It’s International Women's Day, so what better excuse to talk about the top five most-heroic women in the world? Past and present, women have helped shape the world we have today and there's a few that we think deserve a special mention...
Marie Curie
Marie Curie effectively discovered radioactivity, not to mention radium and polonium. In 1903, she and her husband won the Nobel Prize for Physics. When her husband died in 1906, Marie Curie continued his work and again scooped the Nobel Prize in 1911, in chemistry. She died in 1934 from excessive exposure to radiation.
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was the mother of all nurses and a fine statistician. During the Crimean War, she reduced the mortality by two-thirds at a British base hospital by improving the unsanitary conditions. She led global healthcare reform and set up St Thomas' Hospital in 1860.
Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall (1934- ) left for Tanzania at the age of 23 to see the chimpanzees. She stayed for 45 years, studying them and interacting with them. She’s credited with changing the way we see differences between primates and people. Jane founded the Jane Goodall Institute and won many awards and accolades for her work.
Sally Ride
Sally Ride (1951-2012), a Stanford University physics graduate, took the ride of her life when she became the first American woman in space in 1983. She went on to work on several other space missions and to work with NASA. She founded Sally Ride Science, which promoted the study of space to elementary-school children.
Ines Ramírez Pérez
And finally, if you’re squeamish, look away now. Ines Ramírez Pérez lives in rural Mexico. Despite having no medical training whatsoever, she managed to carry out a successful Caesarean section on herself.
Alone in her Southern Mexico cabin, Ines found herself suddenly in labour with the nearest midwife over 50 miles away. Her husband? Well, he was down the pub (cantina). So, Ramírez decided to operate on herself. She delivered a healthy baby boy all by herself!
Even though these are famous women from across the globe that have done amazing things, there are some heroic women much closer to home too. Your mum, grandma, daughter, sister for example...all special individuals in their own unqiue way, and only you will know what makes them special! Be sure to remind those close to you how 'heroic' they really are....