c. 2640 BCE
Did you know that women have always been pioneers in science? From crazy chemistry to interesting inventions, women have been sharing their creative and innovative ideas for centuries. Which women do you find most inspiring?
c. 2640 BCE china
Si Ling-Chi
c. 2640 BCE
y ital
This Chinese empress invented silk more than 5,000 years ago.
Caroline Herschel
1750-1848
Famous children’s author and scientist? Yes! She grew up in the country and developed an interest in botany and entomology and was fascinated by fungi. The proceeds from her stories made it possible for her to make efforts in land conservation.
unit e
1752-1837
Elizabeth Blackwell
1821-1910
Blackwell is famously known as the first female doctor. She pioneered work in hygiene, and established health care for the poor in New York City.
unit e
d
states
elizabeth fleischmann 1859-1905
Despite not finishing high school, Fleishmann mastered the practice of radiophotography within a year and opened an X-ray laboratory. As California’s original radiologist, her lab was deemed the best in West America.
united ki
dom ng
1866-1943
states
united s
When her husband fell ill, Roebling took charge of his work on the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Beatrix Potter
d
tes ta
1843-1903
Mary Kies
Who knew that women’s fashion could fall into the science category? Kies developed a process that created durable straw bonnets by weaving together straw and silk. In 1809, she received the first US patent granted to a woman.
unit e
She studied mathematics as a child and saw the possibility of software applications through a mechanical difference engine. She helped develop the analytical engine that is considered a forebearer of the modern computer.
emily roebling
states
united ki
unit e
1815-1852
d
dom ng
ada byron lovelace
1711-1778
Bassi was asked to be the first female professor of physics at a University after she defended 49 philosophical theses again five male professors among Bolognese nobility. She was 21.
germany
Became known as the first lady of astronomy after helping her brother discover Uranus. She was also the first woman to discover a comet.
Laura Bassi
d
states
Lillie rosa minoka hill 1876-1952
Minoka Hill was the second Native American woman to become a doctor. She practiced a unique combination of modern and herbal medicine, and her kitchen clinic remained open for a total of 47 years until her death in 1952.
dom ng
lillian moller gilbreth
united ki
1878-1972
states
1901-1978
ina ch
A nature lover from a young age, Carson studied writing and biology. After World War II, she devoted her life to informing the public about the need to protect the planet through her carefully researched books and articles, including the famous Silent Spring.
Said to be the most “distinguished woman physicist of her time,” Wu worked with the world’s leading physicists on theories of beta decay and designed an experiment that disproved the law of conservation of parity.
unit e
austria
d
states
A 1940s star of the silver screen, she and a composer friend helped to pioneer a type of spread spectrum technology, based on piano notes. Their Frequency Hopping invention provided the basic technology for operating today’s cell phones and the Internet.
tes ta
unit e
united s
Simpson was the first woman to earn her PhD in meteorology. Early on in her career, Simpson theorized how hurricanes are powered and created the first cloud model. Later, she conducted “weather modification” experiments, and spent many years working with NASA, developing weather satellites.
b. 1922
d
states
stephanie kwolek
b. 1923
Kwolek loved both science and fashion—and she was able to combine the two in her work. After obtaining her chemistry degree she researched and designed new textiles with synthetic fibers. During one experiment, she accidentally created the substance known as Kevlar. Today, it is used to make bullet and fire resistant vests, helmets, fire hoses, and protective suits for police and firefighters.
co ri
Puerto Rican native Antonia Novello earned her masters degree in public health from John Hopkins University, after which she practiced medicine and advised legislation. In 1990, Novello became the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as US Surgeon General.
unit e
puerto
b. 1944
d
states
sue hendrickson
b. 1949
As a paleontologist and marine archaeologist, Hendrickson locates some very valuable and historical things: Shipwrecks containing treasure, ancient submerged cities, and fossils—most notably the largest and most whole, 67-millionyear-old Tyrannosaurus rex!
b. 1956
In 1987, Jemison was chosen as the first African-American woman ever accepted to NASA’s astronaut training program. She went to space with the title science mission specialist and performed many experiments concerning weightlessness and motion sickness.
Based on the new biography series Women in Science, published by ABDO. Books available for purchase at www.abdopublishing.com.
sa u
united s
tes ta
mae jemison
eugenie clark
Also known as “the shark lady,” Clark was first fascinated by fish at the age of nine, when her mother took her to an aquarium. After becoming an ichthyologist, Clark became a pioneering scuba diver and has spent her career researching, teaching zoology, and writing books. In 1994, she was awarded the Medal of Excellence by the American Society of Oceanographers.
1923-2010
antonia novello
chien-shiung wu
1912-1997
1914-2000
joanne simpson
margaret mead
Mead changed the way we study cultures. In her book Growth and Culture (1951), she insists that personality characteristics are formed through conditioning rather than heredity—and they especially differ between men and women. She earned her PhD in anthropology at Columbia University.
united s
1907-1964
hedy lamarr
d
tes ta
rachel carson
unit e
Her career in ergonomics led to patents for the electric food mixer, refrigerator shelves, and foot pedals for trash cans. She is known as the First Lady of engineering, and with 12 children, the Mother of Modern Management.
arabia di
hayat sindi
b. early 1970s
Sindi left Saudi Arabia in her teens to become the first female from the Gulf to earn a PhD in biotechnology. She co-founded Diagnostics For All, which offers cost-effective tools for treating 60% of people living in areas without medical care.
present day
c. 2640 BCE china
Si Ling-Chi
c. 2640 BCE
y ital
This Chinese empress invented silk more than 5,000 years ago.
