Women in science
Encyclopedia
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
from the earliest times. Like many men in science, women have received little or no distinction for their work during their lifetimes. Science is generally and historically a male-dominated field, and evidence suggests that this is due to stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s (e.g. science as "manly") as well as self-fulfilling prophecies
Self-fulfilling prophecy
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Although examples of such prophecies can be found in literature as far back as ancient Greece and...
. Historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s with an interest in gender and science have illuminated the scientific endeavors and accomplishments of women, the barriers they have faced, and the strategies implemented to have their work peer-reviewed and accepted. In the present, these barriers still exist as the pay and opportunities for women in science continue to be surpassed by those for men.
Ancient history
The involvement of women in the field of medicineMedicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
has been recorded in several early civilizations. An ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian, Merit-Ptah , described in an inscription as "chief physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
", is the earliest known female scientist named in the history of science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
. Agamede
Agamede
Agamede was a name attributed to two separate women in classical Greek mythology and legendary history:-Mythological:Agamede was, according to Homer, a Greek physician acquainted with the healing powers of all the plants that grow upon the earth...
was cited by Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
as a healer in ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
before the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
. Agnodike was the first female physician to practice legally in 4th century BCE Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.
The study of natural philosophy
Natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
in ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
was open to women. Recorded examples include Aglaonike
Aglaonike
Aglaonike , also known as Aganice of Thessaly is cited as the first female astronomer in ancient Greece. She is mentioned in the writings of Plutarch and Apollonius of Rhodes as the daughter of Hegetor of Thessaly...
, who predicted eclipse
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer...
s; and Theano
Theano (mathematician)
Theano is the name given to perhaps two Pythagorean philosophers. She has been called the pupil, daughter and wife of Pythagoras, although others made her the wife of Brontinus...
, mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and physician, who was a pupil (possibly also wife) of Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
, and one of a school in Crotone
Crotone
Crotone is a city and comune in Calabria, southern Italy, on the Ionian Sea. Founded circa 710 BC as the Achaean colony of Croton , it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until 1928, when its name was changed to the current one. In 1994 it became the capital of the newly established...
founded by Pythagoras, which included many other women.
Several women are recorded as contributing to the proto-science of alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
around the 1st or 2nd centuries AD, where the gnostic tradition led to female contributions being valued. The best known, Mary the Jewess
Mary the Jewess
Maria the Jewess is estimated to have lived anywhere between the first and third centuries AD...
, is credited with inventing several chemical instruments, including the double boiler
Double boiler
A double boiler, also known as a bain Marie, is a stove top apparatus used to cook delicate sauces such as beurre blanc, to melt chocolate without burning or seizing, or cook any other thick liquid or porridge that would normally burn if not stirred constantly. It consists of an upper vessel...
(bain-marie) and a type of still
Still
A still is a permanent apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor...
.
Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia was an Egyptian Neoplatonist philosopher who was the first notable woman in mathematics. As head of the Platonist school at Alexandria, she also taught philosophy and astronomy...
was the daughter of Theon
Theon of Alexandria
Theon was a Greek scholar and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. He edited and arranged Euclid's Elements and Ptolemy's Handy Tables, as well as writing various commentaries...
, scholar and director of the Library of Alexandria
Library of Alexandria
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...
. She wrote texts on geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
and astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, and is credited with various inventions including a hydrometer
Hydrometer
A hydrometer is an instrument used to measure the specific gravity of liquids; that is, the ratio of the density of the liquid to the density of water....
, an astrolabe
Astrolabe
An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
, and an instrument for distilling
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
water.
Medieval Europe
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
was marked by the process which brought the end of the Roman Empire
Decline of the Roman Empire
The decline of the Roman Empire refers to the gradual societal collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Many theories of causality prevail, but most concern the disintegration of political, economic, military, and other social institutions, in tandem with foreign invasions and usurpers from within the...
. The Latin West was left with great difficulties that affected the continent's intellectual production dramatically. Although nature was still seen as a system that could be comprehended in the light of reason, there was little innovative scientific inquiry. However, the centuries after the year 1000 saw prosperity and rapidly increasing population
Medieval demography
This article discusses human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages, including population trends and movements. Demographic changes helped to shape and define the Middle Ages...
, which brought about many changes and sparked scientific production.
During the period, convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
s were an important place of education for women, and some of these communities provided opportunities for women to contribute to scholarly research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
. An example is the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen
Blessed Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Saint Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and...
, whose prolific writings include treatments of various scientific subjects, including medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
(c.1151-58).
The 11th century saw the emergence of the first universities
Medieval university
Medieval university is an institution of higher learning which was established during High Middle Ages period and is a corporation.The first institutions generally considered to be universities were established in Italy, France, and England in the late 11th and the 12th centuries for the study of...
. Women were, for the most part, excluded from university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
education. However, there were some exceptions. The Italian University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, for example, allowed women to attend lectures from its inception, in 1088.
The attitude to educating women in medical fields in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
appears to have been more liberal than in other places. The physician, Trotula di Ruggiero
Trotula of Salerno
Trotula can refer to Trotula of Salerno or the Trotula texts. Trotula of Salerno was a female physician who worked in Salerno, Italy. Several writings about women’s health have been attributed to her, including Diseases of Women, Treatments for Women, and Women’s Cosmetics...
, is supposed to have held a chair at the Medical School of Salerno
Schola Medica Salernitana
The Schola Medica Salernitana was the first medieval medical school in the cosmopolitan coastal south Italian city of Salerno, which provided the most important source of medical knowledge in Western Europe at the time...
in the 11th century, where she taught many noble Italian women, a group sometimes referred to as the "ladies of Salerno". Several influential texts on women's medicine, dealing with obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
and gynecology, among other topics, are also often attributed to Trotula.
Dorotea Bucca
Dorotea Bucca
Dorotea Bucca was an Italian physician. Little is known of her life, except that she held a chair of medicine and philosophy at the University of Bologna for over forty years from 1390...
was another distinguished Italian physician. She held a chair of philosophy and medicine at the University of Bologna for over forty years from 1390. Other Italian women whose contributions in medicine have been recorded include Abella
Abella
Abella was a 14th century Italian physician who taught at the Salerno school of medicine. Abella wrote medical treatises in verse, and lectured on, among other topics, the nature of women. Her published medical treatises, De atrabile and De natura seminis humani , have not survived.-References:*...
, Jacobina Félicie, Alessandra Giliani
Alessandra Giliani
Alessandra Giliani was born in 1307 and died on 26 March 1326, in a blazing inferno at age 19. She was an Italian anatomist, serving as the first female prosector in Italy....
, Rebecca de Guarna
Rebecca de Guarna
Rebecca de Guarna was an Italian physician and surgeon and author in the 14th century. She is one of the few woman physicians known from the middle ages....
, Margarita, Mercuriade
Mercuriade
Mercuriade was an Italian physician, surgeon and medical author in the 14th century. She is one of the few woman physicians known from the middle ages....
(14th century), Constance Calenda
Constance Calenda
Constance Calenda was an Italian surgeon specialising in diseases of the eyeCalenda was the daughter of Salvator Calenda, the dean of the faculty of medicine at the University of Salerno in about 1415, and afterwards dean of the faculty at Naples...
, Calrice di Durisio
Calrice di Durisio
Calrice di Durisio was an Italian physician and surgeon in the 15th century.She was educated at the University of Salerno and belonged to the minority of female students of her time period. She specialized in the diseases of the eye.- References :*...
(15th century), Constanza, Maria Incarnata and Thomasia de Mattio.
Despite the success of some women, cultural biases affecting their education and participation in science were prominent in the Middle Ages. For example, St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
, a Christian scholar, wrote, referring to women, "She is mentally incapable of holding a position of authority."
Scientific Revolution (16th, 17th centuries)
Margaret Cavendish, a 17th century aristocratic woman, took part in some of the most important scientific debates of that time. She was however, not inducted into the English Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, although she was once allowed to attend a meeting. She wrote a number of works on scientific matters, including Observations upon Experimental Philosophy and Grounds of Natural Philosophy. In these works she was especially critical of the growing belief that humans, through science, were the masters of nature. As an aristocrat, the Duchess of Newcastle was a good example of the women in France and England who worked in science.
