Alice Ball

Alice Ball developed the first successful treatment for leprosy, which was used for over thirty years to save thousands from suffering. Her treatment was so effective that patients previously quarantined and expected to die in isolation, were allowed to return to their families…

Caroline Herschel

Caroline Herschel, the first female professional astronomer, discovered a galaxy, five comets, and thirteen star clusters; added over 550 new stars to John Flamsteed’s star catalog; and performed calculations for over 2,000 nebulae she and her brother, William Herschel, discovered…

Margaret Murie

The “Grandmother of the Conservation Movement”, Margaret E. Murie, fought to protect million acres of wilderness in the United States. She helped the create the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), helped pass the Wilderness Act of 1964, and worked on the Alaska National Interest…

Émilie du Châtelet

Émilie du Châtelet was an Enlightenment philosopher, scientist, writer, researcher, and socialite with a voice for opera. She co-wrote Elements of the Philosophy of Newton with Voltaire and conducted the research for many of his other works. She created the first, and to this day only…

Mary Somerville

Mary Somerville was the Queen of Science of the 19th century. She was the first woman nominated to the Royal Astronomical Society, tutor to the first computer programmer, the first person to sign John Stuart Mill’s petition for female suffrage, author of the first english text…