Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879, in Hyderabad, India. A political activist and poet, she joined the Indian National Congress in 1904 and was vocal about women’s rights, including the right to vote in India. Naidu was the first Indian woman to be appointed president of the Indian National Congress and to be Governor of United Provinces in 1947. Naidu also accompanied Mahatma Gandhi on the famous Salt March and to the Round Table Conference in 1931.

Called the “Nightingale of India,” Naidu authored several books including The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring (John Lane Company, 1912) and The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death & Destiny (John Lane Company, 1917). She died on March 2, 1949.