In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8), the team at Cheapflights is offering a very grateful thanks to women globetrotters and adventurers who’ve paved the way for us all. The global day of recognition, a national holiday in many countries like China and Russia, celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women. Appropriately enough, we’re taking this opportunity to celebrate 10 of the top trailblazing women travellers.
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
Harriet Martineau was wildly disappointed by America when she made a visit during a two-year trip around the States. Considered the first female sociologist, Martineau controversially spoke out against slavery when the topic was still a major point of contention in American society. Also a feminist, she was unimpressed by the treatment of women in the free nation, drawing parallels between America’s women and its slaves. After returning home, Martineau published Society in America, a caustic review of the country, and inspired generations of feminists, sociologists and – of course – travellers.
Mary Kingsley (1862-1900)
Mary Kingsley returned to England after years travelling through Western Africa, where she acquainted herself with indigenous groups and local customs in countries like Sierra Leone and Angola. Unheard of for a Victorian woman, Kingsley travelled through dangerous areas solo, including treacherous African jungles. A critic of European colonialism and missionaries trying to change African customs, Kingsley forever influenced European thoughts about Africa and indigenous groups.
Fanny Bullock Workman (1859-1925)
Fanny Bullock Workman scaled the Himalayas with her husband, William Workman, as a brave mountaineer and record-breaking female in the late 1800s. London’s Royal Geographical Society awarded Workman membership after her seventh trip into the Himalayas. Together, she and her husband reached the top of Pinnacle Peak (7,090 meters), shattering other climbers’ records at the time. An advocate for women’s rights, she supported women’s colleges like Bryn Mawr and Radcliffe and raised the bar for adventure travellers everywhere.
Gertrude Bell (1868-1926)
Gertrude Bell broke barriers early in life as the first woman to graduate from Oxford with a history degree. In a time when most women married young and none were allowed to vote, Bell set off for Persia fresh out of school, travelling through the Arabian Desert by herself and living with tribes for years. In more than 1,000 letters home, Bell described her enchantment with Persia and the Orient. She worked as a spy in Cairo during World War I, and then as a diplomat, helping to form a unified Iraq under the leadership of King Faisal. When “The Uncrowned Queen of Iraq” died at 57, the masses turned out in Baghdad to celebrate her life.
Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)
The first woman ever to fly solo across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart is an icon for little girls and lovers of flight around the world. When she first saw an airplane at the Iowa State Fair, she was unimpressed: “It was a thing of rusty wire and wood and looked not at all interesting,” she recalled. It wasn’t until she attended an air show later in life that she knew flying was in her blood. A celebrity in America, Earhart tragically disappeared in the last leg of an around-the-world flight over the Pacific.
Edith Lederer (b. 1943)
Edith Lederer’s path to becoming a globetrotting journalist began with a months-long personal voyage through Europe shortly after college. Upon her return to the U.S. she got a stateside job with The Associated Press, but it wasn’t long before she was abroad again. In 1973 she became the AP’s first full-time female reporter covering the Vietnam War, and her career as a foreign correspondent progressed rapidly from there. She spent the next 25 years covering wars and changing global dynamics around the world, including China’s emerging capitalism in the late 70s, the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Bosnia, the breakup of the Soviet Union, the first Gulf War, the crash of Pan Am Flight 103 and the U.S. Embassy bombing in Nairobi in 1998. Since 1998 she has been the AP’s chief correspondent at the U.N.
Freya Hoffmeister (b. 1964)
Currently kayaking around South America – yes, all of South America – Freya Hoffmeister is an adventure traveller to be reckoned with. The German business owner was the first woman and second person ever to circumnavigate Australia in 2009, this after having sea kayaked around both Iceland and the south island of New Zealand on different occasions. Her current trip began on August 30, 2011, and will end just before her 50th birthday on May 10, 2014.
Samantha Brown (b. 1969)
As Anthony Bourdain captivates aspiring adventurers worldwide with his New York wit and Andrew Zimmern entertains by downing stomach-churning delicacies, there’s very little spotlight left on the Travel Channel for a female host. But what’s left goes to the perky-yet-wonderfully-watchable Samantha Brown, a blonde who every woman traveller can relate to. Brown’s warm personality and willingness to try all are an inspiration, particularly to women daring to travel solo or abroad.
Angelina Jolie (b. 1975)
Long before her leg became a well-travelled meme, Angelina Jolie was trekking the globe for personal, professional and humanitarian causes. Her A-list status as an actress made her an international celebrity, but Jolie’s service as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees since 2001 has truly earned her a place in this pantheon. In that capacity she has travelled the globe to raise awareness of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Along with her domestic partner, Hollywood titan Brad Pitt, Jolie has adopted three children from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam. She gave birth to her first biological child in Namibia; her second birth, to twins, took place in Nice, France.
Brittany Laughlin (b. 1985)
The way people travel and share their experiences is evolving at an overwhelming pace. Leading the speedy charge is gtrot, a social travel site that personalizes trip suggestions at a particular destination like hotels, restaurants – even deals – based on your social networks’ recommendations. At its helm is 26-year-old co-founder Brittany Laughlin, a tech-savvy entrepreneur who’s forcing (in a good way) globetrotters to re-think the way they travel.
(Images: Harriet Martineau – wikipedia.org; Mary Kingsley – wikipedia.org, Fanny Bullock Workman – wikimedia.org, Gertrude Bell – wikipedia.org, Amelia Earhart – wikimedia.org, Queen Elizabeth – jemasmith, Freya Hoffmeister – picasaweb.google.com, Angelina Jolie meeting boat people in Lampedusa in 2011 – UNHCR/J Tanner, Brittany Laughlin – blog.gtrot.com)