Women who wanted to work in science lived in Germany, but came from a different background. There, the tradition of female participation in craft production enabled some women to become involved in observational science, especially astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
. Between 1650 and 1710, women made up 14% of all German astronomers. The most famous of the female astronomers in Germany was Maria Winkelmann. She was educated by her father and uncle and received training in astronomy from a nearby self-taught astronomer. Her chance to be a practicing astronomer came when she married Gottfried Kirch
Gottfried Kirch
Gottfried Kirch was a German astronomer. The son of a shoemaker in Guben, Electorate of Saxony, Kirch first worked as a calendar-maker in Saxonia and Franconia. He began to learn astronomy in Jena, and studied under Hevelius in Danzig...
, Prussia's foremost astronomer. She became his assistant at the astronomical observatory operated in Berlin by the Academy of Science. She made some original contributions, including the discovery of a comet. When her husband died, Winkelmann applied for a position as assistant astronomer at Berlin Academy, for which she was highly qualified. As a woman – with no university degree – she was denied the post. Members of the Berlin Academy feared that they would establish a bad example by hiring a woman. "Mouths would gape", they said.
Winkelmann's problems with Berlin Academy reflect the obstacles women faced in being accepted in scientific work, which was considered to be chiefly for men. No woman was invited to either the Royal Society of London nor the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
until the 20th century. Most people in the 17th century viewed a life devoted to any kind of scholarship as being at odds with the domestic duties women were expected to perform.
Overall, the Scientific Revolution did little to change people's ideas about the nature of women. Male scientists used the new science to spread the view that women were by nature inferior and subordinate to men and suited to play a domestic role as nurturing mothers. The widespread distribution of books ensured the continuation of these ideas.
18th century
The 18th century was characterized by three divergent views towards woman: that women were mentally and socially inferior to men, that they were equal but different, and that women were potentially equal in both mental ability and contribution to society. While individuals such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
believed women’s roles were confined to motherhood and service to their male partners, the Enlightenment was a period in which women experienced expanded roles in the sciences. The rise of salon culture in Europe brought philosophes and their conversation to an intimate setting where men and women met to discuss contemporary political, social, and scientific topics. While Jean-Jacques Rousseau attacked female-dominated salons as producing ‘effeminate men’ that stifled serious discourse, salons were characterized in the 18th century by the mixing of the sexes. Through salons and their work in mathematics, physics, botany, and philosophy, women began to have a significant impact during the Enlightenment. Women where not entirely excluded from being officially acknowledged by the scientific world. In 1748, Eva Ekeblad
Eva Ekeblad
Eva Ekeblad , née Eva De la Gardie, was a Swedish agronomist, scientist, Salonist and noble . Her most known discovery was to make flour and alcohol out of potatoes...
became the first woman inducted in to the Royal Swedish Academy of Science.
Émilie du Châtelet
Émilie du Châtelet
-Early life:Du Châtelet was born on 17 December 1706 in Paris, the only daughter of six children. Three brothers lived to adulthood: René-Alexandre , Charles-Auguste , and Elisabeth-Théodore . Her eldest brother, René-Alexandre, died in 1720, and the next brother, Charles-Auguste, died in 1731...
, a mathematician and physicist, was Voltaire’s intellectual companion and lover. She completed the first and only complete translation of Newton's Principia from Latin into French. She included a commentary and analysis where she used the "new" calculus (vs. the old geometry) to dissect Newton's theories. Du Châtelet was elected to the Bologna Academy of Sciences and her chateau of Cirey became the intellectual hub of the Enlightenment. Another of her major contributions was the Institutions de Physique, a work published in 1740, which discussed physical science.
A founder of modern botany and zoology, Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian was a naturalist and scientific illustrator who studied plants and insects and made detailed paintings about them...
(1624–1674), spent her life investigating nature. When she was thirteen, Sibylla began growing caterpillars and studying their metamorphosis into butterflies. Even though she did not have a diary, she kept a “Study Book” which recorded her investigations into natural philosophy. In her first publication, The New Book of Flowers, she used imagery to catalogue the lives of plants and insects. After her husband passed away, and her brief stint of living in Wiewert, she and her daughter journeyed to Paramaribo for two years to observe insects, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. She then returned to Amsterdam and she published The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname, which “revealed to Europeans for the first time the astonishing diversity of the rain forest.”
As many experiments and conversations took place in the home, women were well located to assist their husbands and family members with experiments and conversations. Among the best known of these scientific wives was Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze
Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze
Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze , was a French chemist. She was born in the town of Montbrison, Loire, in a small province in France...
, who married Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the "father of modern chemistry", was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
at thirteen and became his assistant in his home laboratory in when he discovered oxygen (science online). Mme. Lavoisier spoke English, and translated not only her husband's correspondence with English chemists, but also the entirety of Richard Kirwan's "Essay on Phlogiston": a key text in the controversy with English chemists such as Joseph Priestly over the nature of heat in chemical reactions. Mme Lavoisier also took drawing lessons from Jacques-Louis David, and drew the diagrams for her husband’s "Traite Elementaire de Chimie" (1789). Mme. Lavoisier maintained a small but lively salon and corresponded with French scientists and naturalists, many of whom were impressed by her intellect.
Although women excelled in many scientific areas during the 18th century, they were discouraged from learning about plant reproduction. Carl Linnaeus' system of plant classification based on sexual characteristics drew attention to botanical licentiousness, and people feared that they would pick up the wrong moral lessons from nature's example. Women were often depicted as both innately emotional and incapable of objective reasoning or as natural mothers reproducing a natural, moral society.
Even with such characterizations, author Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, known for her prolific letter writing, pioneered smallpox inoculation in England. She first observed the inoculations while visiting the Ottoman Empire, where she wrote detailed accounts of the practice in her letters [8].
Laura Bassi
Laura Bassi
Laura Maria Caterina Bassi was an Italian scientist, the first woman to officially teach at a university in Europe.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a wealthy family with a lawyer as a father, she was privately educated and tutored for seven years in her teens by Gaetano Tacconi...
(1711–1778), as a member of the Italian Academy of the Institute of Sciences and a chair of the Institute of Experimental Physics, became the world’s first female professor.
The scientific observations of two Englishwomen, Caroline Herschel
Caroline Herschel
Caroline Lucretia Herschel was a German-British astronomer, the sister of astronomer Sir Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel with whom she worked throughout both of their careers. Her most significant contribution to astronomy was the discovery of several comets and in particular the periodic comet...
and Margaret Cavendish, added to the scientific knowledge of the time. Herschel, a great astronomer, who was born in Hanover but moved to England where she acted as an assistant to her brother, William Herschel. There she learned mathematics. She received a small salary from King George III (agnesscott.edu) and was first woman to be recognized for a scientific position. She discovered eight comets between 1786 and 1797, and submitted an Index to Flamsteed's Observations of the Fixed Stars (including over five hundred omitted stars) to the Royal Society in 1798, becoming the first woman to present a paper there. In 1835, she and Mary Fairfax Somerville were the first two women to be awarded honorary memberships in the Royal Astronomical Society (source).
Margaret Cavendish, the first Englishwoman to write extensively about nature science and philosophy, published the Observations upon Experimental Philosophy (1688), which attempted to heighten female interest in science. The observations provided a critique of the experimental science of Bacon and criticized microscopes as imperfect machines.
Although gender roles were largely defined in the 18th century, women experienced great advances in science. Whether it was through Emilie du Châtelet in translating Newton’s Principia or Caroline Herschel discovering eight comets, women made great strides toward gender equality in the sciences.
Early 19th century
Science remained a largely amateur profession during the early part of the 19th century. Women's contributions were limited by their exclusion from most formal scientific education, but began to be recognised by admittance into learned societies during this period.Scottish scientist Mary Fairfax Somerville carried out experiments in magnetism
Magnetism
Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
, presenting a paper entitled 'The Magnetic Properties of the Violet Rays of the Solar Spectrum' to the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1826, only the second woman to do so. She also authored several mathematical, astronomical, physical and geographical texts, and was a strong advocate for women's education. In 1835, she and Caroline Herschel
Caroline Herschel
Caroline Lucretia Herschel was a German-British astronomer, the sister of astronomer Sir Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel with whom she worked throughout both of their careers. Her most significant contribution to astronomy was the discovery of several comets and in particular the periodic comet...
were the first two women to be elected to the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
.
