Hillary Clinton could make history on Election Day by becoming the first female president of the United States.
On the night she clinched the Democratic party nomination in June, Clinton made a speech to commemorate her historic achievement.
"Yes, there are still ceilings to break for women and men for all of us," she said. "But don't let anyone tell you that great things can't happen in America. Barriers can come down."
But Clinton isn't the only American woman who's made a bid for the White House. For more than 100 years, a handful of diverse and accomplished women paved the way before her. Here's a look at their stories.
1872: Victoria Woodhull
Woodhull launched her presidential bid nearly 50 years before women even had the right to vote. She represented the Equal Rights Party and campaigned for "free love," asserting that women should be able to "marry, divorce, and bear children without government interference,"Politico reports. Because of these views, various critics labeled her "Mrs. Satan,""harpie," and "impudent witch."
Woodhull and her sister were the first women to operate a brokerage firm on Wall Street, and, later, the two founded a radical newspaper called Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly. In fact, because of an article published in that paper, she was arrested on charges of indecency and thrown in jail just before election day in 1872. In 1877, Woodhull relocated to London, where she lived until her death at age 88.
1884 and 1888: Belva Lockwood
Lockwood also ran as a candidate of the Equal Rights Party, and in 1884, she garnered just over 4,000 votes in six states, according to the National Women's History Museum.
She was educated as a lawyer and single-handedly lobbied Congress until they passed a law allowing female attorneys to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1880, she became the very first woman to do so.
She died in 1917 after a four-decade law career.
1964: Margaret Chase Smith
Smith's political career began when her husband fell ill and urged her to run for his seat in the House of Representatives. She won the special election on June 3, 1940 — the first day of her three-decade political career in the House and Senate.
She announced her bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1964. "I have few illusions and no money, but I'm staying for the finish," she said at the time. "When people keep telling you you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try."
Smith lost every primary, but at the Republican National Convention, she became the first woman to have her name put in for nomination by a major political party. She retired to her Maine hometown in 1972 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom before her death in 1995.
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