Discover the Women of the Hall

These are the Inductees of the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Select any of the women to discover their stories and learn how they have influenced other women and this country.

Achievements Year Born Where Born Year Inducted Last Name
Year Born: to
Birth State or Country: or
Year Inducted: to
First Letter of Last Name: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Inductee Name Achievements Born Where Born Inducted More

Jean Kilbourne Humanities 1943 Kansas 2015

Jean Kilbourne

Year Honored: 2015
Birth: 1943 -
Born In: Kansas
Achievements: Humanities

Through her pioneering work studying images of women in advertising, Jean Kilbourne has changed the conversation as to how organizations and educational institutions address many public health problems including smoking, high-risk drinking eating disorders, obesity, sexualization of children, and violence against women.


Julie Krone Athletics 1963 Michigan 2013

Julie Krone

Year Honored: 2013
Birth: 1963 -
Born In: Michigan
Achievements: Athletics

With more than 3,700 career wins, Julie Krone is the leading female Thoroughbred horse racing jockey of all time. Krone made history in 1993 when she became the first woman to win a Triple Crown event at the Belmont Stakes. In 2003, she went on to become the first woman to win a Breeders’ Cup event at the Juvenile Fillies and the first woman to win a million dollar event at the Pacific Classic. Krone initially retired from horse racing in 1999 and became a commentator and analyst for the TVG racing network, but returned to the sport in 2002, retiring for a second time in 2004. Krone was named ESPN’s 1993 Professional Female Athlete of the Year, and in 2000, she became the first woman inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.


Coretta Scott King Humanities 1927 Alabama 2011

Coretta Scott King

Year Honored: 2011
Birth: 1927 - 2006
Born In: Alabama
Achievements: Humanities

One of the most celebrated champions of human and civil rights, Coretta Scott King, in partnership with her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ignited democracy movements worldwide. For over forty years, King traveled extensively as a messenger of peace, justice and social action. Notably, in 1974, she formed and co-chaired the National Committee for Full Employment, formed the Coalition of Conscience (1983), and co-convened the Soviet-American Women’s Summit (1990). In 1969, she became the founding president, chair and chief executive officer of The King Center, the first institution built in memory of an African American leader. As a lifelong advocate for non-violence and coalition building, King’s legacy will continue to serve as an example for years to come.


Susan Kelly-Dreiss Humanities 1942 Pennsylvania 2009

Susan Kelly-Dreiss

Year Honored: 2009
Birth: 1942 -
Born In: Pennsylvania
Achievements: Humanities

Susan Kelly-Dreiss has worked for over 30 years to enact legal protections, implement innovative services and heighten public awareness on behalf of battered women and their children. In 1976, Kelly-Dreiss lobbied for passage of Pennsylvania’s first domestic violence law, and later that same year, she co-founded the nation’s first domestic violence coalition, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV). She was a founding member of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and has played a key role in drafting federal legislation including the Federal Violence Prevention and Services Act and the Violence Against Women Act.


Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Science 1926 Switzerland 2007

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Year Honored: 2007
Birth: 1926 - 2004
Born In: Switzerland
Achievements: Science

After graduating from the University of Zurich medical school, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross married and moved to the United States. She began working in hospitals, where she was appalled at the treatment of terminally ill patients. Her 1969 bestseller On Death and Dying revolutionized the medical profession’s treatment and understanding of dying patients, serving as a voice for the rights of the terminally ill. Her work was a catalyst for now commonly accepted ideas such as hospice care, living wills, and death with dignity.


Stephanie L. Kwolek Stephanie L. Kwolek Science 1923 Pennsylvania 2003
Stephanie L. Kwolek

Stephanie L. Kwolek

Year Honored: 2003
Birth: 1923 - 2014
Born In: Pennsylvania
Achievements: Science

Interested in science and medicine from a young age, Kwolek graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology and then took a job at DuPont Chemicals to save for graduate studies. However, her love of working with polymers kept her at DuPont, where she discovered the fiber that led to the development of Kevlar, a bulletproof material five times stronger than steel. Kwolek is the recipient or co-recipient of 17 U.S. patents.


Leontine T.C. Kelly Humanities 1920 District of Columbia 2000

Leontine T.C. Kelly

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1920 - 2012
Born In: District of Columbia
Achievements: Humanities

A Methodist bishop, Leontine T.C. Kelly was the first African American woman to be elected bishop in the United Methodist Church. She served as bishop of the California-Nevada Annual Conference and the president of the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops. Committed to peace and justice, she was arrested several times for protesting nuclear weapons, and was one of 18 bishops who signed a letter to the Methodist Church in response to its policy toward gays and lesbians in the church.


Frances Oldham Kelsey Science 1914 Canada 2000

Frances Oldham Kelsey

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1914 - 2015
Born In: Canada
Achievements: Science

A medical and pharmaceutical researcher for the Food and Drug Administration, she refused to approve the use of thalidomide in this country, saving countless babies from terrible deformities. As a result of her testimony before Congress, the 1962 drug act was passed, giving the FDA greater control over the manufacture, testing and distribution of drugs. During a career with the FDA which spanned over 39 years, her supervision of clinical investigators has institutionalized the protection of the patient in drug investigations.


Maggie Kuhn Humanities 1905 1995

Maggie Kuhn

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1905 - 1995
Achievements: Humanities

Following a forced retirement at age 65, Kuhn began work forming the Gray Panthers, an organization which addressed age discrimination and pension rights. Kuhn also addressed large public issues, including nursing home reform, forced retirement and fraud against the elderly.


Nannerl O. Keohane Education 1940 1995

Nannerl O. Keohane

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1940 -
Achievements: Education

The first contemporary woman to head both a major women’s college (Wellesley) and a research university (Duke). Her efforts have increased minority student enrollment and improved faculty diversity.


Billie Jean King Athletics 1943 California 1990

Billie Jean King

Year Honored: 1990
Birth: 1943 -
Born In: California
Achievements: Athletics

Dominated the world of tennis for more than 20 years, winning 20 Wimbledon titles, 13 U.S. Open titles and more. King was the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and helped create the Women’s Sports Foundation.


Helen Keller Education 1880 Alabama 1973

Helen Keller

Year Honored: 1973
Birth: 1880 - 1968
Born In: Alabama
Achievements: Education

Author and lecturer. An illness at the age of 19 months left her deaf, blind and mute. Through the work of teacher Anne Sullivan, she learned to overcome these daunting handicaps and became a powerful and effective national spokesperson on behalf of others with similar disabilities.