484: Margaret Hamilton NASA Computer Code Writer Born: 17 August 1936, Paoli, Indiana, United States of America Margaret was also a systems engineer and business owner. She popularized the term software engineering. Margaret worked as Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory which worked to make onboard software for the NASA…
476: Col. Lorllys Ramos Acevedo Former and Last Head of Venezuelan Aviation Accident Unit (aka the JIAAC—Junta Investigadora de Accidentes de Aviacion Civil) Birth Date Unknown The JIAAC was shut down and replaced with a new organization. Lorllys was featured on an episode of Air Disasters on the Smithsonian Channel. Her LinkedIn profile lists her…
“I had no real feeling about being a pioneering woman on a serious Alaskan expedition. I only knew that as the only woman, I had to measure up.” 421: Barbara Washburn Mountaineer Born: 10 November 1914, Massachusetts, United States of America Died: 25 September 2014, Lexington, Massachusetts, United States of America Barbara was the first…
415: Marie Maynard Daly Chemist Who Studied the Chemical Makeup of the Human Body Born: 16 April 1921, Queens, New York, United States of America Died: 28 October 2003, New York City, New York, United States of America Marie was the first African American woman to receive a PhD in chemistry in the United States….
“I’m now so accustomed to receiving honors, that I take them…without blushing.” 414: Caroline Herschel Astronomer and Pioneer in Celestial Cataloging Born: 16 March 1750, Hanover, Germany Died: 9 January 1848, Hanover, Germany Caroline’s major contribution to the field are the discoveries of several comets (one of which now bears her name). Her brother was…
413: Sybilla Masters Inventor and Patent Holder Born: 1676, According to Wikipedia, She was Born in Bermuda Died: 23 August 1720, Location Unknown Sybilla was also the First Person in the American colonies to be granted an English patent. She is the first known Caucasian female machinery inventor in the United States. Sybilla’s first invention…
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…