English mathematician Ada, Lady Lovelace
Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace , born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine...
, a pupil of Somerville, corresponded with Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
about applications for his analytical engine
Analytical engine
The Analytical Engine was a proposed mechanical general-purpose computer designed by English mathematician Charles Babbage. It was first described in 1837 as the successor to Babbage's difference engine, a design for a mechanical calculator...
. In her notes (1842-3) appended to her translation of Luigi Menebrea
Federico Luigi, Conte Menabrea
Federico Luigi, 1º Conte Menabrea, 1st Marquis of Valdora was an Italian general, statesman and mathematician.-Biography:Menabrea was born at Chambéry, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia....
's article on the engine, she foresaw wide applications for it as a general-purpose computer, including composing music. She has been credited as writing the first computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
, though this has been disputed.
In Germany, the Deaconess Institute at Kaiserswerth was established in 1836 to instruct women in nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
. Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry , née Gurney, was an English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist...
visited the institute in 1840 and was inspired to found the London Institute of Nursing, and Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
also studied there in 1851.
The first woman to earn a college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
was Catherine Brewer Benson
Catherine Brewer Benson
Catherine Elizabeth Benson, née Brewer was the first woman to earn a college bachelor's degree.Catherine Elizabeth Brewer was born on January 24, 1822 in Augusta, Georgia...
in 1840.
In the US, Maria Mitchell
Maria Mitchell
Maria Mitchell was an American astronomer, who in 1847, by using a telescope, discovered a comet which as a result became known as the "Miss Mitchell's Comet". She won a gold medal prize for her discovery which was presented to her by King Frederick VII of Denmark. The medal said “Not in vain do...
made her name by discovering a comet in 1847, but also contributed calculations to the Nautical Almanac produced by the United States Naval Observatory
United States Naval Observatory
The United States Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission to produce Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense...
. She became the first woman member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1848 and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
in 1850.
Other notable female scientists during this period include:
- in Britain, Mary AnningMary AnningMary Anning was a British fossil collector, dealer and palaeontologist who became known around the world for a number of important finds she made in the Jurassic age marine fossil beds at Lyme Regis where she lived...
(paleontologist), Anna AtkinsAnna AtkinsAnna Atkins was an English botanist and photographer. She is often considered the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images. Some sources claim that she was the first woman to create a photograph.-Early life:Anna Children was born in Tonbridge, Kent, England in 1799...
(botanist), Janet Taylor (astronomer); - in France, Marie-Sophie GermainSophie GermainMarie-Sophie Germain was a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. Despite initial opposition from her parents and difficulties presented by a gender-biased society, she gained education from books in her father's library and from correspondence with famous mathematicians such as...
(mathematician), Jeanne Villepreux-PowerJeanne Villepreux-PowerJeanne Villepreux-Power was a pioneering female French marine biologist who in 1832 was the first person to create aquaria for experimenting with aquatic organisms....
(marine biologist).
Late 19th century in Europe
The latter part of the 19th century saw a rise in educational opportunities for women. Schools aiming to provide education for girls similar to that afforded to boys were founded in the UK, including the North London Collegiate SchoolNorth London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls founded in 1850 in Camden Town, and now in the London Borough of Harrow.The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Academically stunning outer London school in a glorious setting which, in 2003, demonstrated its refusal to rest...
(1850), Cheltenham Ladies' College
Cheltenham Ladies' College
The Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.-History:The school was founded in 1853...
(1853) and the Girls' Public Day School Trust
Girls' Day School Trust
The Girls' Day School Trust is a group of 26 independent schools - 24 schools and two Academies - in England and Wales, catering for pupils aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each year...
schools (from 1872). The first UK women's university college, Girton
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. It was England's first residential women's college, established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon. The full college status was only received in 1948 and marked the official admittance of women to the...
, was founded in 1869, and others soon followed: Newnham
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
(1871) and Somerville
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...
(1879).
The Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
(1854-6) contributed to establishing nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
as a profession, making Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
a household name. A public subscription allowed Nightingale to establish a school of nursing in London in 1860, and schools following her principles were established throughout the UK. Nightingale was also a pioneer in public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
and a statistician
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
.
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, LSA, MD , was an English physician and feminist, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain and the first female mayor in England.-Early life:...
became the first British woman to gain a medical qualification in 1865. With Sophia Jex-Blake
Sophia Jex-Blake
Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake was an English physician, teacher and feminist. She was one of the first female doctors in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, a leading campaigner for medical education for women and was involved in founding two medical schools for women, in London and in...
, American Elizabeth Blackwell and others, Garrett Anderson founded the first UK medical school to train women, the London School of Medicine for Women
London School of Medicine for Women
The London School of Medicine for Women was established in 1874 and was the first medical school in Britain to train women.The school was formed by an association of pioneering women physicians Sophia Jex-Blake, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Emily Blackwell and Elizabeth Blackwell with Thomas Henry...
, in 1874.
Annie Scott Dill Maunder
Annie Scott Dill Maunder
Annie Scott Dill Maunder, née Russell was an Irish astronomer and mathematician.She was born in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland to William Andrew Russell and Hessy Nesbitt Dill. Her father was the minister of the Presbyterian Church in Strabane until 1882.Annie received her secondary education at...
was a pioneer in astronomical photography, especially of sunspot
Sunspot
Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection by an effect comparable to the eddy current brake, forming areas of reduced surface temperature....
s. A mathematics graduate of Girton College, Cambridge, she was first hired (in 1890] to be an assistant to Edward Walter Maunder
Edward Walter Maunder
Edward Walter Maunder was an English astronomer best remembered for his study of sunspots and the solar magnetic cycle that led to his identification of the period from 1645 to 1715 that is now known as the Maunder Minimum....
, discoverer of the Maunder Minimum
Maunder Minimum
The Maunder Minimum is the name used for the period roughly spanning 1645 to 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare, as noted by solar observers of the time....
, the head of the solar department at Greenwich Observatory. They worked together to observe sunspots and to refine the techniques of solar photography. They married in 1895. Annie's mathematical skills made it possible to analyze the years of sunspot data that Maunder had been collecting at Greenwich. She also designed a small, portable wide-angle camera with a 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) lens. In 1898, the Maunders traveled to India, where Annie took the first photographs of the sun's corona during a solar eclipse. By analyzing the Cambridge records for both sunspots and geomagnetic storm
Geomagnetic storm
A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a disturbance in the interplanetary medium. A geomagnetic storm is a major component of space weather and provides the input for many other components of space weather...
, they were able to show that specific regions of the sun's surface were the source of geomagnetic storms and that the sun did not radiate its energy uniformly into space, as William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging...
had declared.
Other notable female scientists during this period include:
- in Britain, Hertha Marks AyrtonHertha Marks AyrtonPhoebe Sarah Hertha Ayrton, née Marks was an English engineer, mathematician and inventor.- Life and work :...
(mathematician, engineer), Margaret HugginsMargaret Lindsay HugginsMargaret Lindsay, Lady Huggins , born Margaret Lindsay Murray, was an Irish scientific investigator and amateur astronomer. With her husband William Huggins she was a pioneer in the field of spectroscopy....
(astronomer), Beatrix PotterBeatrix PotterHelen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
(mycologist); - in France, Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts (American-born astronomer);
- in Germany, Amalie DietrichAmalie DietrichKoncordie Amalie Dietrich was a German naturalist who was best known for her pioneering work in Australia, where she spent 10 years collecting specimens for the Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg.-Early life:...
(naturalist), Agnes PockelsAgnes PockelsAgnes Luise Wilhelmine Pockels , was a German pioneer in chemistry.-Biography:In 1862, she was born in Venice, Italy. Her father served in the Austrian army. When he fell sick with malaria, the family moved to Brunswick, Lower Saxony in 1871. Already as a child, Agnes was interested in science and...
(physicist); - in Russia, Sofia KovalevskayaSofia KovalevskayaSofia Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya , was the first major Russian female mathematician, responsible for important original contributions to analysis, differential equations and mechanics, and the first woman appointed to a full professorship in Northern Europe.She was also one of the first females to...
(mathematician).
Late 19th century in the United States
In the later 19th century the rise of the women's collegeWomen's college
Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women...
provided jobs for women scientists, and opportunities for education. Women's colleges produced a disproportionate number of women who went on for Ph.D.s in science. Many coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al colleges and universities also opened or started to admit women during this period; such institutions included only just over 3000 women in 1875, but by 1900 accounted for almost 20,000.
