Toggle
Search Search Close
SUBSCRIBE (Left)
RENEW (Left)
GIVE A GIFT (Left)
June 2018 magazine cover
Search
Facebook
Twitter
“Women

Women Who Shaped Science

The sciences are defined by those who push past the bounds of human knowledge and break down the thought barriers of their time. But by and large, it's men—mostly white ones—whose achievements are recorded in the history books. We celebrate them as geniuses who upended our understanding of the cosmos, the planet and ourselves.

Smithsonian.com is sharing the stories of women scientists who also changed the world, but were written out of history. It was a woman (atmospheric researcher Eunice Foote) who first outlined the global greenhouse effect; a woman (FDA pharmacologist Frances Oldham Kelsey) who stood between America and an epidemic of birth defects; and a woman (astronomer Maria Mitchell) who named comets and shaped the early field of astronomy.

These pioneers paved the way for future generations of women scientists and explorers. But spotlighting their stories is about more than just augmenting women’s history. It's about understanding the cultural attitudes, historical forces and social realities that made science what it is today—and what it will be tomorrow. 

Featured Story

When Girls Studied Planets And the Sky Had No Limits

Maria Mitchell, America's first female astronomer, flourished at a time when both sexes “swept the sky”
By

Public Health

The Woman Who Stood Between America and a Generation of 'Thalidomide Babies'
By

Climate Change

The Scientist Who Defined the Greenhouse Effect, But Didn’t Get the Credit
By

Human Anatomy

The Lady Anatomist Who Brought Dead Bodies to Light
By
The History of Breeding Mice for Science Begins With a Woman in a Barn
By
How a Pioneering Botanist Broke Down Japan’s Gender Barriers
By
This 19th Century "Lady Doctor" Helped Usher Indian Women Into Medicine
By
The True Story of “Hidden Figures,” the Women Who Helped Win the Space Race
By
The Woman Who Transformed How We Teach Geography
By
The Forgotten Women Scientists Who Fled the Holocaust for the United States
By

Related Stories

Fifty Years Ago, a Grad Student’s Discovery Changed the Course of Astrophysics

By

These Bold Illustrations Celebrate the Incredible Contributions of Women in Science

By

Seeing Is Believing: How Marie Tharp Changed Geology Forever

By

How Marie Curie Brought X-Ray Machines To the Battlefield

By

This Feminist Psychologist-Turned-Rock-Star Led a Full Life of Resistance

By

In "The Glass Universe," Dava Sobel Brings the Women 'Computers' of Harvard Observatory to Light

By

These Four Black Women Inventors Reimagined the Technology of the Home

By

How an Environmental Activist Became a Pioneer for Climate Justice in India

By

Meet the Computer Scientist You Should Thank For Your Smartphone's Weather App

By

This Little-Known Math Genius Helped America Reach the Stars

By
Tags

Comment on this Story

comments powered by Disqus

Latest Stories

The Many Ways Women Get Left Out of Paleontology

The Woman Who Challenged the Idea that Black Communities Were Destined for Disease

The 18th-Century Lady Mathematician Who Loved Calculus and God

Famed for “Immortal” Cells, Henrietta Lacks is Immortalized in Portraiture

Watch: The First Trailer for 'Mary Shelley' Explores the Many Inspirations for 'Frankenstein'

The Real Science Behind Your Favorite Nerd Culture at Awesome Con

The Rockstar Geologist Who Mapped the Minerals of the Cosmos

How a Team of Submersible-Bound Scientists Redefined Reef Ecosystems

Ten Female Innovators to Watch In 2018

The History of Breeding Mice for Science Begins With a Woman in a Barn