The red-virgin of Montmartre

Who: Louise Michel aka badass chick-person

What: French revolutionary, anarchist, feminist, advocate of sensational acts of violence, school teacher, and ambulance woman.

Where:  Paris, France

When: 29 May 1830-9 January 1905

Why: Michel was formally trained as a teacher, but because she didn’t acknowledge Napolean III as a noble king, she refused to teach at a state school.  However, she eventually stumbled upon a private school in Montmartre and began harvesting the beliefs she fought so hard to accomplish. In fact she was in a feminist group called the Société pour la Revendication du Droit des Femmes whose main focus was reforming the education made available for girls. She taught at the school from 1866-1870.  

Louise Michel was a pioneer during the Paris Commune of 1871, which was a revolutionary socialist government that controlled France from the 18th of March to the 28th of May.  Even though the revolt was short-lived, Michel still managed to leave her legacy.  She worked as a paramedic attending to the wounded soldiers in the barricades.  France's defeat in the French-Prussian War acted as a catalyst for the Paris Commune.  In addition to her role with the Paris Commune, Michel was a part of the National Guard and fought to protect the Paris Commune from the Versailles troops. 

Unfortunately, she was found guilty of attempting to overthrow the government and inspiring citizens to bear arms, so she and her other communards were deported. She made it back to France and the anarchist flame began to grow; she participated in anarchist demonstrations throughout Europe and preached revolution to the public. 

Fun facts: She was extremely anti-Bonapartist; she despised Napolean III to the extent that she even plotted to assassinate him. 

She was also one of the few women in the 19th century to wear men's clothing during a period of her life. 

There is a metro stop named after her, it used to be called Vallier but it was changed on May 1, 1946.  

The "courtyard" in front of the Sacré-Coeur is also named after her.