Recently updated on April 22nd, 2025 at 09:56 am
From fighting for basic human rights to revolutionizing the disciplines of science, education, and more, the world’s most influential women have impacted every corner of our society. Visit these monuments and memorials across the globe that commemorate the accomplishments of freedom fighters, researchers, and philanthropists.
1. Indira Gandhi
The Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum in New Delhi, India, was once the former first female Prime Minister’s residence. She helped the country become self-sufficient in agricultural grain production and helped Bangladesh gain independence from Pakistan. Indira Gandhi was assassinated during her fourth term.
Discover her memorial museum when visiting New Delhi, a destination on our Best of India tour.
2. Anna Walentynowicz
When the Mother of the Solidarity movement, Anna Walentynowicz, was fired from her job for her activism, it triggered a domino effect that created the Gdansk Agreement: the first free-trade union in communist Europe which were the initial steps toward Poland’s independence from the Soviet sphere.
Her monument is in Gdansk, a destination on our Best of Poland tour.
3. Sadako Ogata
The first female United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was Sadako Ogata, a Japanese-born academic who earned a doctorate from the University of California Berkeley. She was also president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Her time as the UNHCR protected refugees and internally displaced people in Iraq, Kosovo, Rwanda, and more.
The Ogata Sadako Memorial Gallery in Tokyo’s JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development, a destination on our Classic Japan tour.
4. Anne Frank
Anne Frank’s diary is both a terrifying reminder of humanity’s darkest moments and of how the human spirit can endure even the most tragic of nightmares. Anne Frank was only a teenager when she died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp yet she lives through her diary, inspiring young women with her bravery, and most importantly, her belief that people were still good at heart.
The Anne Frank Haus is located in Amsterdam, a stop on our Best of Holland tour.
5. Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón spent the last years of her life as the First Lady of Argentina. Though technically holding no formal government position, she helped pass a women’s suffrage law and funded countless schools, hospitals, and charities.
See the María Eva Duarte de Perón Monument in Buenos Aires, a stop on our Wonders of Patagonia tour.
6. Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa is a Noble Peace Prize recipient and Roman Catholic saint. She spent the majority of her life helping the poor and sick, particularly in India where she founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity. Her organization opened healthcare centers for the disabled throughout the country.
See the Mother Theresa Memorial House in Skopje, a destination on our Balkan Adventure tour.
7. Hedy Lamarr
On the silver screen, she was called “the most beautiful woman in film”, though her talent was only rivaled by her intelligence. The Austrian-born American actress helped invent “frequency hopping” technology for radio transmissions during WWII. This concept set the foundation for the technology that we use in daily life today, including WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth.
See Hedy Lamarr’s grave and memorial in Vienna, a stop on our Bohemian Highlights tour.
8. Joan of Arc
Believing that she was tasked with a divine mission, young peasant Joan of Arc led the French to victory in England’s Siege of Orléans, helping to turn the tide of war in France’s favor. She’s considered a national hero of France, thanks in part to her martyr-like death via burning at the stake for heresy.
See the bronze statue of Joan of Arc in Paris, a focus of our London and Paris Explorer tour.
9. Maria Montessori
Montessori schools are commonplace today, but Maria Montessori’s approach to education was considered unique at the start of the 1900s. As one of Italy’s first female physicians and a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Maria Montessori advocated for the educational development of children, created the Montessori Method of teaching, and used her status to advance feminism in Italy and become one of the world’s most influential women in education.
See the statue of Maria Montessori on her namesake piazza in Perugia, a stop on our Italy Bellissimo tour.
10. Sophia Magdalena Scholl
Sophia Magdalena School was one of the core students at the University of Munich who grew the White Rose movement to resist the Nazi Regime. Their guerilla campaign of writing and distributing literature that advocated sabotaging the regime was cut short during its sixth attempt when she was reported to the Gestapo and sentenced to death.
See the White Rose Memorial Monument in Munich, a destination on our Best of Germany tour.
11. Maria Reiche
Though a German-born mathematician, Maria Reiche is one of the most instrumental people to document and protect Peru’s Nazca Lines. After learning about the lines, she devoted her life to studying, preserving, and educating the world about the significance of the Nazca Lines.
See the Maria Reiche Museum in Nazca, a featured destination on our Land of the Incas tour.
12. Katherine Wilson Sheppard
A leader of the women’s suffrage movement in New Zealand, Katherine Wilson Sheppard fought for women’s rights in every form, from “contraceptives to corsets”. She gathered over 30,000 signatures of women on a petition that became the Electoral Act of 1893, making New Zealand the first self-governing country where women had the right to vote.
See the Kate Sheppard National Memorial in Christchurch, a stop on our New Zealand Uncovered tour.
13. Famous Five
Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy, and Irene Parlby are female activists known as Canada’s Famous Five. They successfully fought against the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling that women could not be appointed to the Senate, establishing women as equal “people” in the eyes of Canadian law.
See the Famous Five Statue in Ottawa, a featured destination on our Best of Eastern Canada tour.
14. Queen Liliʻuokalani
The Hawaiian Kingdom’s final sovereign monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani short reign attempted to restore not only the monarchy’s rule in Hawaii, but to also fight to restore the kingdom’s autonomy over their land despite being labeled a “traitor” by the American government that would soon annex the kingdom completely.
Find the Queen Lili‘uokalani Statue in Honolulu, a city on our Hawaiian Discovery tour.
15. Marie Curie
Marie Curie was the first female to receive a Nobel Prize and the only woman to receive two. Her first was in the field of physics for her research of radiation phenomena. The Polish-born scientist was also the first woman in France to earn a PhD in physics prior to winning her second Nobel Prize in chemistry for her discoveries of radium and polonium, becoming one of the world’s most influential women in the sciences.
Find the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Statue in Warsaw, a city featuring in our Best of Poland tour.
16. Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt had little interest in the political arena yet she became arguably the most politically active and instrumental First Lady the United States ever had, earning her a well-earned place on the list of the world’s most influential women. She was the UN Human Rights Commission chair, helped write the UN Declaration of Human Rights, fought for both female and black rights in the United States, and spent her life either volunteering, formally holding positions in, or donating to extensive humanitarian organizations.
Visit the Eleanor Roosevelt Statue in Washington, D.C., a stop on our Historic Highlights tour.
17. Princess Diana
Over 100 charities and countless people benefited from Princess Diana’s charitable work, both during her time as part of the Royal Family and after. Some of her final efforts were campaigning against the use of landmines, but arguably one of her most publicized contributions to society were her efforts to destigmatize HIV positive persons.
A memorial fountain, a memorial walk, and a statue of Diana, Princess of Wales, are all found in London, the featured city on our Amazing Britain tour.
Find out more about some of the world’s most influential women on tour with Trafalgar.