Alejandrina Benítez de Gautier, poet. Benítez de Gautier's collaboration with the "Aguinaldo Puertorriqueño" (Collection of Puerto Rican Poetry) gave her recognition as a great poet.[3]
María Bibiana Benítez, Puerto Rico's first female poet and one of its first playwrights
Mayra Santos-Febres, author, poet, novelist, essayist, literary critic, professor of literature. Anamu y manigua, El orden escapado, Pez de Vidrio, Sirena Selena vestida de pena, Nuestra Señora de la Noche, La amante de Gardel
Carmen Ana Culpeper, SBA Regional Director. First female Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury and first female president of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company.
Civil rights and/or political activists
Ana María O'Neill, women's rights activist and educator. First female Professor of Business at the University of Puerto Rico. A women's rights activist, she urged women to defend their right to vote.[11]
Ana Roque, women's rights activist. Suffragist and one of the founders of the University of Puerto Rico.
Blanca Canales, political activist. Nationalist leader who led the Jayuya Uprising in 1950 against U.S. colonial rule of Puerto Rico.
Isabel González, civil rights activist. Young Puerto Rican mother who paved the way for Puerto Ricans to be given United States citizenship.[12]
Lolita Lebrón, political activist. Nationalist leader and activist. Lebrón was the leader of a group of nationalists, who proceeded to attack the United States House of Representatives in 1954.
Luisa Capetillo, activist and writer. Social labor organizer and essayist who fought for women's rights, free love, and human emancipation.
Mariana Bracetti, political activist. Bracetti was the leader of the "Lares's Revolutionary Council" during the Grito de Lares. Bracetti knit the first flag of the future "Republic of Puerto Rico".
María Cadilla, women's rights activist. Women rights activist and one of the first women in Puerto Rico to earn a doctoral degree.
Melina Almodovar, singer, songwriter, dancer, and entertainer. Known as La Muñeca de la Salsa or La Chica del Bling.
Educators
Edna Coll, educator and author. President of the Society of Puerto Rican Authors. Also founded the Puerto Rico Academy of Fine Arts.[14]
Lolita Tizol, educator. At a time when most people in Ponce, as in most of Puerto Rico, did not know how to read and write, Tizol took it upon herself to overcome challenges to help others.[15]
Margot Arce de Vázquez, educator. Founder of the Department of Hispanic Studies in the University of Puerto Rico.
Nilita Vientós Gastón, educator. First female lawyer to work for the Department of Justice of Puerto Rico. Won a case before the Supreme Court for the use of the Spanish language in Puerto Rican courts.
Historians
Delma S. Arrigoitia, historian and author. First person in the University of Puerto Rico to earn a master's degree in the field of history.[16]
Gladys Esther Tormes González, a historian and head archivist of the Archivo Histórico de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Serving since 1974, she is the longest-serving archivist in the municipality of Ponce.
Mariana Bracetti, one of the many leaders during the struggle for Puerto Rican independence, she helped to knit the original “Flag of Lares” which was displayed to show victory over the Spanish
Socorro Giron, Puerto Rican historian, writer, and scholar. Author of "Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina: Historia de Ponce desde sus comienzos hasta la Segunda Decada del Siglo XX."
Journalists
Carmen Jovet, journalist. First Puerto Rican woman to become news anchor in Puerto Rico.
Isabel Cuchí Coll, journalist and author. Director of the Sociedad de Autores Puertorriqueños (Puerto Rican Authors Society).
Judges
Carmen Consuelo Vargas, Federal District Court judge. First Puerto Rican female to become a federal district judge and chief justice.
Military personnel
Carmen García Rosado, Private First Class, U.S. Women's Army Corps; was among the first 200 Puerto Rican women to be recruited into the WAC's during World War II; author of LAS WACS-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Segunda Guerra Mundial (The WACs – The participation of the Puerto Rican women in the Second World War), the first book which documents the experiences of the first 200 Puerto Rican women to participate in said conflict as members of the armed forces of the United States[17]
Dolores Piñero, U.S. Army Medical Corps; despite the fact that she was not an active member of the military, she was the first Puerto Rican woman doctor to serve in the Army under contract during World War I; at first she was turned down, but after writing a letter to the Army Surgeon General in Washington, D.C. she was ordered to report to Camp Las Casas in Santurce, Puerto Rico; in October 1918, she signed her contract with the Army.
Irene M. Zoppi, Brigadier General, U.S. Army Reserve. BG Zoppi is the first Puerto Rican woman promoted to the rank of general in the U.S. Army Reserve. Born and raised in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico as Irene Miller y Rodriguez, she began her career as a private first class with the Military Police Corps back in 1985. She is an example of Puerto Rico’s Public School Education System to include University. She was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1988, and rose through the ranks until she earned her star in 2017.
Brig. Gen. Zoppi speaks five languages, is a Ph.D. and has three masters’ degrees. Her military assignments over the years included a deployment with the 3rd Armored Division during the Gulf War. She has earned numerous awards and decorations including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait). Dr. Zoppi’s civilian achievements include serving as a Program Director for the National Intelligence University under the National Security Agency. You can learn more about Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Zoppi at the U.S. Army Reserve Official Website. Famous Kin. Brig. Gen. Zoppi’s famous kin include one very notable relationship. She is a first cousin five times removed from President Abraham Lincoln via Lincoln’s grandfather, also named Abraham Lincoln. In light of her own patriotic service to the United States, it is not surprising to find a number of notable patriots and cabinet members in Brig. Gen. Zoppi's family tree. These include familial connections to Amos Lincoln (Boston Tea Party participant), Elihu Washburne (Secretary of State), Nicholas Gilman (signer of the Constitution), John Hancock (signer of the Declaration of Independence), Nathanial Gorham (signer of the Constitution), and Salmon P. Chase (Secretary of the Treasury). In addition to Abraham Lincoln, other presidents with family ties to Brig. Gen. Zoppi include James Garfield, Gerald Ford, and both presidents Bush. Some of the more notable women include Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts) and Amelia Earhart (aviation pioneer). There are also a number of celebrities, probably the most notable of which is Elvis Presley.
