While Marie Curie dominates the conversation, there have been many other brilliant women who have pursued science over the years.

Ten Historic Female Scientists You Should Know

Before Marie Curie, these women dedicated their lives to science and made significant advances

Marm Mandelbaum, the "Queen of Fences"

The Life and Crimes of “Old Mother” Mandelbaum

She had the eyes of a sparrow, the neck of a bear and enough business acumen to build an empire as the “Queen of Fences”

Mrs. Grace Humiston, a.k.a. "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes"

“Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” Takes on the NYPD

When an 18-year-old girl went missing, the police let the case grow cold. But Grace Humiston, a soft-spoken private investigator, wouldn’t let it lie

Anne Bonny (left) and Mary Read, as rendered in A General History of the Pyrates

If There’s a Man Among Ye: The Tale of Pirate Queens Anne Bonny and Mary Read

Renowned for their ruthlessness, these two female pirates challenged the sailors’ adage that a woman’s presence on shipboard invites bad luck

One of the best-documented female soldiers is Sarah Edmonds. She was a Union soldier and worked during the Civil War as a nurse.

Women Who Shaped History

The Women Who Fought in the Civil War

Hundreds of women concealed their identities so they could battle alongside their Union and Confederate counterparts

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A Robot That Tells Jokes

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Looking Forward to the International Year of Chemistry

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Caroline Herschel: Assistant or Astronomer?

The Egyptian queen, shown here in a 19th-century engraving, sneaked back from exile and surprised Julius Caesar.

Rehabilitating Cleopatra

Egypt’s ruler was more than the sum of the seductions that loom so large in history—and in Hollywood

Field Beach, c. 1850s, Mary Blood Mellen.

Women Who Shaped History

The Grand Women Artists of the Hudson River School

Unknown and forgotten to history, these painters of America’s great landscapes are finally getting their due in a new exhibition

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50 Years of Chimpanzee Discoveries at Gombe

Fifty years ago today, Jane Goodall arrived at Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve (now Gombe National Park) in Tanzania

Frances Benjamin Johnston could be both ladylike and bohemian, which abetted her career as a photographer.

Victorian Womanhood, in All Its Guises

Frances Benjamin Johnston’s self-portraits show a woman was never content playing just one role

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Saying Goodbye to One of America’s Earliest Female Aviation Pioneers: Elinor Smith Sullivan

Ada Lovelace

Who Was Ada Lovelace?

As we celebrate our favorite women in tech today, take a look back at the woman who wrote the first computer program

A Level Playing Field for Science

I suppose, in a way, I should thank the woman who tried to compliment me when I was in high school by saying that I was too pretty for science

On the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, a mob led by Peter the Lector brutally murdered Hypatia, one of the last great thinkers of ancient Alexandria.

Hypatia, Ancient Alexandria’s Great Female Scholar

An avowed paganist in a time of religious strife, Hypatia was also one of the first women to study math, astronomy and philosophy

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Harriet Tubman Artifacts Donated to the Smithsonian

As the British neared the White House, Dolley Madison directed that a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington be removed.

When Dolley Madison Took Command of the White House

It is thanks to the first lady that the famous Stuart painting of George Washington survived the British army’s invasion of D.C. in August 1814

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Elementary School Teachers Pass on Math Fear to Girls

Flying With America’s Most Famous Female Aviators

Dozens of talented women preceded Amelia Earhart, and thousands have followed, and each has her own groundbreaking story to tell

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