An example is Elizabeth Blackwell, who became the first certified female doctor in the US when she graduated from Geneva Medical College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, located in Geneva, New York, are together a liberal arts college offering Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. In athletics, however, the two schools compete with separate teams, known as the Hobart Statesmen and the...
in 1849. With her sister, Emily Blackwell
Emily Blackwell
Emily Blackwell was the second woman to earn a medical degree at what is now Case Western Reserve University, and the third openly identified woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.-Biography:...
, and Marie Zakrzewska, Blackwell founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children in 1857 and the first Women's Medical College in 1868, providing both training and clinical experience for women doctors. She also published several books on medical education for women.
In 1876, Elizabeth Bragg became the first woman to graduate with a civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
degree in the United States, from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Europe before World War II
Marie CurieMarie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
, the first woman to win a Nobel prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in 1903 (physics), went on to become a double Nobel prize winner in 1911 (chemistry), both for her work on radiation
Radioactive decay
Radioactive decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing particles . The emission is spontaneous, in that the atom decays without any physical interaction with another particle from outside the atom...
.
Alice Perry became the first woman to graduate with a degree in civil engineering in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
in 1906 at Queen's College, Galway, Ireland
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
.
Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner FRS was an Austrian-born, later Swedish, physicist who worked on radioactivity and nuclear physics. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, an achievement for which her colleague Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize...
played a major role in the discovery of nuclear fission. As head of the physics section at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin she collaborated closely with the head of chemistry Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn FRS was a German chemist and Nobel laureate, a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is regarded as "the father of nuclear chemistry". Hahn was a courageous opposer of Jewish persecution by the Nazis and after World War II he became a passionate campaigner...
on atomic physics until forced to flee Berlin in 1938. In 1939, in collaboration with her nephew Otto Frisch, Meitner derived the theoretical explanation for an experiment performed by Hahn and Fritz Strassman in Berlin, thereby demonstrating the occurrence of nuclear fission
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
.
The Erlangen program
Erlangen program
An influential research program and manifesto was published in 1872 by Felix Klein, under the title Vergleichende Betrachtungen über neuere geometrische Forschungen...
attempted to identify invariants
Invariant (mathematics)
In mathematics, an invariant is a property of a class of mathematical objects that remains unchanged when transformations of a certain type are applied to the objects. The particular class of objects and type of transformations are usually indicated by the context in which the term is used...
under a group of transformations. On July 16, 1918, before a scientific organization in Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, Felix Klein
Felix Klein
Christian Felix Klein was a German mathematician, known for his work in group theory, function theory, non-Euclidean geometry, and on the connections between geometry and group theory...
read a paper written by Emmy Noether
Emmy Noether
Amalie Emmy Noether was an influential German mathematician known for her groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics. Described by David Hilbert, Albert Einstein and others as the most important woman in the history of mathematics, she revolutionized the theories of...
, because she was not allowed to present the paper before the scientific organization herself. In particular, in what is referred to in physics as Noether's theorem
Noether's theorem
Noether's theorem states that any differentiable symmetry of the action of a physical system has a corresponding conservation law. The theorem was proved by German mathematician Emmy Noether in 1915 and published in 1918...
, this paper identified the conditions under which the Poincaré group
Poincaré group
In physics and mathematics, the Poincaré group, named after Henri Poincaré, is the group of isometries of Minkowski spacetime.-Simple explanation:...
of transformations (what is now called a gauge group) for general relativity
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
defines conservation law
Conservation law
In physics, a conservation law states that a particular measurable property of an isolated physical system does not change as the system evolves....
s. Noether's papers made the requirements for the conservation laws precise. Moreover, among mathematicians Noether is best known for her fundamental contributions to abstract algebra, where the adjective noetherian
Noetherian
In mathematics, the adjective Noetherian is used to describe objects that satisfy an ascending or descending chain condition on certain kinds of subobjects; in particular,* Noetherian group, a group that satisfies the ascending chain condition on subgroups...
is nowadays commonly used on many sorts of objects.
Inge Lehmann
Inge Lehmann
Inge Lehmann FRS , was a Danish seismologist who, in 1936, argued that the Earth's core is not one single molten sphere, but that an inner core exists which has physical properties that are different from those of the outer core.-Life:Inge Lehmann was born and grew up in Østerbro, a part of...
, a Danish seismologist, first suggested that the inside the Earth's molten core there may be a solid inner core
Inner core
The inner core of the Earth, its innermost hottest part as detected by seismological studies, is a primarily solid ball about in radius, or about 70% that of the Moon...
in 1936.
Women such as Margaret Fountaine
Margaret Fountaine
Margaret Elizabeth Fountaine , a Victorian lepidopterist and diarist, was born in Norfolk, the eldest of seven children of an English country clergyman, Reverend John Fountaine of South Acre parish in East Anglia...
continued to contribute detailed observations and illustrations in botany, entomology, and related observational fields.
United States before World War II
Women moved into science in significant numbers by 1900, helped by the women's colleges and by opportunities at some of the new universities. Margaret Rossiter's book Women Scientists in America (Johns Hopkins University Press) provides an overview of this period, stressing the opportunities women found in separate women's work in science.In 1892, Ellen Swallow Richards
Ellen Swallow Richards
Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards was the foremost female industrial and environmental chemist in the United States in the 19th century, pioneering the field of home economics. Richards graduated from Westford Academy...
called for the "christening of a new science" – "oekology" (ecology) in a Boston lecture. This new science included the study of "consumer nutrition" and environmental education. This interdisciplinary branch of science was later specialized into what is currently known as ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, while the consumer nutrition focus split off and was eventually relabeled as home economics. Home economics
Home Economics
Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...
provided one avenue for women to study science. Richards helped to form the American Home Economics Association, which published a journal, the Journal of Home Economics and hosted conferences. Home economics departments were formed at many colleges, especially at land grant institutions. In her work at MIT, Swallow also introduced the first biology course in its history as well as the focus area of sanitary engineering.
Women also found opportunities in botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and embryology
Embryology
Embryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...
. In psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, women earned doctorates but were encouraged to specialize in educational and child psychology and to take jobs in clinical settings, such as hospitals and social welfare agencies.
In 1901 Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C...
first noticed that it was a star's temperature that was the principal distinguishing feature among different spectra. This led to re-ordering of the ABC types by temperature instead of hydrogen absorption-line strength. Due to Cannon's work, most of the then-existing classes of stars were thrown out as redundant. Afterward, astronomy was left with the seven primary classes
Stellar classification
In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...
recognized today, in order: O, B, A, F, G, K, M.
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
Henrietta Swan Leavitt was an American astronomer. A graduate of Radcliffe College, Leavitt went to work in 1893 at the Harvard College Observatory in a menial capacity as a "computer", assigned to count images on photographic plates...
first published her study of variable stars in 1908. This discovery became known as the "period-luminosity relationship" of Cepheid variable
Cepheid variable
A Cepheid is a member of a class of very luminous variable stars. The strong direct relationship between a Cepheid variable's luminosity and pulsation period, secures for Cepheids their status as important standard candles for establishing the Galactic and extragalactic distance scales.Cepheid...
s. Our picture of the universe was changed forever, largely because of Leavitt's discovery.
The accomplishments of Edwin Hubble
Edwin Hubble
Edwin Powell Hubble was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way - our own galaxy...
, renowned American astronomer, were made possible by Leavitt's groundbreaking research and Leavitt's Law. "If Henrietta Leavitt had provided the key to determine the size of the cosmos, then it was Edwin Powell Hubble who inserted it in the lock and provided the observations that allowed it to be turned," wrote David H. and Matthew D.H. Clark in their book Measuring the Cosmos. To his credit, Hubble himself often said that Leavitt deserved the Nobel for her work. Gösta Mittag-Leffler of the Swedish Academy of Sciences had begun paperwork on her nomination in 1924, only to learn that she had died of cancer three years earlier (the Nobel prize cannot be awarded posthumously).
In 1925, Harvard graduate student Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
-Further reading:*Rubin, Vera , "Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin" in OUT OF THE SHADOWS: Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics, Nina Byers and Gary Williams, ed., Cambridge University Press ....
demonstrated for the first time from existing evidence on the spectra of stars that stars were made up almost exclusively of hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
and helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
, one of the most fundamental theories in stellar astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
.
