Born Gerty Theresa Radnitz into a Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She received her primary education at home and later attended an academy for girls, graduating at 16. Inspiring to become a doctor, she completed a year of the necessary studies required for the medical school’s application, including Latin, physics, chemistry, and mathematics. In 1914, at 18, she began her studies at the medical school of the Karl-Ferdinands-Universität in Prague. During school, she met fellow medical student Carl Cori, and they married right after receiving their degree in 1920. Afterward, they moved to Vienna, where she worked at the Carolinen Children’s Hospital, conducting experiments in temperature regulation and publishing papers on blood disorders. Health problems caused by malnutrition during WW1 and the increasing anti-Semitism drove the Coris to leave Europe, and in 1922, they immigrated to the US. They worked together at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, focusing on carbohydrate metabolism, researching the glucose metabolizing in the body and how hormones regulate the process. The couple published fifty papers on the subject, eleven with Cori as the sole author. In 1929, the Coris introduced the Cori cycle, which describes the cellular process in which the body stores sugar in muscles as glycogen, converts it to glucose in the liver, and sends it back to the muscles for energy. Although the Coris were equal in their work, they were not treated as such, and she experienced much chauvinism and prejudice. When the couple looked for an institute that would enable them to work together, they were refused because of Cori’s gender or because, as one university stated, it is “un-American for a married couple to work together.” Eventually, in 1931, the Coris received an offer from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Although they could collaborate, she was offered a research associate position at one-tenth of her husband’s salary. It took 13 years before she was appointed associate professor of Research Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology and four more years to be promoted to full professor, serving in this position until she died. While at Washington University, the Coris continued to research the action mechanism of hormones and discovered what would be known as the Cori ester – a compound in frog muscles that helps to break down glycogen. They also found the enzyme that created the compound and identified that it’s the first step in turning stored energy (glycogen) into glucose. In addition, Cori researched glycogen storage disease by herself and identified several forms related to enzymatic defects. She was the first to present how these defects can cause human genetic disorders. In 1947, for their discovery of the Cori cycle, the Coris won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; she became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the first American woman, and the third in the world to win a Nobel Prize in Science. Months before winning the Nobel prize, Cori was diagnosed with myelosclerosis, a bone marrow disease. With declining health, she continued researching and discovering new enzymes and their relations to various health problems. She was also a member of several societies, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Society of Biological Chemists. She died at 61. Read more...

Winona LaDuke was born in Los Angeles, California, to a Jewish mother and an Ojibwe father from the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. From a young age, she was fascinated by her father’s powwows and tribal culture and traditions. At 5, her parents divorced, and LaDuke moved with her mother to Ashland, Oregon. After high school, she attended Harvard University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1982. During school, she joined a group of Indigenous activists and assisted the civil rights activist Jimmie Durham in his research on the effects of uranium mining in Navajo reservations. After graduating, LaDuke moved to White Earth to work as the reservation high school’s principal. Soon, she became involved with the Anishinaabeg’s lawsuit to reclaim lands promised to them in a federal treaty in 1867. Initially, the reservation spanned 837,000 acres, but due to government policies allowing lumber companies and non-Native groups to seize the land, more than 90 percent were taken away by 1934. In 1985, at 26, LaDuke founded the Indigenous Women’s Network – a collective of 400 Native women activists and organizations committed to enhancing the representation of Native women, empowering them to participate in tribal politics and cultural endeavors actively. She also worked with Women of All Red Nations to raise awareness of the forced sterilization of Native American women. In 1989, LaDuke received her master’s in community economic development from Antioch University. That same year, LaDuke founded the White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP), a non-profit organization that works on buying back reservation lands. By 2000, WELRP bought 1,200 acres, preserving them in a conservation trust for future transfer to the tribe’s possession. Focusing on sustainable development, WELRP has supported many initiatives, including indigenous farming, local food systems, local wild rice crop protection from patenting and genetic engineering, renewable energy, sanitation improvement, and a diaper service that reduces waste from disposable diapers while saving money. In the early 1990s, LaDuke joined forces with the musical due Indigo Girls to arrange a series of concerts to raise awareness of Native issues. In 1993, they founded together Honor the Earth, a non-profit organization promoting financial support for Indigenous environmental justice. In 1996 and 2000, LaDuke delved deeper into politics when serving as Ralph Nader’s running mate on the Green Party presidential ticket. She also was involved with the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests and led the protests against the Line 3 pipeline of 2020-2021. LaDuke is a strong advocate for the cultivation of marijuana and industrial hemp on Indigenous tribal lands to generate economic benefits and foster local economic self-reliance. Since 2017, she has devoted most of her time to farming and established Winona’s Hemp & Heritage Farm to create an economy led by Indigenous women that focuses on local food, energy, and fiber while prioritizing environmental sustainability. Read more...

