10 Historical Badasses You’re Probably Unaware Of

Brush up on your little-known history.

1. Marsha P. Johnson

A pivotal figure in the gay rights movement, Johnson was one of the first to fight back on the evening of the Stonewall riots. The black drag queen and gay liberation activist was celebrating her 25th birthday with friends at the landmark bar on the evening that would change history forever.

2. José Rizal

Considered one of the greatest Filipino heroes in history, Rizal was best known for his writing, which advocated for political reform when Spain ruled the Philippines. After an anti-colonial uprising was inspired in part by his writings, he was executed. Though he never outrightly advocated for it, many credit him as one of the catalysts for Philippine independence.

3. Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi

Fact: Fights for women’s rights and suffrage have always played an important role in Iran’s political history. As a young woman, Dowlatshahi led the charge by becoming the first woman to join the country’s Democratic party, as well as establishing an organization that would later become part of the International Women’s Syndicate. In 1951, the Shah met with her and other activists to discuss women’s rights.

4. Sophie Scholl

A heroic German and fierce anti-Nazi political activist, Scholl was caught handing out antiwar leaflets in 1943 as part of the White Rose, a nonviolent resistance group. She was convicted of high treason and executed by guillotine at the age of 21.

5. James Baldwin

Before he was 30 years old, Baldwin began publishing a body of work that would ultimately challenge society’s popular notions of race and sexuality. Go Tell It On The Mountain shined a light on the sometimes negative effects of religion in black communities, and Giovanni’s Room caused a stir thanks to its occasionally homoerotic content. He went on to be an outspoken figure of the civil rights movement.

6. Claudette Colvin

Nine months before Rosa Parks, at the age of 16, Colvin was the first person to be arrested for defying bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama. According to Colvin’s biographer, history forgot about Colvin because she was many things Parks wasn’t: “mouthy,” “emotional,” “feisty,” and not as light-skinned.

7. Hercules Mulligan

In 1765, Mulligan, now immortalized thanks to a certain Broadway musical about Alexander Hamilton, was one of the first people to join the Sons of Liberty at the age of 25. Hamilton quickly followed suit. Soon, Mulligan was a bonafide spy for the American Revolution who helped George Washington defeat the British.

8. Dolores Huerta

In 1955, at the age of 25, New Mexico–born Huerta began her career in activism by co-founding an organization that fought for the rights of Latinos. She went on to work with Cesar Chavez to found the National Farm Workers Association and continued to fight for voter rights and Latino representation in government throughout her career. For her work as a civil rights activist and labor leader, she was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

9. Julian Bilecki

As a teenager, Polish-born Bilecki aided the rescue of 23 Jews during the Holocaust. He hid them on his family’s farm for nearly a year, until they were liberated by the Russian army.

10. Nikola Tesla

In 1887, Tesla developed a motor that ran on an alternating current. He was the father of AC technology, responsible for modern electricity. The more commonly credited Thomas Edison thought AC was impractical and favored DC technology. What’s more, Tesla did it all while still in his thirties.

Now that you’ve gotten to know the little-known people who fought the good fight, what will you do? Get inspired to be a world-changing badass at More Of This™.

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All images via BuzzFeed / Danielle Ceneta