Canadian born Maud Menten
Maud Menten
Maud Leonora Menten was a Canadian medical scientist who made significant contributions to enzyme kinetics and histochemistry. Her name is associated with the famous Michaelis-Menten equation in biochemistry.Maud Menten was born in Port Lambton, Ontario and studied medicine at the University of...
worked in the U.S. and Germany. Her most famous work was on enzyme kinetics together with Leonor Michaelis
Leonor Michaelis
Leonor Michaelis was a German biochemist, physical chemist, and physician, known primarily for his work with Maud Menten on enzyme kinetics and Michaelis-Menten kinetics in 1913.-Early life and education:...
, based on earlier findings of Victor Henri. This resulted in the Michaelis-Menten
Michaelis-Menten kinetics
In biochemistry, Michaelis–Menten kinetics is one of the simplest and best-known models of enzyme kinetics. It is named after German biochemist Leonor Michaelis and Canadian physician Maud Menten. The model takes the form of an equation describing the rate of enzymatic reactions, by relating...
equations. Menten also invented the azo-dye coupling reaction for alkaline phosphatase
Alkaline phosphatase
Alkaline phosphatase is a hydrolase enzyme responsible for removing phosphate groups from many types of molecules, including nucleotides, proteins, and alkaloids. The process of removing the phosphate group is called dephosphorylation...
, which is still used in histochemistry. She characterised bacterial toxins from B. paratyphosus, Streptococcus scarlatina and Salmonella
Salmonella
Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...
ssp.) and conducted the first electrophoretic
Electrophoresis
Electrophoresis, also called cataphoresis, is the motion of dispersed particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric field. This electrokinetic phenomenon was observed for the first time in 1807 by Reuss , who noticed that the application of a constant electric...
separation of proteins in 1944. She worked on the properties of hemoglobin
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of all vertebrates, with the exception of the fish family Channichthyidae, as well as the tissues of some invertebrates...
, regulation of blood sugar
Blood sugar
The blood sugar concentration or blood glucose level is the amount of glucose present in the blood of a human or animal. Normally in mammals, the body maintains the blood glucose level at a reference range between about 3.6 and 5.8 mM , or 64.8 and 104.4 mg/dL...
level, and kidney function.
World War II brought some new opportunities. The Office of Scientific Research and Development
Office of Scientific Research and Development
The Office of Scientific Research and Development was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May 1941, and it was created formally by on June 28, 1941...
, under Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush was an American engineer and science administrator known for his work on analog computing, his political role in the development of the atomic bomb as a primary organizer of the Manhattan Project, the founding of Raytheon, and the idea of the memex, an adjustable microfilm viewer...
, began in 1941 to keep a registry of men and women trained in the sciences. Because there was a shortage of male workers, some women were able to work in jobs they might not otherwise have accessed. Many women worked on the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
or on scientific projects for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military services. Women who worked on the Manhattan Project included Leona Woods Marshall
Leona Woods
Leona Woods , later called Leona Woods Marshall and Leona Woods Marshall Libby, was an American physicist who helped build the first nuclear reactor and the first atomic bomb....
, Katharine Way, and Chien-Shiung Wu
Chien-Shiung Wu
Chien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese-American physicist with expertise in the techniques of experimental physics and radioactivity. Wu worked on the Manhattan Project...
.
Women in other disciplines looked for ways to apply their expertise to the war effort. Three nutritionists, Lydia J. Roberts, Hazel K. Stiebeling
Hazel Stiebeling
Hazel Katherine Stiebeling was an American nutritionist who pioneered the development of USDA programs for nutrition including USDA daily dietary allowances of vitamins and minerals.-Early life:...
, and Helen S. Mitchell, developed the Recommended Dietary Allowance in 1941 to help military and civilian groups make plans for group feedings situations. The RDAs proved necessary, especially, once foods began to be rationed
Rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time.- In economics :...
.
Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
worked for the United States Bureau of Fisheries, writing brochures to encourage Americans to consume a wider variety of fish and seafood. She also contributed to research to assist the Navy in developing techniques and equipment for submarine detection.
Women in psychology formed the National Council of Women Psychologists, which organized projects related to the war effort. The NCWP elected Florence Laura Goodenough president.
In the social sciences, several women contributed to the Japanese Evacuation and Resettlement Study, based at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. This study was led by sociologist Dorothy Swaine Thomas, who directed the project and synthesized information from her informants, mostly graduate students in anthropology. These included Tamie Tsuchiyama, the only Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
woman to contribute to the study, and Rosalie Hankey Wax.
In the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, female scientists conducted a range of research. Mary Sears, a planktonologist
Planktology
Planktology is the study of plankton, various microorganisms that inhabit bodies of water. The field encompasses a variety of topics, including primary production, and energy flow. The carbon cycle is a recent area of interest....
, researched military oceanographic techniques as head of the Hydgrographic Office's Oceanographic Unit. Florence Van Straten, a chemist, worked as an aerological engineer. She studied the effects of weather on military combat. Grace Hopper
Grace Hopper
Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper was an American computer scientist and United States Navy officer. A pioneer in the field, she was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, and developed the first compiler for a computer programming language...
, a mathematician, became one of the first computer programmers for the Mark I
Harvard Mark I
The IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator , called the Mark I by Harvard University, was an electro-mechanical computer....
computer. Mina Spiegel Rees, also a mathematician, was the chief technical aide for the Applied Mathematics Panel of the National Defense Research Committee
National Defense Research Committee
The National Defense Research Committee was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the United States from June 27, 1940 until June 28, 1941...
.
Gerti Cori was a biochemist and the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize in science. She was the first woman ever to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Cori is among several scientists whose works are commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp.
Later 20th century
Nina ByersNina Byers
Nina Byers is a theoretical physicist, Research Professor and Professor of Physics emeritus in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA. have mainly been in...
notes that before 1976, fundamental contributions of women to physics were rarely acknowledged. Women worked unpaid or in positions lacking the status they deserved. That imbalance is gradually being redressed.
A recent book titled Athena Unbound provides a life-course analysis (based on interviews and surveys) of women in science from early childhood interest, through university, graduate school and the academic workplace. The thesis of this book is that "Women face a special series of gender related barriers to entry and success in scientific careers that persist, despite recent advances".
The L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science were set up in 1998, with prizes alternating each year between the materials science and life sciences. One award is given for each geographical region of Africa and the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America.
Europe after World War II
- French virologist Françoise Barré-SinoussiFrançoise Barré-SinoussiFrançoise Barré-Sinoussi is a French virologist and director of the Unité de Régulation des Infections Rétrovirales at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France. Born in Paris, France, Barré-Sinoussi performed some of the fundamental work in the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus as...
performed some of the fundamental work in the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS, for which she shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- In July 1967, Jocelyn Bell BurnellJocelyn Bell BurnellSusan Jocelyn Bell Burnell, DBE, FRS, FRAS , is a British astrophysicist. As a postgraduate student she discovered the first radio pulsars with her thesis supervisor Antony Hewish. She was president of the Institute of Physics from October 2008 until October 2010, and was interim president...
discovered evidence for the first known radio pulsar, which resulted in the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics for her supervisorAntony HewishAntony Hewish FRS is a British radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 for his work on the development of radio aperture synthesis and its role in the discovery of pulsars...
. She was president of the Institute of PhysicsInstitute of PhysicsThe Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
from October 2008 until October 2010.
- Astrophysicist Margaret BurbidgeMargaret BurbidgeEleanor Margaret Burbidge, née Peachey, FRS is a British-born American astrophysicist, noted for original research and holding many administrative posts, including director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory....
was a member of the B²FH group responsible for originating the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis, which explains how elements are formed in stars. She has held a number of prestigious posts, including the directorship of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
- Mary CartwrightMary CartwrightDame Mary Lucy Cartwright DBE FRS was a leading 20th-century British mathematician. She was born in Aynho, Northamptonshire where her father was the vicar and died in Cambridge, England...
was a mathematician and student of G. H. HardyG. H. HardyGodfrey Harold “G. H.” Hardy FRS was a prominent English mathematician, known for his achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis....
