To celebrate Women's History Month, the New York Public Library Shop honors those illustrious women who came before us and those who continue to inspire us today. 

Browse our entire Celebrate Legendary Women collection!

Women played a huge role in shaping our beloved New York City. The Brooklyn Bridge wouldn't exist without Emily Warren Roebling, though her husband and father-in-law got most of the credit. Journalist Jane Jacobs articulated a whole new way of approaching urban design, took on the Robert Moses machine, and saved Greenwich Village and Washington Square Park in the process.

Shirley Chisholm (featured in The Women Who Made New York) was inspiration for the unprecedented number of women elected to Congress in 2018. And Jackie Kennedy fought—all the way to the Supreme Court!—to prevent a skyscraper from being built on top of Grand Central Station.

Speaking of legendary women, happy birthday to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg! We can't help but be motivated by RBG's verve, fortitude, and continuous fight for women's rights: "Never underestimate the power of a girl with a book."

More accomplished women—with NYPL Shop gifts to commemorate their achievements

Did you know Jane Austen's works were published anonymously during her lifetime? Or that George Eliot is the pen name of Mary Anne Evans? That the Bronte sisters were published under the names Acton, Currer, and Ellis Bell?

Some of our favorite female writers from the 18th and 19th centuries chose to hide their identities in order to reach a wider audience.

Anna Atkins was the first woman to publish a book illustrated with photographic images, and The New York Public Library has one of 17 known copies in its collection. 

Years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a TED Talk that has become a rallying cry for women (and men) today. Enjoy her books or see her message every day on a magnet or tote bag. 
 

Let the abundance of impressive women wash over you with these compendiums of women accomplishing amazing things. 

Nothing is more inspiring than the image of a teenage girl leading a French army and facing death, saying "I am not afraid. I was born to do this." Thank you, Joan of Arc, and enjoy our Joan of Arc necklaces.