Mrs Jacobs, for all her academic-looking fringe and glasses, had no credentials save her high-school diploma, a vivid way of writing and a passion that twice got her arrested, once for incitement to riot, as she fought her victorious campaign to keep the Lower Midtown Expressway at bay.

ECONOMIST: Jane Jacobs

According to a New York Times report from findings from one consumer group, auto insurance rates were 68% lower for a married woman with a college degree, a professional job and who owned a home, when compared to a single woman, with a high-school diploma who rented her home in a moderate income area.

FORBES: What Really Goes Into Determining Your Insurance Rates?