Angelica (born 1756), Elizabeth “Eliza” (born 1757) and Margaret “Peggy” (born 1758) Schuyler were the three eldest daughters of Revolutionary War general Philip Schuyler and his wife, Catherine Van Rensselaer. They grew up living in a large manor known as Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York. Once largely forgotten, the Schuyler sisters recently gained recognition as characters in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2015 hit musical Hamilton, about the life of Eliza’s husband, Alexander Hamilton. 

In addition to Albany, Angelica and Eliza—both socialites active in high society—spent time in New York City. Angelica eloped at the age of 21, marrying British-born businessman John Barker Church, a supplier for the Continental Army during the American Revolution. They moved to London and later Paris, where Angelica entertained diplomats, royalty, artists and other luminaries of the time. Stateside, Eliza married Hamilton in 1780, and served as his sounding board and as a liaison between her husband and his publisher when he was writing The Federalist Papers. 

Meanwhile, Angelica, who was close friends with Hamilton, kept up a correspondence with the founding father and her brother-in-law. “Where Eliza bowed reluctantly to the social demands of Hamilton’s career, Angelica applauded his ambitions and was always famished for news of his latest political exploits,” Ron Chernow writes in his biography of Alexander Hamilton. Peggy, who was also friends with Hamilton, married a distant cousin, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, at the age of 25 and died at age 42 following an illness.

Charlotte (born 1816), Emily (born 1818) and Anne (born 1820) Brontë grew up in West Yorkshire, England in the early 1800s, and went on to become some of the most famous novelists in history. The sisters were writers from a young age, penning stories and poems for their own amusement. 

Because the Brontë sisters didn’t come from a wealthy family, they were expected to work. Although each of the sisters earned a living as teachers or governesses, they still had their hearts set on writing. Eventually, Charlotte convinced Emily and Anne to submit their work for publication—albeit, under the pseudonyms Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily) and Acton (Anne) Bell, to conceal the fact that they were women. They started by self-publishing a book of poetry in 1846.

In 1847, Charlotte’s book, Jane Eyre and Anne’s book, Agnes Grey, were published, followed by Emily’s book, Wuthering Heights, the following year. All three sisters’ lives were cut short because of tuberculosis. Emily died from the disease in 1848, followed by Anne in 1849 and Charlotte in 1855.

Wilbur (born 1867) and Orville (born 1871) Wright are best known for making the first controlled, sustained flights of a heavier-than-air aircraft in 1903, and their subsequent pioneering work in the field of aviation. But if it weren’t for their younger sister, Katharine (born 1874)—who kept their records, encouraged them to present their scientific findings, and acted as their social manager—the Wright brothers may not be household names today. 

The trio grew up and spent most of their lives in Dayton, Ohio, where Wilbur and Orville first ran their family’s bicycle shop and later their aviation business known as the Wright Company. 

“The three youngest [Wright siblings] were virtually inseparable,” says Sara Fisher, executive director of the International Women's Air & Space Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. “They were close in age, they grew up together, [and] they had a shared trauma of losing their mother so early.”

Patria (born 1924), Minerva (born 1926) and María Teresa (born 1935) Mirabal were political activists who opposed the rule of President and dictator Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic in the mid-20th century. Trujillo rose to power when the Mirabal sisters were growing up. They saw how his policies benefited him, his family and his allies and harmed the poor. The sisters also witnessed the erosion of civil and political rights in the Dominican Republic, and how Trujillo’s secret police hunted down dissenters and subjected them to intimidation, imprisonment, torture, kidnapping, rape and murder. 

Patria, Minerva and María Teresa all went to college and in 1959, formed the 14th of June Movement—named after the date Minerva witnessed a massacre of people opposing Trujillo. The movement actively dissented the dictator’s government, and distributed pamphlets listing the names of those Trujillo’s administration had murdered. Before long, the Mirabal sisters and their husbands were arrested. The women were eventually released. 

In November 1960, the sisters were beaten to death on their way to visit their husbands, though it was reported that they died in a car accident. Ultimately, their deaths sparked renewed dissent among the Dominican people. “Killing women...was just beyond what people could stomach, and that catalyzed a lot of people to become more active in the movement,” says Elizabeth Manley, professor of history at Xavier University of Louisiana. 

John (born 1917), Robert (born 1925) and Edward “Ted” (born 1932) Kennedy were the three youngest sons of wealthy financier Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the daughter of a Boston politician. The three brothers’ high-profile political careers—with campaigns bankrolled by their father’s deep pockets—cemented the Kennedy family’s place as an American political dynasty.

After serving in Congress from 1947 until 1960, at age 43, John became the first Roman Catholic elected President of the United States. His term—and life—were cut short on November 22, 1963, when he was assassinated in Dallas. Robert served as the U.S. attorney general from 1961 to 1964 and a U.S. senator from 1965 to 1968, then was assassinated on June 5, 1968, while in Los Angeles campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. Ted served as a U.S. senator from 1962 until his death from cancer in 2009.