. Her work on nonlinear differential equations was influential in the field of dynamical systemDynamical systemA dynamical system is a concept in mathematics where a fixed rule describes the time dependence of a point in a geometrical space. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a clock pendulum, the flow of water in a pipe, and the number of fish each springtime in a...
s.
- Rosalind FranklinRosalind FranklinRosalind Elsie Franklin was a British biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer who made critical contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal and graphite...
was a crystallographer, whose work helped to elucidate the fine structures of coalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, graphiteGraphiteThe mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
, DNADNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
and viruses. In 1953, the work she did on DNA allowed WatsonJames D. WatsonJames Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick...
and CrickFrancis CrickFrancis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
to conceive their model of the structure of DNA. She could not share the Nobel prize with Crick, Watson and WilkinsMaurice WilkinsMaurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins CBE FRS was a New Zealand-born English physicist and molecular biologist, and Nobel Laureate whose research contributed to the scientific understanding of phosphorescence, isotope separation, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction, and to the development of radar...
because of her premature death.
- Jane GoodallJane GoodallDame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
is a British primatologist considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees.
- Dorothy Hodgkin analysed the molecular structure of complex chemicals by studying diffraction patterns caused by passing X-rays through crystals. She won the 1964 Nobel prize for chemistry.
- Irène Joliot-CurieIrène Joliot-CurieIrène Joliot-Curie was a French scientist, the daughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie and the wife of Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Jointly with her husband, Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. This made the Curies...
, daughter of Marie Curie, won the 1935 Nobel Prize for chemistry with her husband Frédéric Joliot for their work in radioactive isotopes leading to nuclear fissionNuclear fissionIn nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
.
- Palaeoanthropologist Mary LeakeyMary LeakeyMary Leakey was a British archaeologist and anthropologist, who discovered the first skull of a fossil ape on Rusinga Island and also a noted robust Australopithecine called Zinjanthropus at Olduvai. For much of her career she worked together with her husband, Louis Leakey, in Olduvai Gorge,...
discovered the first skull of a fossil ape on Rusinga Island and also a noted robust Australopithecine.
- Zoologist Anne McLarenAnne McLarenThe Hon. Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, DBE, FRS, FRCOG was the daughter of Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway and Christabel McNaughten. She became a leading figure in developmental biology. Her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation...
conducted studied in genetics which led to advances in in vitro fertilization. She became the first female officer of the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 331 years.
- Italian neurologist Rita Levi-MontalciniRita Levi-MontalciniRita Levi-Montalcini , Knight Grand Cross is an Italian neurologist who, together with colleague Stanley Cohen, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of nerve growth factor...
received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of Nerve growth factor (NGF). She was appointed a Senator for Life in the Italian Senate in 2001.
- Christiane Nüsslein-VolhardChristiane Nüsslein-VolhardChristiane Nüsslein-Volhard is a German biologist who won the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1991 and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995, together with Eric Wieschaus and Edward B...
received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995 for research on the genetic control of embryonic development. She also started the Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Foundation (Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Stiftung), to aid promising young female German scientists with children.
- Bertha SwirlesBertha SwirlesBertha Swirles, Lady Jeffreys , carried out research on quantum theory, particularly in its early days. She was associated with Girton College, University of Cambridge, as student and Fellow, for over 70 years....
was a theoretical physicist who made a number of contributions to early quantum theoryQuantum mechanicsQuantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
. She co-authored the well-known textbook Methods of Mathematical Physics with her husband Sir Harold Jeffreys.
United States after World War II
- Kay McNulty, Betty JenningsJean BartikJean Bartik was one of the original programmers for the ENIAC computer.She was born Betty Jean Jennings in Gentry County, Missouri, in 1924 and attended Northwest Missouri State Teachers College, majoring in mathematics. In 1945, she was hired by the University of Pennsylvania to work for Army...
, Betty SnyderBetty HolbertonFrances Elizabeth "Betty" Holberton was one of the six original programmers of ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer.-Early life and education:...
, Marlyn Wescoff, Fran Bilas and Ruth Lichterman were six of the original programmers for the ENIACENIACENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
, the first general purpose electronic computer.
- Linda B. BuckLinda B. BuckLinda Brown Buck is an American biologist best known for her work on the olfactory system. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Richard Axel, for their work on olfactory receptors....
is a neurobiologist who was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
along with Richard AxelRichard AxelRichard Axel is an American neuroscientist whose work on the olfactory system won him and Linda B. Buck, a former post-doctoral scientist in his research group, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004....
for their work on olfactory receptors.
- Biologist and activist Rachel CarsonRachel CarsonRachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
published Silent SpringSilent SpringSilent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement....
, a work on the dangers of pesticides, in 1952.
- Eugenie ClarkEugenie ClarkEugenie Clark , popularly known as The Shark Lady, is an American ichthyologist known for her research on poisonous fish of the tropical seas and on the behaviour of sharks.-Academic life:...
, popularly known as The Shark Lady, is an American ichthyologist known for her research on poisonous fish of the tropical seas and on the behaviour of sharks.
- Ann DruyanAnn DruyanAnn Druyan is an American author and producer specializing in productions about cosmology and popular science. She made substantial contributions to the PBS documentary series, Cosmos, and was the wife of late scientist and educator, Carl Sagan.-Film career:Along with Carl Sagan and Steven Soter,...
is an American author and producer specializing in productions about cosmologyCosmologyCosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
and popular sciencePopular sciencePopular science, sometimes called literature of science, is interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is broad-ranging, often written by scientists as well as journalists, and is presented in many...
. She is perhaps best known as the wife of late scientist and educator Carl SaganCarl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
, from whom she received her knowledge of science. Druyan was responsible for the selection of music on the Voyager Golden RecordVoyager Golden RecordThe Voyager Golden Records are phonograph records which were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft, which were launched in 1977. They contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or for...
for the Voyager 1Voyager 1The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA in 1977, to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space. Operating for as of today , the spacecraft receives routine commands and transmits data back to the Deep Space Network. At a distance of as of...
and Voyager 2Voyager 2The Voyager 2 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977 to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space...
exploratory missions. She also sponsored the Cosmos 1Cosmos 1Cosmos 1 was a project by Cosmos Studios and The Planetary Society to test a solar sail in space. As part of the project, an unmanned solar sail spacecraft christened Cosmos 1 was launched into space at 15:46:09 EDT on June 21, 2005 from the submarine Borisoglebsk in the Barents Sea...
spacecraft.
- Gertrude B. Elion was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
in 1988 for her work on the differences in biochemistry between normal human cells and pathogens.
- Sandra Moore Faber, with Robert JacksonRobert Jackson (scientist)Robert Earl Jackson is a scientist, who, with Sandra M. Faber, in 1976 discovered the Faber-Jackson relation between the luminosity of an elliptical galaxy and the velocity dispersion in its center....
, discovered the Faber-Jackson relationFaber-Jackson relationThe Faber–Jackson relation is an early empirical power-law relation between the luminosity L and the central stellar velocity dispersion \sigma of elliptical galaxies, first noted by the astronomers Sandra M. Faber and Robert Earl Jackson in 1976...
between luminosity and stellar dispersion velocity in elliptical galaxiesElliptical galaxyAn elliptical galaxy is a galaxy having an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless brightness profile. They range in shape from nearly spherical to highly flat and in size from hundreds of millions to over one trillion stars...
. She also headed the team which discovered the Great AttractorGreat AttractorThe Great Attractor is a gravity anomaly in intergalactic space within the range of the Centaurus Supercluster that reveals the existence of a localised concentration of mass equivalent to tens of thousands of Milky Ways, observable by its effect on the motion of galaxies and their associated...
, a large concentration of mass which is pulling a number of nearby galaxies in its direction.
- Zoologist Dian FosseyDian FosseyDian Fossey was an American zoologist who undertook an extensive study of gorilla groups over a period of 18 years. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by famous anthropologist Louis Leakey...
worked with gorillas in Africa from 1967 until her murder in 1985.
- Astronomer Andrea GhezAndrea GhezAndrea Mia Ghez is an American astronomer and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA. She received a BS in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 and her Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology in 1992...
received a MacArthur "genius grant" in 2008 for her work in surmounting the limitations of earthbound telescopes.