Margaret Brent was born in Gloucestershire, England, one of thirteen children of a wealthy Catholic family. While officially part of the Church of England, the Brents were scrutinized after one of their sisters returned to the Catholic church during the 1630s. Brent, her sister Mary, and two of their brothers decided to immigrate to the New World and settle in Maryland since its land owner Lord Baltimore had declared it a Catholic refuge with a potentially profitable enterprise. On November 22nd, 1638, the four siblings arrived at St. Mary’s City, Maryland, where they were granted lands and political offices due to their noble social class and political affiliations. While one of her brothers returned to England, Brent, then 37 years old and unmarried, and her sister, decided to stay, and on October 4th, 1639, she became the first woman in Maryland to own land. On their 70.5-acre, they established the Sisters’ Freehold; her various business ventures included trading tobacco, and transporting servants, had enlarged the property, and she became one of the most prominent landowners in Maryland. Over time she became an ally of Maryland Governor Leonard Calvert, and the brother Lord Baltimore, the colony’s landowner. In 1645, the impact of the English Civil War spread to Maryland, and Protestants raided the Catholic settlement, burning down structures and terrorizing the settlers, who escaped to Virginia. Governor Calvert recruited mercenaries to stop the raiders but became ill. Before his death, he nominated Brent to use his assets and pay the mercenaries to continue protecting the colony. As there was no official successor to the governor, Brent acted on his behalf, collecting rent and taking care of his financial matters. On January 3rd, 1648, the Provincial Court appointed Brent as attorney-in-fact for Lord Baltimore, who managed the business and advocated for the colony in England. On January 21st, 1648, only a few weeks after receiving the role, she attended the provincial assembly asking for a voice and two votes in the council, one as an independent landowner and one as Lord Baltimore’s attorney but got denied because of her gender. Following disagreements with Lord Baltimore, Brent, and her sister moved to Westmoreland County, Virginia, and established a 1000 acres plantation called “Peace.” She lived there until she died at the age of 70. Read more...

Born Anna Mae Bullock into a sharecropping family in Brownsville, Tennessee. Growing up, she frequently moved from one place to another, living with her paternal grandparents in Nutbush, where she sang in the church choir, and later with her maternal grandmother in Brownsville until she reunited with her mother in St. Louis, Missouri. As a teenager, she worked as a domestic worker, and after graduating high school, she worked as a nurse’s aide. At the time, she frequently went to R&B clubs, where she first saw Ike Turner perform with his band, the Kings of Rhythm. Soon, she joined the band as a featured vocalist. In 1960, under the stage name Tina Turner, she recorded the single “A Fool in Love,” which reached No. 2 on the Hot R&B Sides chart and No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not long after, the two became a couple and married; together, they toured the US and released numerous singles. In 1966, the duo signed with the producer Phil Spector and released their first album, River Deep – Mountain High, which became a hit, especially in Europe. Despite their success, Ike was physically and mentally abusive toward Turner, and in 1976, at the age of 37, Tina fled from their home with only 36 cents in her pocket. In the following years, Tina struggled to manage herself. She mainly performed in cabaret clubs and made numerous guest appearances alongside various artists. In 1984, at 45, she released her first solo album, Private Dancer, which received critical and commercial acclaim, selling over 20 million copies worldwide and earning her three Grammys. In 1986, her European record label (EMI) sent the German music executive Erwin Bach to greet her at the airport. A few months later, they became a couple (he was 16 years her junior) and married in 2013. Her success continued to grow with her following albums, Break Every Rule (1986), Foreign Affair (1989), and Wildest Dreams (1996). She reached no.