Scholar Women in Science

By: Alycia Jones,Tatyana Momotyuk, &

Megan Mortensen

Hypatia of AlexandriaAD 370-415

Greek Scholar from Alexandria, Egypt who was known for being the first noble women in mathematics and science.

Her interests and goals consisted of those relating to Plato and Aristotle such as:•Mathematics•Astronomy•Philosophy•Inventions

Her father was a well know mathematician and astronomer named Theon, which is where she was known to learn from at a young age. As she grew she traveled to Athens and Italy where she attended higher institutes to study.

When she returned to Alexandria she taught:•Mathematics•Philosophy

Achievements and acknowledgements ofHypatia of Alexandria

According to the World Encyclopedia, In 400 Hypatia became the leader of the Neoplatonic school of Alexandria and led this until her death where she taught:•Religious Philosophies•Mystical Philosophies•Based on Plato’s ideals

Hypatia is known for inventing the astrolabe which is pictured on the left.

According to Women in Chemistry and Physics, the astrolabe is used to measure star positions relative to earth and was also noted for being used for water purification.

For this time period, Hypatia’s achievements were large recognitions for a women.

In 415 she was tortured to death by a religious cult who blamed her for religious turmoil. Her death is known as, “the end of the influences of Greek philosophers and scientists” (Kapsis).

She was hailed as a “Valiant defender of science against religion” by many which explains her brutal death.

Maria Mitchell1818-1889

Maria Mitchell was born in Massachusetts and is known for being the first acknowledged woman astronomer in the US.

Like Hypatia of Alexandria, Micthell had a father who was dedicated to science that she could shadow. He played a large role in her success as her believed that girls should get equal education as to boys in the 1800’s.

Her main interests included:•Mathematics•Astronomy•Education•Women’s rights

At the age of 17 she opened a school of her own, which only lasted a year because she was offered a job as a librarian. This job was perfect for her because she was earning a good salary and could study and read books all day.

Her parents home had an observatory on the roof where Mitchell and her father could study stars for the US Coast Guard.

Achievements and acknowledgements ofmaria mitchell

According to McPherson, one night in 1847 on the roof of her parents house Maria focused her telescope on a star that she hadn’t seen before. Suddenly she realized it wasn’t a star, but a comet. This was later known as “Miss Mitchell’s Comet”.

After her comet discovery she remained a librarian and tourists began to visit her as the “Woman Astronomer”.

This changed in 1849 when the US Nautical Almanac Office offered her a job as a computer of tables/positions on Venus, she accepted and began traveling.

•After her European travels she became a professor of astronomy and director of a college observatory at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY.•In 1869 she was the first woman elected to the American Philosophical society.•In 1873 she helped found the American Association for the Advancement of Woman and was president from 1874-1876.

Mitchell passed in 1889 due to poor health in Massachusetts where the Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902.

Picture of a comet.

Royer, Clemence Augustine1830-1902

Natural PhilosopherEncyclopedist, translator of Darwin into

FrenchParent educated until the age of 10 then sent

to Sacre-Coeur school in Le MansWorked as a teacher in a secondary school

teaching French and MusicGave lectures on logicPublished articles in the newspaper La Fronde

on scientific and social themes

Charles Darwin’s sketchFirst diagram of an

evolutionary tree

Achievements and acknowledgements of Royer, Clemence Augustine

First woman to receive Legion d’honneur (Legion for Honor) in 1900

Collaborated in Newspaper of the Women and Sling

Translated the Origin of Species which led to public recognition (First, Second, and Third editions)

Wrote Theorie de l’impot ou la dime social on the economic role of women in society and their obligation to produce children

Wrote La Constitution du Monde on cosmology published in 1900

Darwin to Armand de Quatrefages :"I wish the translator had known more of Natural History; she must be a clever, but singular lady; but I never heard of her, till she proposed to translate my book.”

