Did you have a good weekend? I sure did. Little brother Quigley and I tried our flippers at kite flying. And while we didn't break any records for having the biggest kite or the fastest kite, we had a wonderful time together. And isn't that what weekends are all about...spending quality time with those we love. But Monday has once again rolled around and it's time to get back to business which is, for me, writing a blog that I hope will inform and entertain you.
Today's subject is science. But before you start rolling your eyes, please note that I'm not going to write so much about the actual subject as I am about a few special scientists. Women have made huge contributions to science but, really, how many lady scientists can you name? If you're like most, you remember Madam Curie and that's about it. But so many women have made considerable contributions to this field that I can't possibly discuss them all here. I will try to list some that you may know, but probably from other industries. And I'll tell you about a few very early scientists that have gotten lost in time.
1. Hypatia was born somewhere between 350 and 370 and died 415 AD. She was a Hellenistic Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a prominent thinker of the Neoplatonic school in Alexandria, where she taught philosophy and astronomy.
2. Mary or Maria the Jewess, also known as Mary the Prophetess, is an early alchemist who is known from the works of the Gnostic Christian writer Zosimos of Panopolis. On the basis of Zosimos's comments, she lived between the first and third centuries. She is credited with the invention of several kinds of chemical apparatus and is considered to be the first true alchemist of the Western world.
3. Mary Anning (1799 - 1847) Mary was an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist who became known around the world for important finds she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England.
4. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine.
5. Beatrix Potter (1866- 1943) Helen Beatrix Potter was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Born into an upper-class household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children.
6. Janaki Ammal (1897-1984) She was an Indian botanist who conducted scientific research in cytogenetics and phytogeography. Her most notable work involves those on sugarcane and the eggplant. She has collected various valuable plants of medicinal and economic value from the rain forests of Kerala.
7. Clara Barton (1821 - 1912) Clara Barton is famous for her work during the Civil War. She is also credited with founding the American Red Cross. A self-taught nurse, she is credited with spearheading the civilian medical response to the carnage of the Civil War, directing much of the nursing care and regularly leading drives for supplies.
8. Elizabeth Arden (1884 - 1966) Ms. Arden is most known as the original queen of the cosmetic industry and her Elizabeth Arden line of make-up and skin care is still available today. But what you might not know about her is that at the beginning of her career, she formulated the products that she then manufactured and sold. Her most famous product, the miracle Eight Hour Cream was originally formulated to help one of her prize horses that had been badly burned in a fire. The cream is credited with saving the horse and worked such wonders on him that it was packaged and sold as a skin balm for humans. Eight Hour Cream is still Arden's best-selling product.
9. Hedy Lamarr (1914 - 2000) This extraordinarily beautiful woman was a Hollywood screen siren in the 1940s. What you might not know about Hedy Lamarr is that she was also an inventor. And not just any inventor! She developed many items, some successful and some not. Ms. Lamarr is credit as being the person responsible for the development of WiFi. Her patent for frequency-hopping technology in 1941 became the precursor for today's secure WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth.
10. Margaret Roberts Thatcher (1925 - 2013) The famous "Iron Lady" of the British Parliament for a little over 11 years. As a young woman, Margaret studied at Oxford University and graduated with a degree in science, specializing in X-ray crystallography. After leaving the university, Ms. Roberts worked as a research chemist for BX Plastics in Essex, England.
11, Shirley Ann Jackson (1946 - ) Ms. Jackson is an American physicist who is also the eighteenth president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is the first African-American woman to have earned her doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Way to go, Shirley!
These women aren't just notable for their contributions to science, which are exemplary, but they are also known as being some of the best role models for today's young girls.
It's all about Girl Power!
I learned a lot of really neat stuff today. I hope you did, too. Please join me back here again tomorrow for a look at friendship on National Make A Friend Day. Until then, I wish you
PEACE.
PS. If you want to know more about women in science, check the links below.
Today's subject is science. But before you start rolling your eyes, please note that I'm not going to write so much about the actual subject as I am about a few special scientists. Women have made huge contributions to science but, really, how many lady scientists can you name? If you're like most, you remember Madam Curie and that's about it. But so many women have made considerable contributions to this field that I can't possibly discuss them all here. I will try to list some that you may know, but probably from other industries. And I'll tell you about a few very early scientists that have gotten lost in time.
1. Hypatia was born somewhere between 350 and 370 and died 415 AD. She was a Hellenistic Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a prominent thinker of the Neoplatonic school in Alexandria, where she taught philosophy and astronomy.
2. Mary or Maria the Jewess, also known as Mary the Prophetess, is an early alchemist who is known from the works of the Gnostic Christian writer Zosimos of Panopolis. On the basis of Zosimos's comments, she lived between the first and third centuries. She is credited with the invention of several kinds of chemical apparatus and is considered to be the first true alchemist of the Western world.
3. Mary Anning (1799 - 1847) Mary was an English fossil collector, dealer, and paleontologist who became known around the world for important finds she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England.
4. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine.
5. Beatrix Potter (1866- 1943) Helen Beatrix Potter was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Born into an upper-class household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children.
6. Janaki Ammal (1897-1984) She was an Indian botanist who conducted scientific research in cytogenetics and phytogeography. Her most notable work involves those on sugarcane and the eggplant. She has collected various valuable plants of medicinal and economic value from the rain forests of Kerala.
7. Clara Barton (1821 - 1912) Clara Barton is famous for her work during the Civil War. She is also credited with founding the American Red Cross. A self-taught nurse, she is credited with spearheading the civilian medical response to the carnage of the Civil War, directing much of the nursing care and regularly leading drives for supplies.
8. Elizabeth Arden (1884 - 1966) Ms. Arden is most known as the original queen of the cosmetic industry and her Elizabeth Arden line of make-up and skin care is still available today. But what you might not know about her is that at the beginning of her career, she formulated the products that she then manufactured and sold. Her most famous product, the miracle Eight Hour Cream was originally formulated to help one of her prize horses that had been badly burned in a fire. The cream is credited with saving the horse and worked such wonders on him that it was packaged and sold as a skin balm for humans. Eight Hour Cream is still Arden's best-selling product.
9. Hedy Lamarr (1914 - 2000) This extraordinarily beautiful woman was a Hollywood screen siren in the 1940s. What you might not know about Hedy Lamarr is that she was also an inventor. And not just any inventor! She developed many items, some successful and some not. Ms. Lamarr is credit as being the person responsible for the development of WiFi. Her patent for frequency-hopping technology in 1941 became the precursor for today's secure WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth.
10. Margaret Roberts Thatcher (1925 - 2013) The famous "Iron Lady" of the British Parliament for a little over 11 years. As a young woman, Margaret studied at Oxford University and graduated with a degree in science, specializing in X-ray crystallography. After leaving the university, Ms. Roberts worked as a research chemist for BX Plastics in Essex, England.
11, Shirley Ann Jackson (1946 - ) Ms. Jackson is an American physicist who is also the eighteenth president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is the first African-American woman to have earned her doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Way to go, Shirley!
These women aren't just notable for their contributions to science, which are exemplary, but they are also known as being some of the best role models for today's young girls.
It's all about Girl Power!
I learned a lot of really neat stuff today. I hope you did, too. Please join me back here again tomorrow for a look at friendship on National Make A Friend Day. Until then, I wish you
PEACE.
PS. If you want to know more about women in science, check the links below.
1. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Pictures of Women in Chemistry." ThoughtCo, Jan. 13, 2017, thoughtco.com/pictures-of-women-in-chemistry-4123086.
2. https://google.com/search/lady scientists
2. https://google.com/search/lady scientists
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