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the lists with various singles, including What’s Love Got to Do With It, Typical Male, and The Best. As music genres changed in the 90s, Turner delved into rock while combining her R&B background. Her powerful and soulful voice made her known as one of the greatest vocalists in the music industry, as it was characterized by the combination of strength and grit while possessing a wide vocal range, allowing her to navigate between lower registers and higher octaves. In 1994, at 55, Turner moved to Zurich, Switzerland. She continued to record albums and release singles, including the James Bond title song “Goldeneye,” and “He Lives in You” for The Lion King 2. Over the next decade, Turner remained active in the music industry. She released successful compilation albums such as “Wildest Dreams” (1995) and “Twenty-Four Seven” (1999), as well as a studio album titled “All the Best” (2004). Turner also embarked on world tours and, made live appearances, performed at benefit concerts. In 2008, 69 years old Turner embarked on her Tina! The 50th Anniversary Tour became a massive success and a top-selling ticketed show in 2008 and 2009. She announced that this would be her farewell tour, and afterward, she would retire from the music industry. However, she occasionally made appearances and continued to record new materials. In 2013, at 73, Turner married her longtime partner, German record executive Erwin Bach. Three months afterward, she suffered a stroke and had to learn how to walk again. Three years later, she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, and the following year, she had a kidney transplant with her husband as her donor. Over the years, Turner participated in philanthropic work. She established the Tina Turner Foundation to support various causes, including art education, fighting against human trafficking, and improving the lives of underprivileged children. Throughout her career, Turner recorded ten albums, selling over 200 million records, went on dozen tours, and received hundreds of awards and honors, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Kennedy Center Honors – the highest form of recognition of excellence in the arts in America, US. Her music and life story have inspired many people, including musicians such as Mick Jagger, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, and Mary J. Blige. She died at 83 in Switzerland. Read more...

Jeanne Baret was born in La Comelle, France. Little is known about her early life, though she claimed that her mother had died soon after she was born and her father when she was 15. In her early 20s, Baret worked as a housekeeper to the naturalist Philibert Commerson, and the two developed an intimate relationship. In 1764, the two moved to Paris, where she gave birth and placed her child with a foster mother. In 1765, Commerson got invited to join as a botanist to the first French circumnavigation of the globe, led by the admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville. Wanting her by his side, Commerson enlisted Baret to the voyage as his valet and assistant. However, women were prohibited on French navy ships, so she disguised herself as a man. In December 1766, the ship Étoile left the port of Rochefort toward South America with Baret on board. Since Commerson had a lot of equipment to collect specimens, the ship’s captain gave up his big cabin to Commerson and his assistant, allowing Baret more privacy. Early in the voyage, Commerson suffered from seasickness, and an ulcer on his leg, so Baret spent much of the time attending him. While on shore, she did the heavy labor of carrying the equipment and collecting specimens. Along the journey, the ship stopped in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Baret collected plants, shells, and stones; while sailing, she helped Commerson to catalog their findings. For two years, Baret managed to keep her true identity a secret, though there were rumors that she was, in fact, a woman. There are different versions of how her gender got revealed. One story claims that when reaching Tahiti in April 1768, the islanders immediately recognized that she was a woman, and they surrounded and threatened her until she had to be rescued back to the ship. Another record claims that in July 1768, while stopping in New Ireland (today part of Papua New Guinea), Baret was discovered by crew members who confronted and sexually assaulted her. Either way, when anchoring in Mauritius for supplies, Baret and Commerson decided to leave the ship and stay on the island as the governor’s guests. There, she continued to assist Commerson and went with him on collecting expeditions to Madagascar and Bourbon Island. By 1770, Baret gained independence and was granted property in Port Louis, where she ran a tavern. Commerson died in 1773, and in the following year, at 33, Baret married Jean Dubernat, a non-commissioned officer in the French Army. Soon after, they returned to France and settled in Saint-Aulaye. In 1785, the Ministry of Marine granted Baret a pension of 200 livres a year. The pension document acknowledges her achievement of circumnavigating the globe and her devotion and assistance to Commerson while recognizing she was a woman disguised as a man. She died at the age of 67. Read more...