Caroline Herschel
1750-1848
Famous children’s author and scientist? Yes! She grew up in the country and developed an interest in botany and entomology and was fascinated by fungi. The proceeds from her stories made it possible for her to make efforts in land conservation.
unit e
1752-1837
Elizabeth Blackwell
1821-1910
Blackwell is famously known as the first female doctor. She pioneered work in hygiene, and established health care for the poor in New York City.
unit e
d
states
elizabeth fleischmann 1859-1905
Despite not finishing high school, Fleishmann mastered the practice of radiophotography within a year and opened an X-ray laboratory. As California’s original radiologist, her lab was deemed the best in West America.
united ki
dom ng
1866-1943
states
united s
When her husband fell ill, Roebling took charge of his work on the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Beatrix Potter
d
tes ta
1843-1903
Mary Kies
Who knew that women’s fashion could fall into the science category? Kies developed a process that created durable straw bonnets by weaving together straw and silk. In 1809, she received the first US patent granted to a woman.
unit e
She studied mathematics as a child and saw the possibility of software applications through a mechanical difference engine. She helped develop the analytical engine that is considered a forebearer of the modern computer.
emily roebling
states
united ki
unit e
1815-1852
d
dom ng
ada byron lovelace
1711-1778
Bassi was asked to be the first female professor of physics at a University after she defended 49 philosophical theses again five male professors among Bolognese nobility. She was 21.
germany
Became known as the first lady of astronomy after helping her brother discover Uranus. She was also the first woman to discover a comet.
Laura Bassi
d
states
Lillie rosa minoka hill 1876-1952
Minoka Hill was the second Native American woman to become a doctor. She practiced a unique combination of modern and herbal medicine, and her kitchen clinic remained open for a total of 47 years until her death in 1952.
dom ng
lillian moller gilbreth
united ki
1878-1972
states
1901-1978
ina ch
A nature lover from a young age, Carson studied writing and biology. After World War II, she devoted her life to informing the public about the need to protect the planet through her carefully researched books and articles, including the famous Silent Spring.
Said to be the most “distinguished woman physicist of her time,” Wu worked with the world’s leading physicists on theories of beta decay and designed an experiment that disproved the law of conservation of parity.
unit e
austria
d
states
A 1940s star of the silver screen, she and a composer friend helped to pioneer a type of spread spectrum technology, based on piano notes. Their Frequency Hopping invention provided the basic technology for operating today’s cell phones and the Internet.
tes ta
unit e
united s
Simpson was the first woman to earn her PhD in meteorology. Early on in her career, Simpson theorized how hurricanes are powered and created the first cloud model. Later, she conducted “weather modification” experiments, and spent many years working with NASA, developing weather satellites.
b. 1922
d
states
stephanie kwolek
b. 1923
Kwolek loved both science and fashion—and she was able to combine the two in her work. After obtaining her chemistry degree she researched and designed new textiles with synthetic fibers. During one experiment, she accidentally created the substance known as Kevlar. Today, it is used to make bullet and fire resistant vests, helmets, fire hoses, and protective suits for police and firefighters.
co ri
Puerto Rican native Antonia Novello earned her masters degree in public health from John Hopkins University, after which she practiced medicine and advised legislation. In 1990, Novello became the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as US Surgeon General.
unit e
puerto
b. 1944
d
states
sue hendrickson
b. 1949
As a paleontologist and marine archaeologist, Hendrickson locates some very valuable and historical things: Shipwrecks containing treasure, ancient submerged cities, and fossils—most notably the largest and most whole, 67-millionyear-old Tyrannosaurus rex!
b. 1956
In 1987, Jemison was chosen as the first African-American woman ever accepted to NASA’s astronaut training program. She went to space with the title science mission specialist and performed many experiments concerning weightlessness and motion sickness.
Based on the new biography series Women in Science, published by ABDO. Books available for purchase at www.abdopublishing.com.
sa u
united s
tes ta
mae jemison
eugenie clark
Also known as “the shark lady,” Clark was first fascinated by fish at the age of nine, when her mother took her to an aquarium. After becoming an ichthyologist, Clark became a pioneering scuba diver and has spent her career researching, teaching zoology, and writing books. In 1994, she was awarded the Medal of Excellence by the American Society of Oceanographers.
1923-2010
antonia novello
chien-shiung wu
1912-1997
1914-2000
joanne simpson
margaret mead
Mead changed the way we study cultures. In her book Growth and Culture (1951), she insists that personality characteristics are formed through conditioning rather than heredity—and they especially differ between men and women. She earned her PhD in anthropology at Columbia University.
united s
1907-1964
hedy lamarr
d
tes ta
rachel carson
unit e
Her career in ergonomics led to patents for the electric food mixer, refrigerator shelves, and foot pedals for trash cans. She is known as the First Lady of engineering, and with 12 children, the Mother of Modern Management.
arabia di
hayat sindi
b. early 1970s
Sindi left Saudi Arabia in her teens to become the first female from the Gulf to earn a PhD in biotechnology. She co-founded Diagnostics For All, which offers cost-effective tools for treating 60% of people living in areas without medical care.
present day
