The Boston Women's Memorial, dedicated in October 2003, honors three women who helped shape Boston's history.

To kick off our International Women's Day celebrations, we're sharing the legacies of the three women behind the Commonwealth Avenue Mall sculptures.

Abigail Adams — The former First and Second Lady of the US, Abigail Adams was born in Weymouth. She was the wife of President John Adams and mother of President John Quincy Adams. She's perhaps best known for telling the Founding Fathers to "remember the ladies."

Phillis Wheatley — She was the first African American + second woman to ever publish a book of poems. The formerly enslaved woman received an education while working in the Wheatley household and published "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" in 1773.

Lucy Stone — The antislavery and women’s rights advocate was born in Brookfield. She was one of the first women to graduate from college and founded a suffragette publication called the "Woman's Journal."