Women in Science

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A selection of notable women in science

inWomen in Science

Written by Georgina Ferry

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Notable women scientists by field
Astronomy
	name	date of birth	specialty	principal contribution
	Annie Jump Cannon	Dec. 11, 1863	classification of stellar spectra	catalogued tens of thousands of stars down to the 11th magnitude
	Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming	May 15, 1857	classification of stellar spectra	pioneered the classification of stellar spectra
	Caroline Herschel	March 16, 1750	cataloging of nebulae and star clusters	noted for her contributions to the astronomical researches of her brother, Sir William Herschel
	Maria Kirch	Feb. 25, 1670	astronomy and the production of calendars	first woman to discover a comet
	Henrietta Swan Leavitt	July 4, 1868	study of Cepheid variables	discovered the relationship between period and luminosity in Cepheid variables
	Maria Mitchell	Aug. 1, 1818	astronomy education	first professional woman astronomer in the United States
	Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin	May 10, 1900	analysis of stellar temperature and gaseous composition	discovered that stars were made mainly of hydrogen and helium and established that stars could be classified according to their temperatures
	Mary Watson Whitney	Sept. 11, 1847	celestial mechanics and astronomy education	noted for having built Vassar College's research program in astronomy into one of the nation's finest and as a founding member of the American Astronomical Society
Chemistry and biochemistry
	name	date of birth	specialty	principal contribution
	Rosalind Franklin	July 25, 1920	X-ray diffraction analysis	contributed to the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA
	Stephanie Kwolek	July 31, 1923	study of polymers	contributed to the development of Kevlar, an ultrastrong and ultrathick material best known for its use in bulletproof vests
	Maud Leonora Menten	March 20, 1879	organic chemistry	developed, with biochemist Leonor Michaelis, Michaelis-Menten kinetics
	Ida Noddack	Feb. 25, 1896	study of chemical elements	codiscovered the chemical element rhenium and first proposed the idea of nuclear fission
	Ellen Swallow Richards	Dec. 3, 1842	chemistry and domestic science	first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founder of the home economics movement in the United States
Engineering
	name	date of birth	specialty	principal contribution
	Ellen Ochoa	May 10, 1958	electrical engineering	first Hispanic female astronaut
	Emily Warren Roebling	Sept. 23, 1843	civil engineering	helped guide construction of the Brooklyn Bridge (1869–83) throughout the illness of its chief engineer, her husband, Washington Augustus Roebling
Genetics
	name	date of birth	specialty	principal contribution
	Dame Anne McLaren	April 26, 1927	mammalian genetics and embryology	pioneered advances in mammalian genetics and embryology that contributed to a greater understanding of reproductive biology
	Muriel Wheldale Onslow	March 31, 1880	plant genetics and biochemistry	studied the inheritance of flower colour and contributed to the foundation of modern genetics
	Edith Rebecca Saunders	Oct. 14, 1865	botany and plant genetics	contributed to the understanding of the inheritance of traits in plants
	Nettie Stevens	July 7, 1861	genetics and morphology	found that sex is determined by a particular configuration of chromosomes
Life sciences
	name	date of birth	specialty	principal contribution
	Mary Anning	May 21, 1799	fossil hunting	discovered several iconic dinosaur specimens and assisted in the early development of the field of paleontology
	Rachel Carson	May 27, 1907	biology	wrote on environmental pollution and the natural history of the sea
	Margaret Bryan Davis	Oct. 23, 1931	paleoecology	conducted pioneering work in the study of plant pollen and spores (palynology)
	Sylvia Earle	Aug. 30, 1935	marine biology and oceanography	studied marine algae and contributed to ocean conservation
	Dian Fossey	Jan. 16, 1932	zoology	conducted influential research on the mountain gorilla
	Jane Goodall	April 3, 1934	primatology	conducted extensive research on the chimpanzees of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania
	Mary Douglas Leakey	Feb. 6, 1913	archaeology and paleoanthropology	discovered fossils of great importance in the understanding of human evolution
	Margaret Mead	Dec. 16, 1901	anthropology	conducted pioneering studies of the psychology and culture of the peoples of Oceania
