals, and found objects.	(Details of Sculptures by Louise Nevelson)
Hattie Wyatt Caraway	2001	First woman elected to U.S. Senate.
Rose O'Neill	2001	American illustrator.	(Painting by Rose O'Neill)
Lucille Ball	2001	Famed American comedienne and actress.
Frida Kahlo	2001	Influential Mexican artist.
Nellie Bly, Marguerite Higgins, Ethel Payne, Ida Tarbell	2002	Journalists
Zora Neale Hurston	2003	African American novelist in the Harlem Renaissance
Audrey Hepburn	2003	Film actress and goodwill ambassador for UNICEF
Mary Cassatt	2003	American artist known for her portraits of motherhood
Agnes de Mille, Martha Graham	2004	Choreographers
Wilma Rudolph	2004	Track and field star
Marian Anderson	2005	Opera singer who was the first African-American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera
Greta Garbo	2005	Actress of the silver screen
Hattie McDaniel	2006	Singer and actress who was the first African-American to win an Oscar
Frances E. Willis	2006	Diplomat
Judy Garland	2006	Actress and singer, star of The Wizard of Oz
Ella Fitzgerald	2007	Jazz singer
Gerty Cori	2008	biochemist
Bette Davis	2008	actress
Martha Gellhorn	2008	journalist who covered the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Vietnam War
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings	2008	Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Yearling
Mary Eliza Church Terrell	2009	civil rights and women's rights activist
Mary White Ovington	2009	civil rights activist
Daisy Gatson Bates	2009	civil rights activist
Fannie Lou Hamer	2009	civil rights activist
Ella Baker	2009	civil rights activist
Ruby Hurley	2009	civil rights activist
Mary Lasker	2009	health activist and philanthropist
Anna Cooper	2009	African-American scholar
Lucille Ball	2009	actress
Vivien Vance	2009	actress
Dinah Shore	2009	entertainer
Fran Allison	2009	actress
Gracie Allen	2009	entertainer
Harriet Nelson	2009	actress
Katharine Hepburn	2010	entertainer
Kate Smith	2010	singer
Mother Teresa	2010	religious figure
Julia de Burgos	2010	poet
Carmen Miranda	2011	Latin music legend
Selena	2011	Latin music legend
Celia Cruz	2011	Latin music legend
Oveta Culp Hobby	2011	first secretary of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, first commanding officer of the Women's Army Corps
Helen Hayes	2011	actor
Maria Goeppert Mayer	2011	scientist
Greta von Nessen	2011	industrial designer
Barbara Jordan	2011	American politician and a leader of the Civil Rights movement
Elizabeth Bishop	2012	poet
Gwendolyn Brooks	2012	poet
Denise Levertov	2012	poet
Sylvia Plath	2012	poet
Edith Piaf	2012	singer
Isadora Duncan	2012	choreographer
Katherine Dunham	2012	choreographer
Lady Bird Johnson	2012	First Lady
Rosa Parks	2013	Civil Rights activist