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Whether they are already household names or a hidden figure deserving of more recognition, the following ladies changed the world with their great contributions.

Ali Stroker

Ali Stroker took the theater world—and, indeed, the very Internet—by storm when, on June 9, 2019, she became the first performer in a wheelchair to take home a Tony Award. She memorably devoted her acceptance speech to “every kid…who has a disability, a limitation, a challenge, who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena.”

Anna Bissell

Although it was her husband who invented the carpet-sweeping machine in 1876 and founded Bissell, Anna Bissell became the CEO of the company in 1889, making her the first female CEO in America. After her husband’s death, she traveled around the country selling sweepers and making deals with major retailers to carry the Bissell brand. Eventually, she took the brand international.

Junko Tabei

Twenty-two years after the first-ever successful mission to the top of Mount Everest, Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the peak on May 16, 1975. But she wasn’t done climbing—far from it. Seventeen years later her climbing the top of Mount Everest, she also became the first woman to reach the Seven Summits. With a five-foot height and a weight of only 92 pounds, Tabei broke stereotypes about how a strong, athletic person could look.

Virginia Apgar

Generations of parents owe this American doctor a huge thank you, as she developed the Apgar Score, the first standardized system of tests to assess well-being at 1 and 5 minutes after birth. Apgar also happens to hold the title of the first woman to be hired as a full professor at the medical school at Columbia University.

21. Whose story is the most inspiring for the disabled?

A. Ali Stroker   B. Gertrude Ederle

C. Junko Tabei  D. Virginia Apgar

22. What can we learn about Junko Tabei?

A. She looks very strong and athletic

B. She is the first to reach the Seven Summits.

C. She didn’t climb again for seventeen years after 1975.

D. She is the first female to reach the top of Mount Everest.

23. What is Apgar Score meant to do?

A. To assess newborns’ health.

B. To prevent newborn’s diseases.

C. To help doctors to deliver newborns.

D. To guide parents to look after newborns.