Alexandra David-Neel and Gertrude Bell, two world travelers born in the 1800’s whose accomplishments would be amazing even today.
From Wikipedia: 
Alexandra David-Néel born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David (born in Paris on October 24, 1868, and died in Digne-les-Bains, on September 8, 1969) was a French explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer, most known for her visit to Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924, when it was forbidden to foreigners. David-Néel wrote over 30 books about Eastern religion, philosophy, and her travels. Her teachings influenced beat writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, and philosopher Alan Watts.
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell CBE (July 14, 1868 – July 12, 1926; aged 57) was a British writer, traveler, political analyst, administrator in Arabia, and an archaeologist who mapped and identified Anatolian and Mesopotamian ruins. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1917.Bell and T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) are recognized as almost wholly responsible for creating the Hashemite dynasty in Jordan and the modern state of Iraq. During her life, she was an unsung force behind the success of the Arab revolt in World War I. At the conclusion of the war, she drew up borders within Mesopotamia to include the three Ottoman Empire vilayets that later became Iraq.
I am glad to see that Bell is getting a little more notice these days. She was a force, a politician at a time when most women were not even allowed to think about politics. While Lawrence ran up and down the Hejaz raising hell, she spent her time politicking in a much less obvious manner, but accomplished a great deal. And she was, as you say, an important force in the treaty talks after WWI.
I had the good fortune to review a new Bell biography just last month. The review is here: http://tinyurl.com/285lpu
Carter
Carter Jefferson, Editor
The Internet Review of Books
Comment by Carter Jefferson — March 20, 2008 @ 9:06 pm