Samella Sanders Lewis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. Her passion for art started from a young age, inspired by various genres, from comic books and Romance novels to depictions of police brutality against African Americans. In 1941, at 18, she began to study history at Dillard University, taking only one art class. Encouraged by her professor and later mentor, the artist Elizabeth Catlett, she changed her major to art and later transferred to Hampton Institute in Virginia, earning a master’s degree in 1947. In those years, she began collecting art, mainly by artists associated with Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) and the Harlem Renaissance. She took a teaching position at Morgan State University while furthering her education in art history and cultural anthropology at Ohio State University. In 1951, at 28, Lewis completed her doctorate and became the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in fine art and art history. In 1953, Lewis got appointed the chair of the fine arts department at Florida A&M University, serving the position for five years. That year, she organized the first professional conference for African American artists. As a member of the NAACP and a civil rights activist, Lewis encountered harassment from the KKK, which led her to leave Florida in 1958. She took a teaching post at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh, where she developed an interest in Asian art, culture, and languages. Over time, she returned to focus on African American Art as an artist and a scholar. She became known for her figurative works, which included linocuts, lithographs, and serigraphs, mainly pictorial manifestations of black liberation, as seen in her work Field. In 1966, Lewis began teaching at California State University at Long Beach and established herself as a leading figure in the Los Angeles art scene. She created the short documentary series “The Black Artists” and worked as a coordinator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where she fought for hiring more Black workers and founded the Concerned Citizens for Black Art group, which defined guidelines for the museum to be more inclusive. In 1969, she coedited the two volumes of Black Artists on Art, and to publish the book, she cofounded Contemporary Crafts Gallery – the first African American–owned art book publication. The following year, she was appointed professor of art history and humanities at Scripps College, becoming the first African American faculty member to receive tenure. In 1975, at 52, Lewis cofounded the journal Black Art: An International Quarterly, later renamed International Review of African American Art. The following year, she established the Museum of African American Art, serving as its senior curator until 1986. Lewis organized exhibitions and developed educational programs, claiming that museums are responsible for exploring the roots and origins of African American art. She continued to establish three more African American art museums and galleries in LA. Throughout her life, Lewis earned four degrees, published seven books, created five films, and displayed her artworks in nine solo and group exhibitions. She died of renal failure at the age of 99. Read more...

Barbara Mary Quant was born in London, England. From a young age, she was prone to fashion, making her own clothes in her style. After graduating from Blackheath High School, she wanted to study fashion, but her parents disapproved, so instead, Quant studied illustration and art education at Goldsmiths College, receiving her degree in 1953. That year, she met her future husband and business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene. After school, Quant apprenticed couture milliner and began to design and manufacture clothes. In 1955, at 25, she opened her first boutique, Bazaar, on Kings Road, and two years later, she opened her second Bazaar store in Knightsbridge. Within a few years, her bold clothing style caught the attention of both buyers and the media, and in 1962 an American manufacturer purchased some of her dress designs, expanding her brand in Europe and the US. In her designs, Quant broke the standard styles of the time. She withdrew from the post-war practical clothing and used youth as inspiration, creating mature and sexier versions of the dancing wear of girls, with short pleated skirts, white anklets, and ankle-strap shoes. Although she didn’t invent the silhouette, Quant is best associated with the miniskirt, which she improved and popularized with her designs, wanting to make women clothing less restrictive, allowing them freedom of movement and the feeling of empowerment and liberation. Her version of the short shorts, or hotpants, also became a sensation and was recognized as a British fashion icon. Her uniqueness and innovation were not only in her designs but also in how she sold them. In her boutiques, Quant played music and offered drinks so people would come and hang out there for hours as if it was a club. Another way she differed herself from the standard department stores and the inaccessible high-class designer stores was by the boutiques’ window displays, placing models in quirky poses, drawing the pass-byers’ attention. In 1966, at 36, Quant launched Mary Quants Cosmetics, introducing the “paintbox” – a ready-to-use makeup pallet. A few years later, she expanded into household goods and interior and textile design, claiming to invent the duvet. In 2000, at 70, Quant resigned as director of Mary Quant Ltd, and the company was moved under her Japanese licensees’ ownership that has been running it ever since. In her later years, she resided in Surrey. She died at the age of 93. Read more...

