16) Valentina Tereshkova The First Woman to Ever Go to Space (And the Youngest) Born: 6 March 1937, Bolshoye, Soviet Union (Present-day Russia) Cosmonaut and the first woman to ever go to space; in 1963 she orbited the Earth forty-eight times and spent approximately seventy hours in space. Valentina didn’t have much formal schooling and…
14) Rosalind Franklin DNA and The Science of Sexism in the Workplace Born: 25 July 1920, Notting Hill, London, United Kingdom Died: 16 April 1958, Chelsea, London, United Kingdom Geneticist who discovered the structure of DNA and then had the credit taken away from her by two men who later won the Nobel Prize. They…
13) Henrietta Lacks She was more than just her cells Born: 1 August 1920, Roanoke, Virginia, United States of America Died: 4 October 1951, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America Henrietta was a mother, wife, and cervical cancer patient whose immortal cells have saved millions of lives since they were “legally” taken in 1958. Her…
“Any girl can be glamorous, all you have to do is stand still and look stupid.” 12) Hedy Lamarr Beauty and Brains Born: 9 November 1914, Vienna, Austria Died: 19 January 2000, Casselberry, Florida, United States of America Original Name: Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler Hedy was an actress and inventor. She filmed her first movie…
11) Rear Admiral Grace Hopper She was more than just a Dazzling Daughter Born: 9 December 1906, Manhattan, New York, United States of America Died: 1 January 1992, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America Computer technician and admiral in the US Navy, Grace helped create UNIVAC 1 which was the first commercial electronic computer. She…
7) Mileva Marić Fun Fact, number seven is my favorite number so I reserved this spot just for her!! Born: 19 December 1875, Serbian Controlled Ottoman Empire (Present-day Titel, Serbia) Died: 4 August 1948, Zurich, Switzerland Mileva was a mathematician and while nobody can definitively prove which pieces, she helped her husband (you know, that…
6) Marie Skłodowska Curie Yes, that’s her real, full name, and no she never dropped it–Western Media did, #polishpride (Quick note, I’m not Polish but if you need someone new to watch on YouTube I highly recommend the Meme Mom herself Karolina Żebrowska !) Anyway, back to Marie Born: 7 November 1867, Warsaw, Russian Controlled Poland…
5) Nettie Stevens Geneticist Who Worked on the Theory of Sex Determination Born: 7 July 1861, Cavendish, Vermont, United States of America Died: 4 May 1912, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America Geneticist and one of two scientists who theorized sex determination by chromosomes (the other was a guy and they discovered the idea at…
4) Hertha Ayrton Inventor and Electrical Engineer Born: 28 April 1854, Portsea, United Kingdom Died: 23 August 1923, Lancing, United Kingdom Inventor and scientist who became the first woman to ever be proposed as a fellow to the Royal Society (in 1902). She was denied on the basis that she was a married woman and…
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.” 3) Ada, Countess of Lovelace Computer Programmer Who Lived Nearly 100 Years Before Computers Were Actually Invented Born: 10 December 1815, London, United Kingdom Died: 27 November 1852, London, United Kingdom Computer programmer and daughter of famed poet Lord Byron (Ada…