	Maria Sibylla Merian	April 2, 1647	entomology and nature art	created scientifically accurate illustrations of insects and plants
	Margaret Morse Nice	Dec. 6, 1883	ethology and ornithology	conducted long-term behavioral studies of song sparrows and field studies of North American birds
Mathematics
	name	date of birth	specialty	principal contribution
	Maria Gaetana Agnesi	May 16, 1718	algebra and analysis	considered to be the first woman in the Western world to have achieved a reputation in mathematics
	Sophie Germain	April 1, 1776	acoustics, elasticity, and number theory	contributed to the study of acoustics, elasticity, and number theory
	Evelyn Granville	May 1, 1924	computer programming	one of the first African American women to receive a doctoral degree in mathematics
	Euphemia Lofton Haynes	Sept. 11, 1890	mathematics and education	the first African American woman to receive a doctoral degree in mathematics
	Grace Hopper	Dec. 9, 1906	computer technology	pioneered computer technology, helping to devise the first commercial electronic computer, and naval applications for COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language)
	Hypatia	c. 355	Neoplatonist philosophy	first notable woman in mathematics
	Mary Jackson	April 9, 1921	aerospace engineering	first African American female engineer to work at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
	Katherine Johnson	August 26, 1918	computerized celestial navigation	calculated the flight paths of spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program, helping send astronauts to the Moon
	Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya	Jan. 15, 1850	theory of partial differential equations	first woman in modern Europe to gain a doctorate in mathematics, the first to join the editorial board of a scientific journal, and the first to be appointed professor of mathematics
	Emmy Noether	March 23, 1882	algebra	recognized for her innovations in higher algebra and considered to be the most creative abstract algebraist of modern times
	Mary Somerville	Dec. 26, 1780	mathematics and the physical sciences	wrote influential books that synthesized many different scientific disciplines
	Dorothy Vaughan	September 20, 1910	computer programming	provided data later essential to the success of the U.S. space program, first African American manager at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA; later part of NASA)
Medicine
	name	date of birth	specialty	principal contribution
	Elizabeth Garrett Anderson	June 9, 1836	general medicine	advocated the admission of women to professional education, especially in medicine
	Virginia Apgar	June 7, 1909	treatment of the newborn	developed the Apgar Score System to evaluate infant health shortly after birth
	Elizabeth Blackwell	Feb. 3, 1821	general medicine and education	considered the first woman doctor of medicine in modern times
	Emily Blackwell	Oct. 8, 1826	general medicine and education	with her elder sister, Elizabeth Blackwell, contributed to the education and acceptance of women medical professionals in the United States
	Mae Jemison	Oct. 17, 1956	international medicine and space exploration	first African American woman to become an astronaut
	Mathilde Krim	July 9, 1926	medical research and health education	explored AIDS and HIV through research and education
	Florence Nightingale	May 12, 1820	nursing	considered the foundational philosopher of modern nursing
	Elizabeth Stern	Sept. 19, 1915	pathology and cancer	noted for her work on the stages of a cell's progression from a normal to a cancerous state
	Marie Stopes	Oct. 15, 1880	paleobotany and contraception	advocated birth control and founded (1921) the United Kingdom's first instructional clinic for contraception
	Mary Edwards Walker	Nov. 26, 1832	surgery	thought to have been the only woman surgeon formally engaged for field duty during the American Civil War
Physics
	name	date of birth	specialty	principal contribution
	Hertha Marks Ayrton	April 28, 1854	physics and electricity	first woman nominated to become a fellow of the Royal Society
	Laura Bassi	Oct. 31, 1711	physics	first woman to become a physics professor at a European university
	Lise Meitner	Nov. 7, 1878	radioactivity	contributed to the discovery of uranium fission
	Sally Ride	May 26, 1951	laser physics	first American woman to travel into outer space
	Mária Telkes	Dec. 12, 1900	physical chemistry and biophysics	invented the solar distiller and the first solar-powered heating system for use in homes