Naomi Elaine Campbell was born in London, England. Until age two, she lived in Rome, where her mother worked as a dancer. Then, she returned to live with relatives in London while her mother toured with her dancing company. At the age of three, she began attending the Barbara Speake Stage School, and at 10, she enrolled in the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts to study ballet. In 1986, while window-shopping in Covent Garden, Campbell was scouted by the head of the Synchro Model Agency, making her first cover shoot for Elle magazine a month before her 16th birthday. From that on, her career took off, walking the runway for top designers, such as Gianni Versace and Isaac Mizrahi, and working with A-list photographers, including Bruce Weber and Peter Lindbergh. Within only a few years, alongside Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, Campbell formed the Trinity trio, which marked the beginning of the supermodels’ era. As one of the most recognizable and sought-after models, Campbell often broke the color barrier and made history as the first black cover girl in several magazines, including British Vogue (1987), French Vogue (1988), American Vogue (1989), and Time (1991). In the mid-1990s, Campbell began to branch out of modeling. In 1994, she published her first book, a novel titled Swan, released an album called Baby Woman, had various roles in films and TV shows, and in 1999, at 29, she signed with Cosmopolitan Cosmetics and launched her first signature fragrance. Over the following decades, Campbell continued to model both on the runway and for magazines and advertising campaigns for brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Victoria’s Secret, and Louis Vuitton. She also developed her TV persona, serving as a coach and judge for the modeling competition The Face and as a recurring character in the drama Empire and American Horror Story: Hotel. Despite her supermodel status and being the most famous black model of her time, Campbell encountered bias in the fashion industry and didn’t receive as many campaigns as her white colleagues. Throughout her career, she was outspoken about the subject, and in 2013, together with fellow black models Bethann Hardison and Iman, she established the Diversity Coalition. In addition to fighting against racism and discrimination, Campbell has been using her fame to advocate for many causes. She is involved with various non-profit organizations, from the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund to the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer. In 2005, she founded the organization We Love Brazil to fight poverty in Brazil. That same year she established Fashion for Relief, which organizes fund-raising fashion shows for the victims of humanitarian crises such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the Haiti earthquake in 2010, the earthquake in Japan in 2011, and the 2017 Syrian refugee crisis. She also serves as the honorary president of Athla Onlus, which works for the social integration of people with learning disabilities in Italy, and as a goodwill ambassador for the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood. Read more...

Willa Sibert Cather was born near Winchester, Virginia, the eldest of seven children. At nine, the family moved to frontier Nebraska, settling in the town of Red Cloud. There, she began attending school and became an avid reader and writer, publishing in the local newspaper. After graduating at 16, she attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, aspiring to become a physician. Cather wrote essays, which got published in the Nebraska State Journal and the Lincoln Courier, served as the editor of the university’s student newspaper, and as literary editor of her class yearbook. Realizing she wanted to become a writer, she changed from science to English, graduating in 1895 with a Bachelor of Arts. The following year, at 23, Cather moved to Pittsburgh, where she wrote for the women’s magazine Home Monthly, publishing journalistic pieces, poetry, and short stories; among them was Tommy, the Unsentimental. In 1897, she worked as a telegraph editor and music critic for the Pittsburgh Leader and contributed some of her own poems and short stories. At the time, she also worked as a Latin, English, and Algebra teacher in several high schools, serving as head of the English department at Allegheny High School. In 1903, at 30, Cather published her first poetry collection, April Twilights, followed by her first short stories collection, The Troll Garden, featuring some of her most renowned stories, such as Paul’s Case, The Sculptor’s Funeral, and A Wagner Matinee. In 1906, she moved to NYC after receiving an editorial position at McClure’s. There, she met her lifelong friend and domestic partner, the editor Edith Lewis. In 1912, at 39, she published her first novel, Alexander’s Bridge. Within less than a decade, she published three more books that together often referred to as Cather’s “Prairie