A compilation of over 150 women through history who had no children; some never married, some did, some were childless by circumstances, some were childfree by choice.
I have previously featured these women on social media and wanted to compile them on one page. Ranked by year of birth, from the latest-born in the 20th century to the earliest-born in the 16th century, these women all made their mark on history, although some are more remembered than others. Hopefully, this help will help demonstrate the presence of childless and childfree women throughout history.
Theda BaraEmmy NoetherVirginia WoolfAngelina Weld GrimkéJeannette RankinBelle da Costa GreeneEileen GrayRenée VivienSophia Duleep SinghGwen JohnHarriet QuimbyCléo de MérodeWilla CatherMary AndersonEdith HamiltonCornelia SorabjiBeatrix PotterWinnaretta SingerNellie BlyEdith WhartonJane AddamsAnnie OakleyIsabel CobbFannie FarmerIda TarbellEvelyn De MorganEmma LazarusRebecca ColeMary CassattEdmonia LewisAdelina PattiMary Jane PattersonLozenOKUHARA SeikoFidelia BridgesMary FieldsChristina RossettiEmily DickinsonSarah Parker RemondJulia A. J. FooteRosa BonheurClara BartonAnne WhitneySusan B. AnthonyLouisa TwiningFlorence NightingaleMaria MitchellHarriet MartineauFredrika BremerCatherine Beecher
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Mary AnningAnna AtkinsAnnette von Droste-HülshoffSophia SmithAnne ListerElleanor EldridgeSophie SwetchineRebecca GratzHester StanhopeJane AustenManuela CañizaresMarianne KirchgessnerAnn RadcliffeHelen Maria WilliamsMaria Theresia von ParadisAnne RoyallMarie-Anne LavoisierMarie-Victoire LemoineManuela de la Santa Cruz y EspejoLouise of Stolberg-GedernCaroline HerschelLadies of LlangollenEleanor CoadeElizabeth MurraySarah ScottMaria Gaetana AgnesiLouise de Ramezay
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND PRIOR
Susanna WrightMarguerite de LaunayMary AstellCatherine BernardCelia FiennesElisabeth-Sophie ChéronElena Cornaro PiscopiaZeb-un-NissaJustina SiegmundinDuchess of MontpensierChristina of SwedenEmpress MeishōAnna Maria van SchurmanMadeleine de ScudéryJeanne ManceMargaret BrentAlice BarnhamAnna Vasa of SwedenMarie de GournayElizabeth IBarbara of Brandenburg
*While most of the images are accurate representations of their subject, some of these women left no known portraits. In those cases, I have selected an image from the same time period to attempt to represent how they might have looked.