- Maria Goeppert-Mayer was the second female Nobel Prize winner in Physics, for proposing the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus. Earlier in her career, she had worked in unofficial or volunteer positions at the university where her husband was a professor. Goeppert-Mayer is one of several scientists whose works are commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp.
- Sulamith Low Goldhaber and her husband Gerson GoldhaberGerson GoldhaberGerson Goldhaber was an American particle physicist and astrophysicist. He was one of the discoverers of the J/ψ meson which confirmed the existence of the charm quark...
formed a research team on the K meson and other high-energy particles in the 1950s.
- Carol Greider and the Australian born Elizabeth BlackburnElizabeth BlackburnElizabeth Helen Blackburn, AC, FRS is an Australian-born American biological researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who studies the telomere, a structure at the end of chromosomes that protects the chromosome. Blackburn co-discovered telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes the...
, along with Jack W. Szostak, received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.
- Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper developed the first computer compiler while working for the Eckert Mauchly Computer Corporation, released in 1952.
- Deborah S. JinDeborah S. JinDeborah S. Jin is a physicist with the National Institute of Standards and Technology ; Professor Adjoint, Department of Physics at the University of Colorado; a fellow of the JILA, a NIST joint laboratory with the University of Colorado. In 2003, Dr. Jin's team at JILA made the first fermionic...
's team at JILA, in Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, ColoradoBoulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
in 2003 produced the first fermionic condensateFermionic condensateA fermionic condensate is a superfluid phase formed by fermionic particles at low temperatures. It is closely related to the Bose–Einstein condensate, a superfluid phase formed by bosonic atoms under similar conditions. Unlike the Bose–Einstein condensates, fermionic condensates are formed using...
, a new state of matterState of matterStates of matter are the distinct forms that different phases of matter take on. Solid, liquid and gas are the most common states of matter on Earth. However, much of the baryonic matter of the universe is in the form of hot plasma, both as rarefied interstellar medium and as dense...
.
- Stephanie KwolekStephanie KwolekStephanie Louise Kwolek is a Polish-American chemist who invented poly-paraphenylene terephtalamide—better known as Kevlar. She was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Kwolek has won numerous awards for her work in polymer chemistry.- Early life and education :Kwolek was...
, a researcher at DuPont, invented poly-paraphenylene terephtalamide — better known as KevlarKevlarKevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
.
- Lynn MargulisLynn MargulisLynn Margulis was an American biologist and University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is best known for her theory on the origin of eukaryotic organelles, and her contributions to the endosymbiotic theory, which is now generally accepted...
is a biologist best known for her work on endosymbiotic theoryEndosymbiotic theoryThe endosymbiotic theory concerns the mitochondria, plastids , and possibly other organelles of eukaryotic cells. According to this theory, certain organelles originated as free-living bacteria that were taken inside another cell as endosymbionts...
, which is now generally accepted for how certain organelles were formed.
- Barbara McClintockBarbara McClintockBarbara McClintock , the 1983 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, was an American scientist and one of the world's most distinguished cytogeneticists. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927, where she was a leader in the development of maize cytogenetics...
's studies of maizeMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
genetics demonstrated genetic transposition in the 1940s and 50s. She dedicated her life to her research, and she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
in 1983. McClintock is one of several scientists whose works are commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp.
- Lisa RandallLisa RandallLisa Randall is an American theoretical physicist and a leading expert on particle physics and cosmology. She works on several of the competing models of string theory in the quest to explain the fabric of the universe. Her most well known contribution to the field is the Randall-Sundrum model,...
is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist, best known for her work on the Randall-Sundrum modelRandall-Sundrum modelIn physics, Randall–Sundrum models imagine that the real world is a higher-dimensional Universe described by warped geometry...
. She was the first tenured female physics professor at Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
- Sally RideSally RideSally Kristen Ride is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut. Ride joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman—and then-youngest American, at 32—to enter space...
is an astrophysicist and the first American woman, and then-youngest American, to travel to outer space. Ride has written or co-written several books on space, aimed at children, with the goal of encouraging children to study science. Ride participated in the Gravity Probe B (GP-B)Gravity Probe BGravity Probe B is a satellite-based mission which launched on 20 April 2004 on a Delta II rocket. The spaceflight phase lasted until 2005; its aim was to measure spacetime curvature near Earth, and thereby the stress–energy tensor in and near Earth...
project, which provided more evidence that the predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativityGeneral relativityGeneral relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
are correct.
- Through her observations of galaxy rotation curves, astronomer Vera RubinVera RubinVera Rubin is an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She is famous for uncovering the discrepancy between the predicted angular motion of galaxies and the observed motion, by studying galactic rotation curves...
discovered the Galaxy rotation problem, now taken to be one of the key pieces of evidence for the existence of dark matterDark matterIn astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
. She was the first female allowed to observe at the Palomar ObservatoryPalomar ObservatoryPalomar Observatory is a privately owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, southeast of Pasadena's Mount Wilson Observatory, in the Palomar Mountain Range. At approximately elevation, it is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology...
.
- Sara SeagerSara SeagerSara Seager is a Canadian-American astronomer who is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and known for her work on extrasolar planets. She was born in Toronto, Canada. In 1994, she earned the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics from the...
is a Candadian-American astronomer who is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and known for her work on extrasolar planets.
- Astronomer Jill TarterJill TarterJill Cornell Tarter is an American astronomer and the current director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute.-Education:...
is director of SETISETIThe search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life...
.
- Rosalyn Yalow was the co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (together with Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally) for development of the radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique.
- Carolyn PorcoCarolyn PorcoCarolyn C. Porco is an American planetary scientist known for her work in the exploration of the outer solar system, beginning with her imaging work on the Voyager missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in the 1980s. She leads the imaging science team on the Cassini mission currently in...
is a planetary scientist best known for her work on the Voyager programVoyager programThe Voyager program is a U.S program that launched two unmanned space missions, scientific probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable planetary alignment of the late 1970s...
and the Cassini–Huygens mission to SaturnSaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
. She is also known for her popularization of science, in particular space exploration.
Australia after World War II
- Amanda BarnardAmanda BarnardDr Amanda S. Barnard is a theoretical physicist working in predicting the real world behavior of nanoparticles using analytical models and supercomputer simulations...
, an Australia-based theoretical physicist specializing in nanomaterials, winner of the Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year.
- Isobel BennettIsobel BennettIsobel Eliza Toom Bennett AO was one of Australia's best-known marine biologists. She assisted William John Dakin with research for his final book, Australian Seashores, regarded by many as "the definitive guide on the intertidal zone, and a recommended source of information to divers"...
, was one of the first women to go to Macquarie IslandMacquarie IslandMacquarie Island lies in the southwest corner of the Pacific Ocean, about half-way between New Zealand and Antarctica, at 54°30S, 158°57E. Politically, it has formed part of the Australian state of Tasmania since 1900 and became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978. In 1997 it became a world heritage...
with the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANAREAustralian National Antarctic Research ExpeditionsThe Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions is the historical name for the Australian Antarctic Program administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic Division .-The ANARE Name:...
). She is one of Australia's best known marine biologists.
- Dorothy HillDorothy HillDorothy Hill, AC, CBE, FAA, FRS . She was an Australian geologist, the first female professor at an Australian university, and the first female president of the Australian Academy of Science.-Education:...
, an Australian geologist who became the first female Professor at an Australian university.
- Ruby Payne-ScottRuby Payne-ScottRuby Violet Payne-Scott was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy and is the first female radio astronomer.-Early life:Payne-Scott was born in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, on 28 May 1912...
, was an Australian who was an early leader in the fields of radio astronomy and radiophysics. She was one of the first radio astronomers and the first woman in the field.
- Penny SackettPenny SackettPenny Diane Sackett is an American-born Australian astronomer and former director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University...
, an astronomer who became the first female Chief Scientist of Australia in 2008. She is a US-born Australian citizen.
- Fiona StanleyFiona StanleyFiona Stanley, AC is an Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, and her research into child and maternal health, and birth disorders such as cerebral palsy.-Life:...
, winner of the 2003 Australian of the YearAustralian of the YearSince 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
award, is an epidemiologist noted for her research into child and maternal health, birth disorders, and her work in the public health field.
Israel after World War II
- Ada YonathAda YonathAda E. Yonath is an Israeli crystallographer best known for her pioneering work on the structure of the ribosome. She is the current director of the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly of the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 2009, she received the Nobel...
