A nurse turned activist whose work on women’s health issues gave way to the formation of Planned Parenthood, Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in Brownsville, Brooklyn, in 1916. She was arrested for the distribution of pamphlets that promoted contraception as well as for the opening of the clinic, which violated state law. NYU continues to gather her papers some 50 years after her death. Where to pay tribute today: Margaret Sanger Square is at the intersection of Mott and Bleecker Streets, where Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger Center is located. Sanger’s original Manhattan clinic is landmarked, but it is now a private home (located at 17 West 16th Street) and closed to the public.