For centuries, science , and knowledge in general, has been a world exclusively for men. However, despite a thousand difficulties, restrictions and merits recognized only belatedly, many women have contributed significantly to the progress of humanity. Let’s meet 10 women and scientists who, in one way or another, really made history.
The 10 most important women in science: so they were
Let’s know who were ten of the most important women scientists in history, and what were their achievements in science.
1 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia (1646-1684)
Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, sometimes also known as Elena Lucrezia Corner, was the first woman in history to earn a doctorate. Born into a Venetian family, Elena was encouraged to study by her father, but to continue her academic career she had to adhere to Benedictine rule, a choice that tied her to a religious order without having to live in a monastery.
A brilliant student, Elena devoted herself to mathematics, Greek, Latin, and theology, the study of sacred things that at that time included a much broader sector than today.
The clerical authorities, however, did not want a woman to obtain a doctorate in theology – which was then one of the most important “subjects” – and therefore, thanks to the mediation of her father, Elena obtained the opportunity to graduate in Philosophy. by Cardinal Gregorio Barbarigo.
After her studies, Elena went to Padua to teach mathematics , but died at the age of 38, due to illness.
Cornaro did not make a particular contribution to knowledge, but he broke a centuries-old taboo that for years and years continued to oppress the female figure.
2 – Laura Bassi (1711-1778)
Second woman to graduate in Italy and first in the world to obtain a university professorship: what Laura Bassi did was extraordinary, since no woman before her had taught at a university.
His subject was experimental physics ( Newtonian style) which he taught first at home (but recognized by the University of Bologna) and then at the Colegio de Montalto delle Marche.
The work of Laura Bassi was so “revolutionary” that in the following centuries an asteroid and a crater on Venus were dedicated to her.
3 -Caroline Herschel (1750-1848)
Another pioneer in her field was Caroline Lucretia Herschel, a British woman of German origin who, together with her brother William, studied and discovered various comets . Most likely, some of the discoveries attributed to his brother were also his.
In addition to being the first woman to discover a comet , Caroline was one of the first astronomers , along with her “colleague” Mary Somerville, to be admitted to the prestigious Royal Astronomical Society.
4-Marie Curie (1867-1934) and her daughter Iréne Joliot-Curie (1897-1956)
The very famous Marie Curie was one of the first scientists recognized as such in the world. Together with her husband Pierre, in fact, she carried out very important studies on radiation and radioactive materials.
These investigations earned him not one, but two Nobel prizes: in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911 after the discovery of radium and polonium. Madame Curie was also the first woman to teach at the famous Sorbonne University in Paris.
His inheritance was collected by his daughter Iréne, who continued her studies with her husband Frédéric Joliot, managing to isolate natural radioactive elements and carrying out the transmutation of some elements such as boron into synthetic radioactive isotopes. For this, she also won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934.
Mother and daughter were not only united by scientific prowess, but also by the sad fate linked to their experiments: both died prematurely from diseases derived from the treatment of radioactive materials.
5 – Helen Taussig (1898-1986)
She was an internationally renowned pediatric cardiologist who, among other things, was instrumental in the identification of “blue baby” syndrome, a heart malformation that caused many deaths among newborns.
Dr. Taussig also belonged to that group of experts who made known in America the danger of talimode , a drug for pregnant women that caused physical alterations in the fetus.
Helen Taussig is still remembered for the determination with which she faced gender discrimination and the special relationship she managed to establish with her young patients.
6- Barbara McClintock (1902-1992)
American biologist Barbara McClintock was one of the minds that changed the study of genetics .
In fact, studying the ears of corn discovered the existence of transposons, small segments of DNA capable of passing from one chromosome to another. This achievement earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1983.
McClintock’s research anticipated the recognition of epigenetics, a recent branch of molecular biology, by decades.
7 – Maria Goeppert Mayer (1906-1972)
Maria Goeppert Mayer , a naturalized German American, was the second woman to receive the Nobel after the Curie.
The award was given to him for having developed, together with J. Hans D. Jensen, the shell model of the atomic nucleus.
For years, Mayer had to deal only with the usual prejudices against career women, but also with the fact that she was American-German at a time when the United States was fighting Hitler’s Germany.
8-Rita Levi Montalcini (1909-2012)
Rita Levi Montalcini was a neurologist, philanthropist, and senator for life from the Italian Republic.
In 1986, this scientist received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for research that led to the identification of nerve fiber growth factor Ngf, a small but fundamental protein involved in the development of the nervous system.
This discovery still contributes to the study of diseases like cancer, ALS, and Alzheimer’s disease today.
Rita Levi-Montalcini, however, did not limit herself to working within the four walls of her laboratory: throughout her life, in fact, she dedicated herself to charity work and to promoting the role of women in all branches of society. the society.
9- Dorothy Hodgkin (1910-1994)
English crystallographer and biochemist, she carried out important scientific studies despite significant health problems.
Determining the structures of important biochemical substances through the use of techniques related to X-rays earned her the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964. Using similar methods, the scientist determined the atomic structure of cholesterol, penicillin and vitamin B12, lactoglobulin, ferritin and the tobacco virus.
She was also a great advocate for global nuclear disarmament.
10 – Gertrude Belle Elion (1918-1999)
When cancer took her grandfather, American Gertrude Belle Elion decided that she would dedicate her life to fighting this disease. And he did!
Although few took her seriously for being a woman, Gertrude distinguished herself in the academic field of biochemistry, so much so that she was able to develop effective therapies in the treatment of AIDS, which in the 1980s appeared as a kind of impossible divine punishment. to the stem.
Precisely for these investigations, which later led to the development of the AZT drug used by HIV-positive patients, Elion was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1988.