, the first woman from the Middle East to win a Nobel prize in the sciences, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for her studies on the structure and function of the ribosome.
Nobel laureates
The Nobel Prize and Prize in Economic Sciences have been awarded to women 41 times between 1901 and 2010. Only one woman, Marie Curie, has been honoured twice, with the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This means that 40 women in total have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2010. 16 women have been awarded the Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine.The Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- 2009 – Ada E. Yonath
- 1964 – Dorothy Crowfoot HodgkinDorothy Crowfoot HodgkinDorothy Mary Hodgkin OM, FRS , née Crowfoot, was a British chemist, credited with the development of protein crystallography....
- 1935 – Irène Joliot-CurieIrène Joliot-CurieIrène Joliot-Curie was a French scientist, the daughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie and the wife of Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Jointly with her husband, Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. This made the Curies...
- 1911 – Marie CurieMarie CurieMarie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 2009 – Elizabeth H. Blackburn
- 2009 – Carol W. GreiderCarol W. GreiderCarolyn Widney "Carol" Greider is an American molecular biologist. She is Daniel Nathans Professor and Director of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University. She discovered the enzyme telomerase in 1984, when she was a graduate student of Elizabeth Blackburn at the University of...
- 2008 – Françoise Barré-SinoussiFrançoise Barré-SinoussiFrançoise Barré-Sinoussi is a French virologist and director of the Unité de Régulation des Infections Rétrovirales at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France. Born in Paris, France, Barré-Sinoussi performed some of the fundamental work in the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus as...
- 2004 – Linda B. BuckLinda B. BuckLinda Brown Buck is an American biologist best known for her work on the olfactory system. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Richard Axel, for their work on olfactory receptors....
- 1995 – Christiane Nüsslein-VolhardChristiane Nüsslein-VolhardChristiane Nüsslein-Volhard is a German biologist who won the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1991 and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995, together with Eric Wieschaus and Edward B...
- 1988 – Gertrude B. Elion
- 1986 – Rita Levi-MontalciniRita Levi-MontalciniRita Levi-Montalcini , Knight Grand Cross is an Italian neurologist who, together with colleague Stanley Cohen, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of nerve growth factor...
- 1983 – Barbara McClintockBarbara McClintockBarbara McClintock , the 1983 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, was an American scientist and one of the world's most distinguished cytogeneticists. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927, where she was a leader in the development of maize cytogenetics...
- 1977 – Rosalyn Yalow
- 1947 – Gerty CoriGerty CoriGerty Theresa Cori was an American biochemist who became the third woman—and first American woman—to win a Nobel Prize in science, and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Cori was born in Prague...
Statistics
Since 1966, the number of women receiving bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s in science and engineering in the U.S. has increased almost every year, reaching 202,583 in 2001, approximately half of the total. The number awarded to men has not increased significantly since 1976. The proportion of women graduate students in science and engineering has risen since 1991, reaching 41% in 2001. Substantial differences between subjects are seen, however, with women accounting for almost three-quarters of those enrolled in psychology in 2001, but only 30% in computer science and 10% in engineering. Both the number and the proportion of doctoral degrees in science and engineering awarded to women have increased steadily since 1966, from 8% in 1966 to 37% in 2001. The number of doctoral degrees awarded to men peaked in 1996 and has since fallen.
Research on women's participation in the "hard" sciences such as physics and computer science speaks of the "leaky pipeline" model, in which the proportion of women "on track" to potentially becoming top scientists falls off at every step of the way, from getting interested in science and math in elementary school, through doctorate, postdoc, and career steps. Various reasons are proposed for this, but the vast differences in the "leakiness" of this same pipe across countries and times argue for a cultural interpretation. The leaky pipeline is also applicable in other fields. In biology, for instance, women in the United States have been getting Master's degrees in the same numbers as men for two decades, yet fewer women get Ph.D.s; and the numbers of women P.I.s have not risen.
In the UK, women occupied over half the places in science-related higher education courses (science, medicine, maths, computer science and engineering) in 2004/5. However, gender differences by individual subject were large: women substantially outnumbered men in biology and medicine, especially nursing, while men predominated in maths, physical sciences, computer science and engineering.
In the U.S., women with science or engineering doctoral degrees were predominantly employed in the education sector in 2001, with substantially fewer employed in business or industry than men.
In January 2005, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
President Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers is an American economist. He served as the 71st United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He was Director of the White House United States National Economic Council for President Barack Obama until November 2010.Summers is the...
sparked controversy when, at an NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce, he made comments suggesting the lower numbers of women in high-level science positions may be due to innate differences in abilities or preferences between men and women. This frustrated many conference goers who felt that these issues, or at least his presentation of them, had been thoroughly refuted during the conference, and that moreover such statements were irresponsible coming from a university president. The resulting controversy was a factor in his later resignation.
Encouragement of girls to become women in science
A number of organizations have been set up to combat the stereotyping that may encourage girls away from careers in these areas. In the UK The WISE CampaignThe WISE Campaign
The WISE Campaign encourages young women, under 19 years old, to value and pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths or Construction related courses in School or College and move on into related careers...
(Women into Science, Engineering and Construction) and the UKRC
UKRC
The UKRC is a UK organisation for the provision of advice, services and policy consultation regarding the under-representation of women in science, engineering, technology and the built environment ....
(The UK Resource Centre for Women in SET) are collaborating to ensure industry, academia and education are all aware of the importance of challenging the traditional approaches to careers advice and recruitment that mean some of the best brains in the country are lost to science. The UKRC
UKRC
The UKRC is a UK organisation for the provision of advice, services and policy consultation regarding the under-representation of women in science, engineering, technology and the built environment ....
and other women's networks provide female role models, resources and support for activities that promote science to girls and women. One of the largest membership groups in the UK is Women's Engineering Society
Women's Engineering Society
The Women's Engineering Society was founded in 1919 by women who worked as engineers during the first world war, found they enjoyed it, were good at it and didn't want to stop. WES was one of the very first organisations to champion women's right to non-traditional careers. The members have...
which has been supporting women in engineering and science since 1919. In the specific field of computing, the British Computer Society
British Computer Society
The British Computer Society, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology in the United Kingdom and internationally...
specialist group BCSWomen
BCSWomen
BCSWomen is a Specialist Group of the British Computer Society, with the aim of supporting women working and considering a career in Information Technology....
is active in encouraging girls to consider computing careers, and in supporting women in the computing workforce.
Interestingly, forensic science attracts far more females than males in its educational programs (78% of students in FEPAC accredited programs are female), its professional associations, and in the profession itself. The reasons have not been studied extensively but initial research indicates the work offers a sense of public or social benefit, the women have personal associations with other public service careers (military, law enforcement) through friends or family, and the intellectual challenges of casework. The discipline and the profession deserves additional study about the motivations and incentives to women as scientists.
Further reading
(Cambridge Univ Press catalogue)External links
- Women in Science and Engineering, Echo: Exploring and Collecting History Online, Center for History and New Media, George Mason University
- The Library of Congress Selected Internet Resources Women in Science and Medicine
- Science Programmes Freeview video of women scientists, lectures, careers, discussions provided by the Vega Science Trust.
- Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science (IWITTS)
- Women in Science Books by National Academies Press
- Women-Related Web Sites in Science/Technology
- Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics
- 4000 Years of Women in Science
- Role of women in science – a socialist position.
- Reframing the question
- NIS-WIST National Institute for Supporting Women in Science and Technology
- Invisible Women of Science and Technology
- iWASwondering.org Website for kids that features contemporary women scientists. Includes games, videos, comic strips, and a timeline of women in science.
- Distinguished Women in Science lecture series, at Barnard CollegeBarnard CollegeBarnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the... - WomenTechWorld Features E-Mentoring, E-Jobs, Role Model Bios and a ListServ
- Women in Nano Video about Women working in Nanotechnology by the EU consortium of 'WomenInNano'.
- IUPAP Working Group on Women in Physics
- Hear from two current women in Science
- BBC Interview on Women in Science with Baroness Susan GreenfieldSusan GreenfieldSusan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, CBE is a British scientist, writer, broadcaster, and member of the House of Lords. Greenfield, whose specialty is the physiology of the brain, has worked to research and bring attention to Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.Greenfield is...
- The UKRC