Hello Girl Scouts!
Welcome to Gal’s Guide to the Galaxy Women’s History Library patch. Our library, located in Noblesville, Indiana, is the first women’s history lending library in the U.S.
We love exploring the adventures of women in history and hope you will too! We want this patch program to help you to learn about what women have done and for their stories to inspire you to achieve your dreams.
Our motto is Read. Learn. Create. The patch requirements will follow this motto.
Choose a woman from our list and learn about her. You may do that by reading about her in a book or online or by listening to the podcast linked to her name. Or, if you want, choose to learn about another notable woman who interests you.
Fill out the information sheet and email it to us for your patch.
Ready to get your Patch?
- Email scouts@galsguide.org and attach a picture of your dream board.
- Pay $5.00 for each patch & shipping via our Paypal.me/galsguide
Ida B. Wells
Activist who was born as a slave, refused to give up her seat on a train, found her voice as a journalist, led anti-lynching campaigns, and fought for justice for African-Americans.
Susan B Anthony
Suffragette who dedicated her life to women’s rights, sparked by not being allowed to speak because she was a woman, to speaking around the country about the importance of the right to vote, anti-slavery, and the dangers of alcohol.
Lucille Ball
Actress and Producer she created the framework for comedic sitcoms, opened the door for countless comedians, ran her own TV studio, and made us laugh from candy factory foibles to selling us Vitameatavegimin.
Alice Guy Blaché
Film Pioneer. Her innovations include: being the first to tell a story on film, first to use sound, creation the music video, developing a “natural” acting style, and was the first female to run a movie studio and yet there is a strong chance, you’ve never heard of her.
Ella Fitzgerald
One of the top Jazz singers in history. Named the “First lady of song” she won 13 Grammys and sold more than 40 million albums. She sang songs from the Great American Songbook and made them her own.
Bessie Coleman
African American pilot. With nail-biting barnstorming aerial stunt performances, this gal kept you on the edge of your seat. An inspiration to many, including astronauts, this gal used the airplane to promote equal rights and civil rights.
Ellen DeGeneres
Comedian whose observational humor lead her to multiple TV shows featuring her name, books, award show hosting duties and a presidential medal of freedom.
Jane Addams
The Mother of Social Work. She founded the template for what is the modern day YMCA or Boys & Girls Club. Her settlement known as Hull House utilized the neighborhood for social and civic change. She was a pacifist and an activist for peace and in 1931 she was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Hidden Figures (Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson)
Three examples of the many Black women at NASA’s West Area computers that helped the United States put a man on the moon and reach for the stars.
Conchita Cintrón
Bullfighter who defied a dictator, faced down death, and became a Goddess to all those who saw her in the ring. Bullfighting has been described over the centuries as indefensible and irresistible.
Ella Baker
The “mother of the civil rights movement”, whose behind-the-scenes work inspired students and adults to be activists and cause political and social change
Annie Oakley
Sharpshooter who Sitting Bull called “Little Miss Sure Shot.” She wow’d audiences with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. She was an international star and rarely missed the mark.
Martha Washington
First Lady of the United States. A gal who widowed twice, spent 6 winters on battlefield camps, was a delight to everyone she entertained even though she wished for a private life.
Julia Child
TV’s French Chef peppered our TV screens from her kitchen and reached ours. She added spice to our lives and french flavors to our cooking. This a-steamed gal, cooked her way into our hearts for generations.
Lily Tomlin
Comedian who created a cast of characters that have spanned over 50 years in not only TV but in movies, on stage, and in books. From Ernestine to Frankie Bergstein, she’s made us laugh and she made us think.
Tina Turner
Singer who went from picking cotton in Nutbush, Tennessee to an icon on stage and screen. She is a tale of a survivor with a soundtrack to go along with it.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Lawyer who hails from Brooklyn NY, works in DC and is….notorious. She’s the 107th Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court and started as a lawyer for women’s rights.
Hedy Lamarr
Actress and invention who was promoted by Louis B. Mayer as “the world’s most beautiful woman.” Her patent, with George Antheil, is the blueprint for a technology we all use today. It’s called Frequency Hopping and it’s used in cell phones, blue tooth and in wifi.
Ada Lovelace
First computer programmer. Her work with Charles Babbage was ahead of its time but her influence and innovation is still inspiring men and women all over the world.
Maya Angelou
Poet, an activist, a dancer, an actress, a director, a writer, and an educator. A gal who used her many gifts to teach us empathy, compassion, and inner strength.
Annie Jump Cannon
Astronomer who, in a time when women couldn’t vote and were rarely accepted for their scientific minds, classified the stars in a system that is still used today.
Coco Chanel
Fashion designer whose name has graced perfume, clothing, and handbags since the 1920’s. She freed women from the constraints of the corset and popularized a sporty and casual elegance. Because of her, most women have in their closet a little black dress.
Harriet Tubman
Born into slavery, she not only escaped but she made 13 rescue missions to save family and friends. In the Civil War she was a nurse, an armed scout and a spy. She was the first woman to lead war-time troops. She was speaker for abolition, women’s rights, temperance, and civil rights.
Janet Guthrie
Race car driver. Her drive for adventure and adrenaline placed her in the record books to be the first woman at the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. Believe it or not racing was her back up choice she had her sights on something much faster.
Madam C.J. Walker
Created a hair care line that made her one of the most successful African-American business owners of her time. She was an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and an activist.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Amazing athlete with success in golf, basketball, and track and field. But it doesn’t stop there. She also played baseball, billiards, and bowling. She played when women were discouraged to compete in any sport let alone many. ESPN ranked her in the top 10 of most important athletes of the 20th century
J.K. Rowling
Author who sold more than 400 million copies of her books, got children excited to read massive page-turners, won multiple awards including being named the Most Influential Woman in Britain
Theodosia Burr
Mother and daughter both named Theodosia Burr received a well-rounded education but also both grew up in single-parent homes. Their connection to a Aaron Burr certainly gives a complexity to their lives but they were pretty complex themselves.
Schuyler Sisters
The Schuyler’s are most famous from the Hamilton musical. In their real life, the Schuyler family has been in America since the 1650’s cementing themselves as one of the most influential in America’s founding.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Inventor of Rock ‘n’ Roll who inspired Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bob Dylan. We’re talking about Gospel’s first superstar who shocked audiences with her electric guitar.
Joan Jett
Musician who picked up a guitar at 13, formed a band at 15. She’s the Godmother of Punk, the Queen of Rock and Roll.
Mary Anderson
The inventor of the windshield wiper.
Gal's Guide 