356: Vera Rubin Astronomer Who Pioneered Work on Galaxy Rotation Rates Born: 23 July 1928, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America Died: 25 December 2016, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America Vera “uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted angular motion of galaxies and the observed motion” (Wikipedia). Today, she is most remembered as being…
355: Esther Lederberg-Simon Microbiologist and Pioneer in the Field of Bacterial Genetics Born: 18 December 1922, Bronx, New York, United States of America Died: 11 November 2006, Stanford, California, United States of America Growing up, Esther was especially close to her grandfather. After unsuccessfully attempting to teach her male cousins Hebrew, Esther asked him to…
354: Rosalyn Yalow Medical Physicist and Biochemist Born: 19 July 1921, Bronx, New York, United States of America Died: 30 May 2011, Bronx, New York, United States of America Rosalyn was rejected from several prominent universities’ graduate programs because she was Jewish and a woman (including Perdue). She was the only woman to hold a…
352: Jane C Wright Oncologist, Researcher, and Surgeon Noted For Her Pioneering Work in Chemotherapy Born: 30 November 1919, Manhattan, New York, United States of America Died: 19 February 2013, Guttenberg, New Jersey, United States of America Jane’s father was one of the first African American men to graduate from Harvard Medical college, setting the…
“NASA was a very professional organization. They didn’t have time to be concerned about what color I was.” 351: Katherine Johnson Physicist and Hidden Figure Born: 26 August 1918, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, United States of America Died: 24 February 2020, Newport News, Virginia, United States of America Katherine was awarded the Presidential Medal…
347: Mayim Bialik, PhD Actress, Author, and Neuroscientist Born: 12 December 1975, San Diego, California, United States of America Mayim’s two most famous acting roles include Blossom on the series of the same name and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory. She has a PhD in neuroscience that she earned in 2007….
You’ve probably heard the words “Women in STEM” in the mouths of nearly every politician and teacher in the past few years. But if you haven’t, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math; four fields that have historically much lower participation from women and girls than men. With this great push towards having women…
329: Bindi Irwin Conservationist, Actress, Model, and All Around Amazing Person Born: 24 July 1998, Buderim, Australia She is the oldest child and only daughter of Steve and Terri Irwin; her younger brother is Robert. Bindi won her season of Dancing With the Stars with partner Derek Hough in 2015. Currently she and her family…
302: Julia Child Celebrity Chef Born: 15 August 1912, Pasadena, California, United States of America Died: 14 August 2004, Montecito, California, United States of America Julia is remembered for teaching the American television viewing public all about French cuisine. She also wrote several cookbooks over the course of her life. Julia stood at six foot…
236: Mary Somerville Astronomer and Mathematician Born: 26 December 1780, Jedburgh, Scotland (Present-day United Kingdom) Died: 29 November 1872, Naples, Italy Mary grew up with a minimal education in which she was taught how to read but not write. She spent one year in boarding school but then had to read from her family’s library…