How historic would it have been if Hillary had been elected?

On Election Day 2016, anger trumped hope.

Hillary Clinton could’ve made history to become the first female president of the United States. Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, would’ve passed the torch onto her, but instead, Donald J. Trump is moving into the White House after an astonishing victory.

Clinton couldn’t transcend centuries of gender inequality in America, but many other countries around the world have had female heads of state. According to the United Nations, there are currently 10 women serving as heads of state and nine serving as heads of government.

A 2016 report from the World Economic Forum reveals that 59 countries have had female leaders in the past century.

The fact that Clinton is married to a former president is also not as unique as one would think. That’s because sometimes female heads of state follow their husbands into office, and occasionally their husbands follow them.

Former Argentine President María Estela Martínez de Perón, better known as Isabel, holds the distinction of being the first female head of state in the Western world, excluding royals. Prior to taking the helm, she served as the vice-president of Argentina under her husband, President Juan Perón. Isabel succeeded him after his death in 1974.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka was the first woman in the world to serve as prime minister when she took office in 1960. And she did it three times! She was the wife of the previous prime minister, Solomon Bandaranaike. Sirimavo’s daughter would later serve as the country’s president from 1994 to 2005.

Clinton had the honour of meeting the former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, who was the first woman to be democratically elected to lead a modern Muslim country. But unlike many other women, Benazir was elected before her husband took office. She was, however, the daughter of a former prime minister. She was assassinated in 2007.

Over the years, some countries have had more than one female leader. Switzerland has the record with five women as president, with Micheline Calmy-Rey serving twice. Meanwhile India has had the longest stretches with a woman in power, according to the Pew Research Center. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and later President Pratibha Patil served a combined 21 years.

Closer to home, Kim Campbell served as Canada’s first and only female prime minister in 1993. In a recent interview with the Canadian Press, she said a woman leading the United States would have sent a remarkable signal around the globe that yes, women really are up for the job.

And who could forget Margaret Thatcher, who earned the nickname “The Iron Lady” with her no-nonsense flair. As Britain’s first and only female prime minister, many people consider her the nation’s most important peacetime leader of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, Clinton couldn’t break the glass ceiling to become the leader of what is regarded as the most powerful country in the modern world. History was made during this U.S. election — just not for the reason people expected.