Marine biologist and writer Rachel Carson, who catalyzed the modern environmental movement, on writing and the loneliness of the creative life.
Happy 99th birthday to the amazing Katherine Johnson, who computed the trajectory that landed Apollo 11 on the moon.
Trailblazing astronomer Cecilia Payne – the first person to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy and the first woman to head a department at Harvard – was born on this day in 1900. She once stitched a supernova.
Caroline Herschel, the first professional woman astronomer, was born on this day in 1750. Here is the remarkable story of how she nearly died by meathook in the name of science.
Three centuries ago, the trailblazing French mathematician Émilie du Châtelet – who paved the way for women in science – wrote brilliantly about gender and the nature of genius.
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began on this day in 1870 and was completed thanks to one remarkable woman: Emily Roebling.
So much love and respect poured into this remembrance of trailblazing astrophysicist Vera Rubin, who confirmed the existence of dark matter and paved the way for modern women in science.
Original art by Debbie Millman available as a print, with all proceeds benefiting the Association for Women in Science.
Read the remembrance here.
The word “scientist” was coined for a woman – the Scottish polymath Mary Somerville, born on this day in 1780.
The Glass Universe – the untold story of how Harvard’s 19th-century female astronomers revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos decades before women could vote.
When Katherine began at NASA, she and her cohorts were known as “human computers,” and if you talk to her or read quotes from throughout her long career, you can see that precision, that humming mind, constantly at work. She is a human computer, indeed, but one with a quick wit, a quiet ambition, and a confidence in her talents that rose above her era and her surroundings.
Magnificent Vanity Fair profile of pioneering NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, one of science’s trailblazing women. Also see the untold story of the remarkable women who powered space exploration.
Absolutely wonderful illustrated celebration of pioneering women in science, from antiquity to today, by illustrator Rachel Ignotofsky.
How astronomer Maria Mitchell, born on this day in 1818, paved the way for women in science.
