TIMELINER

History's most surprising connections

Activism & Social Change

Champions of justice, equality, and human rights who fought to change the world.

Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
1818–1895 · Abolitionist, orator, writer
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
1820–1906 · Women's suffrage pioneer
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
1820–1910 · Founder of modern nursing
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
1822–1913 · Underground Railroad conductor
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
1858–1928 · British suffragette leader
Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson
1907–1964 · Silent Spring, environmental movement
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
1910–1997 · Missionary of Charity in Calcutta
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
1913–2005 · Mother of the civil rights movement
Anne Frank
Anne Frank
1929–1945 · Diary of a Young Girl, Holocaust victim
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
1929–1968 · "I Have a Dream," civil rights leader
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
1931–2021 · Anti-apartheid cleric, Nobel Peace Prize
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
1940–2011 · Kenyan environmentalist, first African woman Nobel laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
1945–present · Myanmar democracy leader, Nobel laureate
Rigoberta Menchú
Rigoberta Menchú
1959–present · Indigenous rights leader, Nobel Peace Prize
Princess Diana
Princess Diana
1961–1997 · People's Princess, humanitarian
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai
1997–present · Youngest Nobel Prize laureate, education advocate
Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg
2003–present · Youth climate activist, Fridays for Future

Key Events in Activism & Social Change