The First Modern Olympic Games Were Held in Athens in 1896

Wu Zetian (624–705 AD) is the only woman in Chinese history to assume the title of Empress Regnant, ruling China in her own name from 690 to 705. She rose from court concubine to empress consort under Emperor Taizong, then effectively ruled through her husband Emperor Gaozong, and finally seized power outright. Under her reign, Tang China expanded its territory, and she reformed the civil service examination to favor talent over aristocratic birth, recruiting brilliant officials regardless of background.

In 1949, French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir published 'The Second Sex' (Le Deuxième Sexe), a landmark work of feminist philosophy that argued women are not born inferior but are made so by society. Her famous opening phrase — 'One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman' — challenged the idea that femininity is natural or inevitable. The book sold 22,000 copies in its first week, was banned by the Vatican, and became a foundational text of second-wave feminism worldwide.

Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) was a peasant girl from Domrémy, France, who claimed to receive divine visions directing her to lead France against English occupation. At 17, she convinced the future King Charles VII to grant her command of the French army. In 1429 she lifted the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War. Captured by the English, she was burned at the stake aged just 19 in 1431. She was canonized as a saint in 1920.

Cleopatra VII, the last active ruler of ancient Egypt, was a linguistic prodigy who spoke at least nine languages including Egyptian, Greek, Ethiopian, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. Remarkably, she was the first Ptolemaic ruler in nearly 300 years to bother learning the Egyptian language of her subjects — her ancestors all relied on translators. She was also a skilled mathematician, philosopher, and military strategist.