When we think of the word scientist, popular names like Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein come to our mind. But, besides Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Pythagoras or Archimedes, there are over 150 female scientists who had also changed the world.
The evolution of female scientists evolved around 4th century BC. Before, this period, women did not have the right to education and so they could not do any further studies, resulting them to be jobless. After this period, some women started learning so as to obtain knowledge like the men. And from here starts the great chain of female scientists. One of the most famous scientists of that time was Ada Lovelace. She was the daughter of Lord Byron and Anne Byron. Her mother did not want her to become a poet like her father, so she brought her up to become a mathematician and scientist. She wrote the world’s first computer programs for the analytical engine, a general purpose machine that Charles Babbage had invented. Even though she did not grow to be a world famous mathematician she was an honoured scientist who had a keen interest and a passion for the development of computer software. One of the most famous botanists of that time was Rachel Carson. She was born to McLean and Robert Carson. She was an avid reader and she used to spend a lot of time exploring around her family’s 65 acre farm. She began writing stories at the age of 8 and had her first one published at the age of 11. She was aiming for a doctorate, but her father passed away when she was 28. After a lot of hard work she got a job as a junior marine biologist. Rachel Carson is famous for her books,’ Silent Spring’,’ Under the sea wind’ and ‘The edge of the sea’. Now getting back to the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize who is Marie Curie. She was also the only woman to win a Nobel Prize in two fields and the only person to win one in multiple sciences. She got in 1903 and 1911 respectively, She was the first woman to become a professor in the University of Paris. Her achievements included the theory of radioactivity and the discovery of two elements, polonium and radium. She was Polish by birth and French after marriage. She never lost her sense of Polish identity. Now, let’s go back to the famous primatologist who is Jane Goodall. She was born to Mortimer Goodall, an engineer and Vanne Goodall, an author. As a child, she was given a lifelike chimpanzee toy called Jubilee by her father. Her fondness for the toy started her early love for animals. She had obtained a Ph.D. in Ethology in 1965.
She also became the eighth person in the world to obtain a Ph.D. degree without obtaining a B.A. or a B.Sc. She also had 31 awards. She is the founder of Jane Goodall Institute. She founded it in 1977. One of the most famous biophysicist of that time was Rosalind Franklin. She was born to Ellis Franklin and Muriel Waley. Rosalind Franklin had exceptional scholastic abilities and she was really good in science, Latin and sports. She gave a massive contribution on the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA on July 25, 1920. After she had finished her work on DNA, she started a work on polio virus. Till now, her biological theories are used in almost all of the researches.
As I had said before women did not have any solid rights for a period of time. When powerful women like Aspasia and Hypatia started learning and behaving exactly like scholarly men, without caring for women’s limited rights, they had received cruel punishments. These brave women had started an inspiration for the rest of the women. There is a great progress from 4 B.C. to the present. Women as well as men are given equal opportunities in science and researching. And so the world today is more advanced. So we can conclude that, women and men are equal, but women’s rights came much later than men’s, even then there is a lot of progress.
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