Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Women in science during the enlightenment era
Esaay on womens in science
Women from the scientific revolution
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
For a long time, women’s potential in Science was little to none. However, over the years, it has now changed because of the outstanding breakthroughs and encouraging accomplishments women have done through the years. It is because of them, women’s potential in Science and other realms of studies has now evolved with more understandings and discoveries. It is for the reason of Maria Mitchell, one of the first female astronomers to be recognized in Science, that women’s potential were essentially respected. Her discoveries during her time as a student, a teacher, and an astronomer paved the way for many others, not just in Science, but also for woman’s rights and potential to be seen. On the evening of October 1, 1847, just half past ten, Maria Mitchell discovered a comet now known as “Miss Mitchell’s Comet”, which not only earned her a gold medal by King of Denmark, Frederick VI, but also the becoming the first women ever to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Science in 1848 (“Maria Mitchell Biography”). Evidently Maria Mitchell was born to Quaker parents William and Lydia Mitchell on Nantucket on August 1, 1818. With the Quaker tradition, both females and males were educated, and it was because of her father’s deeply encouragement for his daughters to receive the same education, she was able to become the avid learner she was (“Young and Brave”). Her father was the most influential person in her life and was one of the foundations to her love of astronomy as he was an amateur astronomer himself. Mitchell was able to receive education from Cyrus Peirce’s School for Young Ladies (“About Maria Mitchell”). Just at the age of 12, she was able to calculate the position of their home by looking at a solar eclipse with h... ... middle of paper ... ...iography”). As well as being a powerful beginning to opening women’s potential into science, she would later befriend Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, amongst other women rights leaders. Maria Mitchel retired from Vassar in 1888, but continued her research. Sadly though, she passed away on June 28, 1889 of a brain disease, but not before proving her women’s potential in science (“Young and Brave”). After her death, Maria Mitchell was elected to the Hall of Fame of Great Americans at New York University when it began in 1905. In her honor, the Nantucket observatory was named Maria Mitchell Observatory in addition to the Maria Mitchell Association, a World War II ship named the SS Maria Mitchell, and a crater of the moon named Mitchell’s Crater (“Maria Mitchell”). In 1994, she was also elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born November 12, 1815, in Johnstown, New York. She was born unto a conservative, Presbyterian family of considerable social standing. Her father, Judge Daniel Cady, was considered to be both a wealthy landowner and a prominent citizen with great political status (Banner 3). Stanton was one of seven children, 6 of which were girls, to be born to Daniel and Margaret. Growing up in the period that she did, Elizabeth was very fortunate to receive the outstanding education that she did since it was not as important to educate daughters as it was sons. She overcame that boundary when she began attending Johnstown Academy. She was the only girl in most of her classes, which was unheard of in those days. Even when females did attend schools, they were learning about “womanly” things, like how to run a household, not advanced math and science courses, like she was in. She then went on to further her education at a very prominent educational institution, Emma Willard’s Troy Seminary. After that she studied law with her father, who was a New York Supreme Court Judge. It is through this training that her awareness was raised about the discrimination that women were subjected to.
Annie Jump Cannon was born in Dover Delaware on December 11, 1863. As a young child and throughout her life she was not able to hear as well as other people. Despite this, she led a relatively normal life. She discovered her interest in astronomy at a very young age when her mother taught her the constellations. She pursued these interests at Wellesley College where she studied physics, astronomy, and even how to make spectroscopic measurements. After graduating from Wellesley, she returned home. Also, unknown to most, she was an expert in the new field of photography. She loved to travel so she went to Spain with her new box camera and took pictures. Later, when she returned home, she put all of her photos into an album. This was then published and titled “In the Footsteps of Columbus.”
The rarely known astronomer, Henrietta Leavitt made the discovery of the period-lumination relationship as well as a guideline for measuring the magnitude of stars. Although, these discoveries were monumental in the field of astronomy and became the foundations for many other discoveries, she is almost unknown, like many prominent women in the field of astronomy. This is because science, as both a study as well as a profession, is male dominated and women are not seen as equals or qualified to be in such work. In Leavitt's lifetime, she experienced this sexism in her post-graduate career along with her two major discoveries.
