412: Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia The First Woman to Ever Receive a Doctoral Degree Born: 5 June 1646, Venice, Italy Died: 26 July 1684, Padua, Italy Member of the Venetian Upper Class, Elena spoke and read Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Arabic, and her native Italian. She wasn’t looking to get degrees from the University…
411: Mary Agnes Chase Botanist and Social Activist Born: 29 April 1869, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States of America Died: 24 September 1963, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America Mary worked at the US Department of Agriculture and the Smithsonian Institution. For the USDA, she began working as a botanical illustrator before rising higher within…
410: Florence Bascom Geologist & the First Female Geologist to Join the US Geological Survey Born: 14 July 1862, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States of America Died: 18 June 1945, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States of America She joined the survey in 1896. Florence was also the second woman in the United States to receive a PhD…
409: Karen Horney Psychoanalyst Whose Theories Questioned Some Freudian Views Born: 16 September 1885, Blankenese, Hamburg, Germany Died: 4 December 1952, New York City, New York, United States of America Karen’s theories against Freudian views focused particularly on sexuality (see: penis envy). It is said that she decided to be an intellectual at the age…
408: Leonore Goldschmidt Berlin Schoolteacher Born: 16 November 1897, Gosda, Germany Died: 7 March 1983, London, United Kingdom Leonore taught Jewish children in the heart of Berlin during the Nazi occupation. Luckily for the world, documentation, photographs, and footage survive of the school, some of which came from Julien Bryan, the photographer who dared to…
407: Wang Zhenyi Astronomer and Author Born: 1768, Anhui Province, China Died: 1797, China Zhenyi was famous in her own time, during the Qing Dynasty, which broke feudal customs, especially the sources that state she taught male students. She contributed to the fields of astronomy, medicine, and poetry, all taught to her by her father…
“Indians, who are not well treated in their servitude by the Dutch, use [the peacock’s flower seeds] to abort their children so that they will not become slaves like them.” 406: Maria Sibylla Merian Entomologist, Naturalist, and Scientific Illustrator Born: 2 April 1647, Holy Roman Empire (Present-day Frankfurt am Main, Germany) Died: 13 January 1717,…
405: Angelique Cottin Girl Who Showed Frequent Poltergeist-Like Activity in the Beginning of 1846 Birth Date: c.1832, Outside Montagne, Normandy, France Death Date: Unknown What is known is Angelique’s family used her abilities to make money because they were very poor, but to this day no one can prove or disprove the things that happened…
404: Margaret Keane Artist Known For Her Paintings Whose Subjects Have Big Eyes Born: 15 September 1927, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America Died: 26 June 2022, Napa, California, United States of America Original Name: Peggy Hawkins Her paintings first gained attention in the 1950’s when Margaret was working in San Francisco. Up until 1970,…
403: Barbi Benton Model, Actress, and Singer Born: 28 January 1950, New York City, New York, United States of America Born Name: Barbara Lynn Klein Barbi is known for appearing in Playboy and for acting in four seasons of Hee Haw. Her other acting credits include Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. She previously had…