Harriet Chalmers Adams
GEOGRAPHER & EXPLORER (1875 -1937)
While traveling through Mexico, Harriet
Chalmers Adams became a student of Latin
American affairs in 1900, after which she
made a three-year journey through Central
and South America. She traveled 40,000
miles, visiting every country, and reaching
many points previously unknown to any white
woman. After lecturing in the United States
from 1906 to 1908, she crossed Haiti on
horseback in 1910. Adams then traveled
through the Philippines, and from Siberia to
Sumatra, studying ancient races. In 1916,
Adams was a war correspondent at the
French front, and she returned to the United
States in 1917 to continue her lectures. In
1925, she organized, and became the first
president of, the Society of Women
Geographers.
Serena Williams
ATHLETE (1981 - present)
Williams is an American professional tennis
player and former world No. 1 in women's
single tennis. She has won 23 Grand Slam
singles titles, the most by any player in the
Open Era, and the second-most of all time
behind Margaret Court. The Women's Tennis
Association (WTA) ranked her world No. 1 in
singles on eight separate occasions between
2002 and 2017. She reached the No. 1
ranking for the first time on July 8, 2002. On
her sixth occasion, she held the ranking for
186 consecutive weeks, tying the record set
by Steffi Graf. In total, she has been No. 1 for
319 weeks, which ranks third in the Open Era
among female players behind Graf and
Martina Navratilova. Williams is widely
regarded as one of the greatest female tennis
players of all time holding the most Grand
Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed
doubles combined among active players.
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