Maria and her father then moved to Lynn, Massachusetts. She retired from Vassar College in 1888 and died on June 28, 1889. She was buried with her family in the cemetery on Nantucket Island. Maria’s cousin Lydia Swain Mitchell founded a memorial for Maria Mitchell: The Maria Mitchell Association. The Association is located at Maria’s birthplace on Vestal street on Nantucket Island. The Association was founded in 1906, thirteen years after Maria’s death. The Maria Mitchell Association is still in operation today. It is open every summer, and every year the place she was born in is packed. In 1912 Harvard College got a $1,000 astronomical fellowship to send a student to the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association. Many people still remember her life because of her cousin who started a place for people to remember the great things Maria Mitchell had done. Maria was also inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1994 for her
... woman to her work, from birth defects to public health education, and fundraising for research. She brought great contributions not only to obstetrical health, but to public health as well.
"Grace Murray Hopper: 1906-1992." A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries (PBS). 1998. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/btmurr.html (17 March 2000).
Marie Curie had many brilliant scientific advances and on top of that she was very honorable. She not only discovered elements but she volunteered during the war and worked to pave a way for woman in science. (encyclopediaofworldbiography.com)
Women have contributed and will continue to contribute to the sciences. Whether the subject is astronomy, mathematics, medicine, biology, or education, women have always been a key contributor to the sciences. During the 18th century there were a few women that contributed immeasurable efforts in the advancement of the sciences, many of them working their way up from apprenticeships and teaching themselves at home. Even though society made it hard on these women, their passion and determination fueled them to accomplish great scientific accomplishments that we still benefit from today.
Sally Ride’s impact on breaking a ceiling for women in science and her impact towards educating girls in science. As a small child, Sally Ride had a passion for learning science. Sally was fortunate “ For whatever reason, I didn’t succumb to the stereotype that science wasn’t for girls. I got encouragement from my parents. I never ran into a teacher or counselor who told me that science was for boys. A lot of my friends did. Sally Ride”. She got encouragement from parents who gave her the confidence to keep studying science. Her parents gave her the courage to believe in herself that she as a woman have her own passion for science. When Sally Ride was growing up she had a great education in science “I think it’s
Marie Curie is commonly known for her contributions on radiation and her discoveries of Radium and Polonium and is seeing as one of the most important women’s to change history in science. She was born November 7th, 1867 in Warsaw, Poland. Both of her parents believed that education was of great importance. Marie was the youngest of five children and when she was eight her oldest sister caught typhus and died. Less than three years later her mother passed away after fighting tuberculosis for five years. It is said that her first lessons in chemistry and physics were taught to her by her father who was a Professor of Math and Physics. Even though Marie had her mothers and sisters death she did not let it affect her academic success and was the best student in her class.
The time of worldwide integration and technological advancement has adequately changed people’s lives. Science plays a crucial role in society and without each and every one of people that have contributed greatly to its field, the establishment and efficiency would not be where it is today. It is peculiar yet astonishing to think that at one point in time women were not even allowed to pursue an interest in the science field. As women broke through the wall that kept them from allowing science to wander their minds, major grounds were covered and extreme discoveries were revealed. Marie Curie contributed highly to the fields of Chemistry and Physics, regardless of the social impediments placed on women scientists. Marie Curie was the first true scientific pioneers and the first to explore the components and idea of radioactivity. With her persistent attitude, she did not let the social
Rosalind Franklin, chemist and X-ray crystallographer, once said: “Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.” Franklin is one of the few women scientists I ever learned about in school, and it is a shame that it is such. There is much more to women in scientific fields than the few names we learn. Their history and struggles to get where they are today is something hardly ever talked about. Although they are hardly mentioned in schooling, women in scientific careers are important and through their hardships theses fields would not be the same without them.
The audience cheered as Marie Curie Walked up to the stage to accept her award for the second time. When she was handed the award she cheerfully announced “ I am delighted to be here with you this very evening.” “While i'm here let’s talk about how i got the award.”
As Space Exploration advanced so did the diversity of those who entered into it. Only a mere two years after the first man entered into space the first women did, Valentina Tereshkova. After her experience in space, many more women made their mark through the Space program. Each of these talented women strived for excellence in the field of Space Exploration and has provided great role models for people throughout the world. They have made an impact not only in equality among all genders but also in the knowledge we know today about space. These women, all diverse, shared one thing in common, the title of Astronaut.
Marie Curie once said “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less” (“Marie Curie Quotes”). Many people are fearful of radioactivity and its effects on a person’s health, but Marie Curie dedicated her life to researching radioactivity so more could be understood about radioactivity. Marie Curie was a pioneer in physics and an inspiration for women in scientific fields. Thanks to Marie Curie’s curiosity, radioactivity is something that is understood today, so people can be less fearful. Through the examination of the life and accomplishments of Marie Curie, her influence on the world, especially for her work in physics and chemistry, it becomes abundantly clear that