Trilogy” – O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Ántonia (1918). In these books, Cather demonstrated her distinctive use of plainspoken language that authentically portrays the lives of ordinary people. Cather’s most significant acclaim came in 1922 after publishing the WW1 novel One of Ours, for which she won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize. Her success continued in her next three novels, A Lost Lady (1923), The Professor’s House (1925), My Mortal Enemy (1926), and Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927). Cather became known for portrayals of the frontier, pioneering settlers, and their relationships with the western landscapes, often drawing inspiration from her own experiences and the people she encountered while growing up in Nebraska. Despite her commercial success, she was criticized and dismissed for being nostalgic and overdramatic and for not addressing contemporary issues. In 1931, her Shadows on the Rock was the most-read novel in the US; the 1932 Obscure Destinies collection included one of her most-known stories, Neighbour Rosicky, and the novel: Lucy Gayheart, published in 1935, was a bestseller. Overall she wrote 12 novels, two poetry books, and seven short story collections (three were published post-mortem). She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 73. Read more...

Helen Beatrix Potter was born in London, England, into a wealthy family. She was homeschooled, spent lots of her time outdoors, looked after her pets, such as rabbits, cats, and mice, and collected butterflies, which she studied and drew. From a young age, she was drawn to fairy tales and fantasy, incorporating her two loves by illustrating stories featuring her own pets. As Potter got older, especially during her family’s annual vacation in Scotland and the Lake District, she became interested in natural science, collecting fossils, exploring insects, and painting them. Over time, Potter focused on mycology – the study of fungi; she drew and wrote a paper on spore germination, which she presented to the Linnean Society in 1897. Later in life, she donated her mycological drawings to the Armitt Museum and Library in Ambleside, which mycologists still use to identify fungi. In her 20s, Potter, who wanted to become financially independent, began to sell holiday cards she designed, often featuring small animals like rabbits and mice. In 1890, a printing company bought some of her drawings of Benjamin Bunny to illustrate the rhyme book A Happy Pair. Afterward, she sold more illustrations for children’s books. Inspired by the successes, Potter decided to publish her own illustrated stories. She took an illustrated letter she sent to the son of her former governess and formed it into a book titled The Tale of Peter Rabbit. After she couldn’t find any buyers, she self-published it in 1901, but the following year, it was published commercially by Frederick Warne & Company. The story, which was about “four little rabbits whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter,” depicted the rural countryside by combining high-quality illustrations with simple prose. The book was printed as a small size book so that even small children could hold it. It was an immediate success, and within a year, Potter converted illustrated letters into two tale books, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin and The Tailor of Gloucester. During her lifetime, Potter wrote over 60 books, including 23 children’s tales, which sold millions of copies. The last tale book published in her lifetime was Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes in 1922. From the get-go, Potter anticipated her characters’ commercial potential. In 1903, she patented a Peter Rabbit doll and developed various merchandise, including figurines, board games, china tea sets, and baby blankets. It made Potter and her publisher a fortune, and she had the income that allowed her the autonomy that initiated this enterprise. In 1905, at 39, Potter bought the Hill Top Farm Near Sawrey in the Lake District. She learned Fell farming techniques, raised livestock, including chickens, cows, and pigs, and bred Herdwick sheep. A few years later, Potter bought Castle Farm across the road and resided there. Most books she wrote in this period reflect her interest and engagement with rural life, including The Tale of Ginger and Pickles and The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse. In 1913, Potter married her solicitor William Heelis and became more involved with village life, establishing Nursing Trust for local villages and serving in numerous committees regarding rural issues. Throughout her life, Potter was a devoted conservationist and supported the National Trust’s efforts to preserve land from being destroyed by the increasing development of the time. She conserved and restored farms, and as an authority on the traditional Lakeland crafts, she always ensured that the restored farmhouses had antique Lakeland furniture. She died at 77 of complications from pneumonia. Read more...