5 Women Spies You Should Know

This Women's History Month, we're celebrating by honoring some of our all-time favorite women spies from history. All their stories are proudly for sale in-store at the Secret Agent Supply.

1. Josephine Baker (1906-1975)

While she's better known as the first Black American to star in a major motion picture & an icon of the Jazz Age, Josephine Baker was also a French resistance agent who carried intelligence about airfields, harbors, and German troops written in invisible ink on her sheet music. Read more about her in Josephine by Patricia Hruby Powell & Christian Robinson.

2. Harriet Tubman (1822-1913)

In addition to carrying thousands to freedom on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman was also a Union spy, the leader of a spy ring, and the first and only woman to organize and lead a military operation during the Civil War. Find out more in Heroism Begins With Her by Winifred Conkling. 

3. Andree Peel (1905-2010)

When WWII broke out, Andrée was running a beauty parlor in the French coastal town of Brest, the port that became the primary submarine base for Hitler's navy. Andrée quickly joined the French resistance, distributing underground newspapers, using torches to guide Allied planes to land on makeshift landing strips, and helping 102 allied pilots safely escape to England. Read more of her story in Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls 2 by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo.

4. Sarah Emma Edmonds (1841-1898)

Dubbed "The Master of Disguise," Sarah Emma Edmonds disguised herself as a man to serve in the Union Army and sometimes "disguised" herself back as a woman to spy on Confederate troops. Find out more in Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling.

5. Qiu Jin (1805-1907)

With her passion for wine, swords, and bomb making, Qiu Jin was unlike most women born in late 19th-century China. After escaping an arranged marriage, Qiu unbound her feet, started a feminist magazine, and unified radical activist groups. She even turned the school she worked at into a secret training ground for revolutionary soldiers. Learn of Qiu's story in Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz & Miriam Klein Stahl.