1880s
Isabel González (02 may 1882 – 11 jun 1971 | San Juan, Puerto Rico – New Jersey US) pioneering Puerto Rican immigration activist / leader
María Cadilla Colón de Martínez (21 dec 1884 – 23 aug 1951 | Arecibo, Puerto Rico – Arecibo, Puerto Rico) author, educator, folklorist, women’s right activist, one of first Puerto Rican women to earn doctorate degree
Isabel Andreu y Blanco de Aguilar (15 nov 1887 – 07 apr 1948 | Fajardo PR – Puerto Rico) writer, educator, suffragist, philanthropist
1890s
Lolita Tizol Laguardia (19 jun 1890 – 25 apr 1933 | Ponce, Puerto Rico – Ponce , Puerto Rico) violinist, musician, music educator, school principal, first principal to in Puerto Rico to institute school breakfast / lunch program
Ana María O’Neill (07 mar 1894 – 24 may 1981 | Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – San Juan Puerto Rico) author, educator, women’s rights activist, founded Cooperative Institute at University of Puerto Rico
Concha Meléndez (21 jan 1895 – 26 jun 1983 | Caguas, Puerto Rico – San Juan, Puerto Rico) poet, author, educator, professor emeritus, first woman in history of Mexico to earn a PhD, first female member of Puerto Rican Academy of Languages
Mercedes Negrón Muñoz (08 mar 1895 – 26 aug 1973 | Barranquitas, Puerto Rico – San Juan, Puerto Rico) poet, literary figure, pen-name Clara Lair
Pilar Barbarosa de Rosario (04 jul 1898 – 22 jan 1997 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico – San Juan, Puerto Rico) author, educator, historian, political activist
María Luisa Arcelay 23 dec 1898 – 17 oct 1981 | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico – Mayagüez, Puerto Rico) politician, educator, businesswoman, first woman in Puerto Rico elected to government legislature
Pura Belpré (02 feb 1899 – 01 jul 1982 | Cidra, Puerto Rico – New York NY) author, puppeteer, librarian, folklorist, children’s book writer, first Puerto Rican female librarian in New York City
1900s
Edna Coll Puljas (24 jul 1906 – 19 nov 2002 | Arecibo, Puerto Rico – San Juan, Puerto Rico) author, educator, founded Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico
1910s
María Teresa Babín Cortés (30 may 1910 – 19 dec 1989 | Ponce, Puerto Rico – San Juan, Puerto Rico) poet, playwright, educator, essayist, literary critic
Juana de Dios [Diosa] Costello (23 apr 1913 – 20 jun 2013 | Guayama, Puerto Rico – Hollywood FL) entertainer, performer, producer, club owner, aka The Latin Bombshell
Julia Constancia de Burgos (17 feb 1914 – 06 jul 1953 | Carolina, Puerto Rico – Manhattan NY) poet, civil rights / women writers activist
Isabel Freire Meléndezde Matos (02 feb 1915 – 30 sep 2004 | Cidra, Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico) author, educator, journalist, children’s book writer, Puerto Rican independence activist
Gilda Galán (16 jan 1917 – 21 jun 2009 | Guayama, Puerto Rico – Carolina, Puerto Rico) poet, author, actress, dramatist, comedian, scriptwriter
1920s
Sylvia Rexach (22 jan 1922 – 20 oct 1961 | San Juan PR – San Juan PR) poet, singer, columnist, music critic, boleros composer, comedy scriptwriter, WWII office clerk with Women Army Service Corps [WACS]
Antonia Pantoja (13 sep 1922 – 24 may 2002 | San Juan, Puerto Rico – San Juan, Puerto Rico) feminist, educator, memoirist, social worker, civil rights leader
Emma Elizabeth Jean Sutcliffe Goldrick (07 feb 1923 – 20 nov 2008 | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico – Acushnet MA) collaborative romance novelist with husband James Goldrick
Carmen García Rosado (29 oct 1926 – Humacao, Puerto Rico) poet, author, educator, women veterans’ activist, one of first Puerto Rican WACs in World War II
Myrta Silva (11 sep 1927 – 02 dec 1987 | Arecibo, Puerto Rico – Arecibo, Puerto Rico) Puerto Rican, singer, composer, tv producer, commentator, aka La Reina de la Guaracha
Zilia Sánchez Domínguez (12 jul 1928 – San Juan, Puerto Rico) painting, sculpture, drawing and scenographic design artist
1930s
Esther Alzaibar (28 aug 1930 – San Juan PR) ceramics professor, pioneering ceramic artist, founded the Ceramic School Workshop, founding member of Venezuelan Association of the Arts of Fire
Myrna Báez (18 aug 1931 – Santurce, Puerto Rico) painter, engraver, printmaker, arts / art education advocate
María Cordero Hardy (12 jun 1932 – San Juan, Puerto Rico) aka Mary Hardy, scientist, educator, physiologist, vitamin E researcher
Carlota Alfaro (04 jun 1933 – Santurce, Puerto Rico) high fashion designer, sewing / fashion college founder, aka Puerto Rico’s Grande Dame of Fashion
Rose Franco (22 jan 1934 – Guánica PR) first Hispanic female chief warrant officer in US Marine Corps, assistant to US Secretary of the Navy at Pentagon
Brunilda Ruiz (01 jun 1936 – 13 aug 2019 | Rincón, Puerto Rico – Waldwick NJ) ballerina
Sonia Gutierrez (08 jul 1939 – Santurce, Puerto Rico) American author, educator, Hispanic rights activist, advocate / counselor for adult students
1940s
Carmen Jovet Esteves (09 jun 1944 – Mayagüez, Puerto Rico) journalist, first female tv news anchor in Puerto Rico
Delma S. Arrigoitia (10 feb 1945 – Arecibo, Puerto Rico) author, attorney, educator, historian, helped develop graduate school for history at U of PR
Ángela Meyer (02 aug 1947 – Santurce, Puerto Rico) actress, comedian, television / theatrical producer, founder and/or co-founder of various entertainment production companies
Esmeralda Santiago (17 may 1948 – San Juan, Puerto Rico) author, novelist, activist, memoirist
1950s
Judith Ortiz Cofer (24 feb 1952 – 30 dec 2016 | Hormigueros, Puerto Rico – Louisville GA) poet, essayist, short story writer, autobiographical author, young adult novelist
Giannina Braschi (05 feb 1953 – San Juan, Puerto Rico) poet, novelist, essayist, dramatist, Puerto Rican-American, credited with first Spanglish novel
Gloria Bonilla-Santiago (17 jan 1954 – Puerto Rico) author, distinguished professor, expert in public policy, social capital, community development, migration of women, diversity management, organizational leadership
Aurora Levins Morales (24 feb 1954 – Maricao, Puerto Rico) poet, writer, feminist, social justice activist
Merian Soto (08 jun 1954 – Puerto Rico) choreographer, performance artist
Denisse Oller (30 sep 1955 – San Juan PR) chef, news anchor, journalist, broadcaster, columnist, Latino youth leadership institute director
Lulu Delacre (20 dec 1957 – Rio Pedras, Puerto Rico) children’s book author and illustrator
Nancy Elisabet Soderburg (13 mar 1958 – Santurce, Puerto Rico) author, US diplomat, ambassador, foreign policy strategist