Sara Josephine Baker 1873-1945Physician and Public Health Worker

College: -Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.Work: -New York Department of Health as a Medical Inspector. (Turn of the Century)

-Examine children in a public school (head lice, eye infections)-Led to a city wide school nurse program-she visited homes of newborn babies

Accomplishments--Division of Child Hygiene

-she wanted to make sure that womenand children were taken care of.-nurses trained new moms on how to care for their newborn-invented an infant milk made of water, calcium carbonate, lactose, and cow milk-which in turn allowed mothers to work

Inspecting school children

More accomplishments

-1st woman to work in the Federal Government-Assistant Surgeon General

-She saved 82, 000 people because of her work in the New York Division of Public Health

-1910: Started Little Mothers-trained older sisters how to take care of babies

-help in the prevention of blindness caused by gonorrhea-helped twice to catch Typhoid Mary

-first know carrier of Typhoid-President of the American Medical Women’s Association-She wrote 250 articles, 4 books, and autobiography in 1945.

“I climbed stair after stair, knocked on door after door, meet drunk after drunk, filthy mother after filthy mother and dying baby after dying baby”. Sara Josephine Baker

Photo courtesy ofHarvardsquarelibrary.com

Alice Cunningham Fletcher 1838-1923American Ethnologist and Archaeologist

Start of her Career--Studied remains of Indian Civilization

-Ohio-Mississippi Valleys

-Member of Archaeological Institute of America(1879)-Representative of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, at Harvard University

-Lived and worked with Omaha's

-1883-special agent to allot land to Omaha's-1884-sent to New Orleans Exposition

-exhibit showing the progress of civilization-Indians or North America

-1886-seen Natives and of Alaska, and Aleutian Islands-1887-United States special Agent with lands

Later in her life1891- President of the Anthropological Society of Washington -American Folklore Society -Vice President-American Association for Advancement of ScienceBiggest accomplishment-

-made a system that allowed Indians to take small loans-buy land and houses

-worked with the Woman's' National Indian Association-Assistant to Grover Cleveland

-Indian ProblemBooks she published-

-Indian Education and Civilization(1888)-Special report of Bureau of Education

-The Omaha Tribe(1911)-along with Francis La Flesche(Omaha Indian)-still considered to be definite work on this subject

Last but not Least--1905-First woman president-American Folklore Society

Wu, Chien Shiung1912 - 1997

PhysicistBorn in ChinaEmigrated from China in 1963Received doctorate at University of

California Berkeley in 1940Professor in 1958 and appointed the first

Michael IPupin Professor of Physics in 1973Studied sickle cell anemiaExpert on beta decay

“Even the most sophisticated and seemingly remote basic nuclear physics research has implications beneficial to human welfare.”

Achievements and acknowledgements of Wu, Chien Shiung

Wrote: Beta Decay published in 1965 – still being used by nuclear physicists

First Chinese-American elected in U.S. National Academy of Sciences

First woman to achieve the Comstock Award in 1964

First Female instructor at Princeton in the Physics Department

Wolf Prize in Physics in 1978Worked to develop process for

separating uranium into metalImproved Geiger counters for measuring

nuclear radiation levelsFirst Chinese-American educators who

returned to China for visits

Geiger Counter above

Uranium

Works Cited• Cunningham Fletcher, Alice. “Cunningham Fletcher, Alice.”Encyclopedia Britannica. 2005. Nation Master online. 13 Feb. 2010<http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Alice-Cunningham-Fletcher• Josephine Baker, Sara. “Josephine Baker, Dr. Sara.”StateMaster. Nov. 2006. Nation Master online. 13 Feb. 2010<http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Sara-Josephine -Baker• Kapsis, Eda C. Woman in Chemistry and Physics: A Biobibliographic Source Book

“Hypatia (c. 370-c. 415). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 1993.• Rooftop Astronomer by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson, Carolrhoda Books, Inc.,

1990• " Wu, Chien-Shiung." CWP < http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~cwp> • Editors. The World Book Encyclopedia. World Book-Childcraft International, Inc:

Chicago. 1990