List of female explorers and travelers

This is a list of women who explored or travelled the world in a pioneering way. The list may include women naturalists, sailors, mountain climbers, dog sledders, swimmers, pilots, and underwater explorers. Astronauts are not included here but in the list of female astronauts. The list is presented in alphabetical order of surname, but can be sorted to other orders (nationality, dates) by using the arrow-heads in the column headers.


Name NationalityBornDiedAchievement/s
Harriet Chalmers Adams American18751937Explored and photographed South America, Asia, South Pacific
Tania Aebi American1966Held the record as the youngest person and first American woman to sail solo around the world (with stops and assistance).
Felicity Aston British1977First person to ski alone across the Antarctic land-mass using only personal muscle power, as well as the first woman to cross the Antarctic land-mass alone
Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey American18631948American ornithologist and nature writer, who conducted extensive field work in the American West
Dominick Arduin French19602004Disappeared on her attempt to become the first woman to ski alone to the North Pole
Ann Bancroft American1955First woman to travel over the ice cap to the North and South Poles
Jeanne Baré French17401807First woman (disguised as a man) to circumnavigate the world
Jean Batten New Zealander19091982First person to fly between England and New Zealand solo - broke other records
Carol Beckwith American 1945 Photographer, author, and filmmaker known for documenting the tribal cultures of Africa, most notably in partnership with Australian photographer Angela Fisher.
Gertrude Bell British18681926Explored and mapped Greater Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Arabia
Mabel Bent Anglo-Irish18471929Explored and excavated with her husband James Theodore Bent in the Eastern Mediterranean, South Africa and Southern Arabia
Laura Bingham British1992Executed expedition to cross continent of South America with no money.
Isabella Bird British18311904Explorer, writer and naturalist who travelled by herself through

North America, Hawaii, Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Persia, Kurdistan, Turkey, and Morocco.