Frances M. Vega, SPC, U.S. Army; on 2 November 2003, became the first female soldier of Puerto Rican descent to die in a combat zone during Operation Iraqi Freedom[18]
Amri Hernández-Pellerano, NASA engineer. Develops energy equipment at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Dr. Miriam Rodón-Naveira, NASA scientist. First Latino woman to hold the Deputy Directorship for the Environmental Sciences Division within the National Exposure Research Laboratory.
Olga D. González-Sanabria, NASA engineer. Highest ranking Latino at NASA Glenn Research Center and a member of the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame.
Yajaira Sierra Sastre, NASA scientist. Performs preliminary testing and research work in NASA in the area of food consumption and health of astronauts for future mission to Mars.[22][23]
Ivelisse Echevarría, softball player. Inducted into the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame (2003).
Rebekah Colberg, athlete. Pioneer women participant in the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games and gold medal winner in discus and javelin throws.
Judith Ortíz Cofer, poet, writer and essayist. First Latino to win an O. Henry Prize. First recipient of the Pura Belpre Award for Hispanic children's literature.[30][31]
Micol Ostow, author. Ostow wrote of "Mind Your Manners, Dick and Jane". Her novel, "Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa", was named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age.[32]
Nicholasa Mohr, writer. First Latino woman to have literary works published by the major commercial publishing houses, and longest continuously published Latino female writer for these publishing houses.[30][33][34]
Pura Belpré, author. First Puerto Rican librarian in New York City.[35]
Rosario Ferré, author of Sweet Diamond Dust, Eccentric Neighborhoods, and House on the Lagoon.[36][37]
Businesswomen and industrialists
Aída Álvarez, Cabinet member. First Latino woman to hold a sub-cabinet level position in the federal U.S. executive branch. She performed as director of the Small Business Administration.
María Vizcarrondo-De Soto, corporate CEO. First Latino woman to become the President and CEO of the United Way of Essex and West Hudson.[38]
Nina Tassler, corporate president. President of CBS Entertainment. Highest profile Latino woman in network television and one of the few executives who has the power to greenlight series.[39]
Dora Irizarry, Federal District Judge. First Latino woman to serve as state judge in New York.
Faith Evans, U.S. Marshal. First woman to become a U.S. Marshal.
Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice. First Puerto Rican woman to serve as an (2d Cir.) U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge and first Latino to become a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice.
Vanessa Ruiz, Court of Appeals Judge. Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Military personnel
Carmen Contreras-Bozak, Tech4, U.S. Women's Army Corps. Contreras-Bozak was the first Latino to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps. She served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions during World War II.[46]
Carmen Lozano Dumler, 2nd Lieutenant, U.S. Women's Army Corps. Dumler was one of the first Puerto Rican women Army officers. In 1944, she was sworn in as a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to the 161st General Hospital in San Juan.[47]
Olga E. Custodio, U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel. First Latino woman to become a U.S. military pilot. Also the first Latina to become a commercial airline captain.[52]
Rose Franco, CWO3, U.S. Marine Corps. First latino woman Chief Warrant Officer in the Marine Corps. Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.[53]
Physicians, scientists and inventors
Dr. Antonia Coello Novello, physician. First Latino and first woman U.S. Surgeon General (1990–93).
Mercedes Reaves Research engineer and scientist. Reaves is responsible for the design of a viable full-scale solar sail and the development and testing of a scale model solar sail at NASA Langley Research Center.
Carmen E. Arroyo, state legislator. First Puerto Rican woman elected to any state assembly, chair New York Hispanic Legislative Caucus.
Gloria Tristani, federal commissioner. First latino woman to serve as commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
María Colón Sánchez, state legislator. First Latino woman elected to the Connecticut General Assembly.[54]
Nydia Velázquez, member of Congress. First Puerto Rican congresswoman. Chair of House Small Business Committee.
Wilda Diaz, mayor. First female mayor of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and first Puerto Rican woman elected mayor in that state.
Religion
Bavi Edna Rivera, Episcopal bishop. First Latino woman to become a bishop and the 12th woman consecrated a bishop in the Episcopal Church.[55]
Sports
Gigi Fernández, tennis player. First Puerto Rican female athlete to turn professional,[56] first Puerto Rican woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal, and the first to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.[57]
^"Giannina Braschi". National Book Festival. Library of Congress. 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-26. 'Braschi: one of the most revolutionary voices in Latin America today'
^Carmen García Rosado, "LAS WACS"-Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Seginda Guerra Mundial, p. 60; 1ra. Edicion publicada en Octubre de 2006; 2da Edicion revisada 2007; Regitro tro Propiedad Intectual ELA (Government of Puerto Rico) #06-13P-)1A-399
^"Pura Belpré: The Children's Ambassador". In Vicki Ruiz and Virginia Sánchez Korrol, Latina Legacies: Identity, Biography, and Community New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. 148–157
^The Love of Neighbors: Rosario Ferre's Eccentric Neighborhoods / Vencindarios excentricos Article in Contemporary Women s Writing 6(3):251–266 · January 2013. "The Love of Neighbors: Rosario Ferre's Eccentric Neighborhoods". Contemporary Women's Writing. 6 (3): 251–266.((cite journal)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Garrigos, Cristina. "Bilingual, bicultural and postmodern: Rosario Ferre and Giannina Braschi find cultural identity in the United States through their literature". Insula. 57 (July 2002): 667–68.