Women in history on the SGU

This page is intended to link to all of the history segments on the SGU where women are highlighted

Forgotten Superheroes of Science

• Wang Zhenyi (607) - Chinese astronomer during the Qing dynasty. Studied equinoxes.
• Barbara Liskov (597) - Developed programming languages, leading to object oriented programming
• Maria Telkes (595) - Invented the solar distiller
• Rosa Smith Eigenmann (587) - Discovered more than 150 species of fish
• Mary Elizabeth Barber (585) - Plant collector from the 1800's
• Janet Rowley (580) - Linked chromosomal abnormalities to cancer
• Elizabeth Rona (578) - Worked with Pallonium
• Mary Edwards (572) - Tracked the positions of celestial objects for 55 years
• Cecilia Helena-Payne Gaposshkin (567) - Found that the Sun and the stars are mostly made of hydrogen
• Yvonne Brill (566) Pioneer rocket scientist
• Annie Maunder (564) Discovered the Maunder Minimum along with her husband
• Dorothy Hodgkin (560) Used X-ray crystallography to image penicillin, cholesterol, and vitamin B12
• Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (555) The first doctor that brought the problem of Flint Michigan's water to the states attention
• Lorna Wing (552) Helped to redefine our conception of autism
• Stephanie Louise Kwolek (550) Invented the chemical behind Kevlar
• Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green (548) Cancer research involving nanoparticles and lasers
• Caroline Herschel (544) Sister of William Herschel. First woman paid for science work.
• Birute Mary Galdikas (541) Research on orangutans
• Andrea Ghez (539) Stellar motions near Milky Way's supermassive black hole
• Alice Hamilton (538) Development of industrial medicine in America
• Maria Sibylla Merian (537) Made illustrations of insects in the late 1600's
• Alice Catherine Evans (536) Showed the benefits of milk pasteurization
• Barbara McClintock (534) Jumping genes" and chromosome research
• Ruth Rogan Benerito (533) Wrinkle-resistant clothing
• Hedy Lamarr (532) Invented spread spectrum technology
• Frances Kelsey (528) Prevented thalidomide from being sold in the US
• Marie Thorp (527) Discovered the Mid Atlantic Ridge under the ocean
• Inge Lehmann (526) Discovered that the Earth has a solid inner core
• Gerty Cori (525) Glucose metabolism
• Henrietta Leavitt (524) Discovered special property of Cepheid variables
• Maria Goeppert-Mayer (521) Nuclear shell theory
• Vera Rubin (520) Studied galaxy rotation, which led to acceptance of dark matter
• Chien Shiug Wu (518) Showed that the conservation of parity does not always hold
• Margaret Hamilton (517) Saved the first moon landing with her robust computer code
• Mary Sherman Morgan (515) Developed the fuel used for the first U.S satellite launch
• Grace Murray Hopper (511) Wrote the first computer compiler and was the key architect of COBOL
• Lise Meitner and Ida Noddack Tacke (510) The women of fission
• Sandra Moore Faber (508) Part of the team that discovered the Great Attractor
• Women of ENIAC (507) The Team of 6 Women who were the first to program ENIAC, the first all electronic digital computer
• Irène Joliot-Curie (506) Nobel prize winning chemist who discovered artificial radioactivity
• Emmy Noether (505) Made significant contributions to algebra and theoretical physics
• Mary Anning (503) Made early contributions to our understanding of prehistoric life and the history of the earth
• Katherine Johnson (502) Calculated the flight trajectory for the first American in space.
• Ada Lovelace (501) Computer scientist. Saw the potential of the analytical engine.
• Jocelyn Bell Burnel (499) Astrophysicist who discovered pulsars.
• Rosalind Franklin (498) Gained insights into the structure of DNA.
• Annie Jump Cannon (496) Classification of stars

This Day in History

• Sara Josephine Baker (488) Massively improved the survival rate of newborn babies.
• Sylvia Earle (477) Marine biologist. Has been underwater for almost a year in total.
• Marie Curie and Irene Curie (472) Studied radioactive materials.
• Yness Mexica (463) Did Botany is Central and South America.
• Helen Taussig (463) Founded pediatric cardiology
• Hattie Alexander (456) Treated influenzal meningitis in babies, reducing mortality tremendously.
• Tilly Shilling (452) Invented a "doodad" that improved airplane manoeuverability during WWII
• Rebecca Lee Crumpler (451) First black woman to receive an American medical degree
• Lydia DeWitt (446) Conducted research on tuberculosis
• Amelia Earhart (443) First person to fly solo from Hawaii to California
• Eleanor Gibson (438) Did a famous study that tested the depth perception of babies
• Florence Rena Sabin (434) Showed the lymphatic system developed from the veins in the embryo
• Johnnetta B. Cole (431) First African-American woman President of Spelman College
• Hazel Bishop (422) Chemist who invented long-lasting lipstick
• Mary Calkins (402) First female president of the American Psychological Association
• Ellen Swallow Richards (402) The woman who came up with the idea of home economics
• Chien-Shiung Wu (396) Proved that conservation of parity was wrong with regards to the weak nuclear force
• Jane Goodall (365) Studied chimanzees in the wild
• Dorothy Hodgkin (356) Used X-ray crystallography to image penicillin, cholesterol, and vitamin B12