Nancy Bird-Walton Australian19152009Australian aviation pioneer
Nellie Bly American18641922Pioneering journalist who travelled around the world in 72 days, the first person to do so.
Alessandra Boarelli Italian18381908Italian mountaineer and the first woman to summit Monviso in the Alps in 1864.
Laurence Bougault French19702018French poet and long-distance horseback adventurer in Africa, Middle East and Europe.
Louise Arner Boyd American18871972Explored Greenland and the Arctic
Beatrix Bulstrode British 1869 1951 Journalist and writer who traveled through China and Mongolia in 1911-1913.
Susan Butcher American19542006Dog musher in Alaska
Berthe Cabra Belgian18641947Belgian traveller, first European woman to travel across central Africa from East to West.
Charlotte Cameron American1872 or 18731946American traveller and author.
Calamity Jane American18521903American frontierswoman and professional scout, known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok and for fighting Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Renata Chlumska Czech and Swedish1973Climbed Mount Everest, kayaked and bicycled around lower 48 states of USA
Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz Polish1936First woman to sail solo around the world
Kay Cottee Australian1954First woman to sail solo, non-stop around the world
Octavie Coudreau Frenchc.1870c.1910Early explorer and geographer of the Amazon region in Brazil and French Guiana
Aimée Crocker American18641941Heiress, writer spent a decade exploring the Far East in the 1890s. Toured the interior of Java and Borneo.
Sophia Danenberg American1972First black woman to reach summit of Mount Everest
Alexandra David-Néel French18681969Travelled to Tibet while closed to foreigners
Robyn Davidson Australian19501700 mile camel trek from Alice Springs to the west coast of Australia
Cassandra De Pecol American1989 Traveled to all sovereign nations on a trip from July 24, 2015, to February 2, 2017; she thus obtained the Guinness World Record for "Fastest Person (Female) to Travel to All Sovereign Nations" and is the first documented woman, fastest American, and youngest American to do such a trip.[1]
Laura Dekker Dutch, German, and New Zealander1995Youngest person to sail around world solo
Eva Dickson Swedish19051938Swedish explorer, aviator, travel writer and rally driver. The first woman to have crossed the Sahara by car.
Lady Hay Drummond-Hay British18951946First woman to circumnavigate the world by air (by Zeppelin)
Edith Durham British18631944Explored Albania and the Balkans
Amelia Earhart American18971937First woman to fly solo across Atlantic
Isabelle Eberhardt Swiss18771904Swiss explorer and writer in Algeria, who converted to Islam and traveled freely dressed as a man.
Gertrude Ederle American19052003First woman to swim English Channel
Enid Gordon-Gallien Britishc. 18871931Explored and mapped Kalambo Falls
Barbara Hillary American19312019First African American woman to reach North Pole
Amy Johnson British19031941Pioneering aviator who set long-distance flying records
Osa Johnson American18941953Made films of and wrote books about travels in Africa, South Pacific, Borneo
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner Austrian 1970First woman to climb all fourteen eight-thousander mountains without supplementary oxygen
Alma Maximiliana Karlin Slovene 18891950World traveler, writer, poet, polyglot and theosophist, who was the second European woman to circle the world solo. In an eight-year travel, she explored North and South America, Oceania, Australia, East Asia, and India.
Mary Kingsley British 18621900Ethnographer and explorer of West Africa
Belinda Kirk British (unknown) Founder of Explorers Connect. Kirk has travelled across Africa, Nicaragua, and the Chinese Taklamakan Desert. She captained the first all-female rowing team to circumnavigate Britain non-stop.
Ness Knight South African 1985Explorer and first female in history to swim the Thames River from source to London in 2013. Completed a solo traverse of remote regions of Northern Namibia in 2016.
Gertrude Sanford Legendre American 1902 2000 American socialite who was a noted explorer and big-game hunter. She contributed rare specimens from Africa, Iran, Southeast Asia, Canada, and Alaska to natural history museums.
Annie Londonderry Latvian American 18701947First woman to bicycle around the world
Charlotte Mansfield British 18811936Wrote Via Rhodesia (1911) about her travels in Southern Africa
Beryl Markham British 19021986British-born Kenyan aviator (one of the first bush pilots), adventurer, racehorse trainer and author. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west.
Sarah Marquis Swiss 1972Swiss adventurer and explorer who walked 10,000 miles (16,000 km) across Asia, Siberia and Australia
Elizabeth Sarah Mazuchelli British 18321914Reportedly first western woman to see Mount Everest; wrote The Indian Alps and How We Crossed Them
Ella Maillart Swiss 19031997Explorer and travel writer in Asia from the late 1920s through to World War II; wrote Forbidden Journey – From Peking to Kashmir
Annette Meakin British 18671959First Englishwoman to cross the Trans-Siberian Railway. Wrote about this in "The Ribbon of Iron". Travelled in Russian Turkestan and other parts of Russia.
Ynes Mexia Mexican-American 18701938Mexican botanist and explorer who started her career at age 55. Discovered one new genus (Mexianthus) and many new species of plants.
Béláné Mocsáry Hungarian 18451917Hungarian geographer and travel writer who journeyed solo to four continents in the early 1900s.
Dervla Murphy Irish 1931Irish travel writer known for cycling alone through Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan to India
Marianne North British 18301890Prolific English Victorian biologist and botanical artist
Vanessa O'Brien American and British 1964First Woman to reach Earth’s Highest (Mt. Everest 8,848m) and Lowest points (Challenger Deep 10,925m)
Ida Pfeiffer Austrian 17971858Travelled alone around the world in 1847, published books of her numerous travels
Dorothy Pine American 19202011Possibly first woman to visit all 193 UN-recognised countries
Anésia Pinheiro Machado Brazilian 19041999Second Brazilian licensed female pilot in Brazil
Odette du Puigaudeau Fench 18941991made three trips to northern Africa to conduct field research among the nomads of the western Sahara region and eventually moved to Morocco.
Kate Rice Canadian 18821963First woman prospector in Northern Canada, writer, and trapper well known for her dog sled abilities
Wanda Rutkiewicz Polish 19431992Polish mountain climber, the first woman to successfully summit K2
Kira Salak American 1971Travelled in Mali and Papua New Guinea
Annemarie Schwarzenbach Swiss 19081942Journalist and photographer, travelled to Iran, Afghanistan, Africa
Beryl Smeeton British 19051979Mountaineer, cruising sailor, overland traveller
Annie Smith Peck American 18501935First person to climb Mount Nevado Huascarán in the Andes
Hester Stanhope British 17761839Conducted first modern archaeology in Holy Land; travelled dressed as a man (unveiled)
Freya Stark British and Italian

(French born)

18931993Travelled within and wrote about the Middle East, including the Arabian deserts, Afghanistan
Matilda Coxe Stevenson American 18491915Ethnologist and geologist who explored the Rocky Mountain region and the Southwest U.S.
Clärenore Stinnes German 19011990First woman to circumnavigate the world by automobile.
Rosie Swale-Pope Swiss, Irish, and British 1946Has run, walked and sailed around the world
Junko Tabei Japanese 19392016First woman to reach summit of Mount Everest
Annie Edson Taylor American 18381921First person to survive a trip over the Niagara Falls in a barrel
Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir Icelandic 9801019With her husband, led an expedition to North America
Alexandrine Tinné Dutch 18351869Dutch explorer in Africa and the first European woman to attempt to cross the Sahara
Adeline Van Buren American 18891949Along with her sister Augusta Van Buren, they were the first women to ride solo motorcycles across the continental US.
Augusta Van Buren American 18841959Along with her sister Adeline Van Buren, they were the first women to ride solo motorcycles across the continental US.
Jessica Watson Australian and New Zealander 1993Youngest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world (but did not fulfil WSSRC criteria)
Aloha Wanderwell American 19061996First woman to drive around the world
Fanny Bullock Workman American 18591925American cartographer, explored glaciers in Himalayas

See also

References

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