Women Who Made Science History

by Leila McNeill

Laura Bassi was once called a “monster”. And she was. She was a monster of intellect. In 1732, she became the first female doctor of philosophy at the University of Bologna. Her doctoral degree defense was a highly public event, attended by foreigners, clergy, professors, nobility, and onlookers—yet she was still forbidden from teaching at the university and was deliberately excluded from a prestigious group of academics within the Institute for Science.

It’s not news that women have been denied the same educational and institutional opportunities, resources, and access as men, and that science’s history is often told through the stories of great men, with a few great women making an appearance here and there. But that approach misses the big picture. The history of science isn’t complete without women.

Leila McNeill, an author, editor, and historian of women and gender in science, introduces us to 10 lesser-known women who have, in their own unique ways, shaped the world in which we all live. As you hear about their lives and stories, you’ll discover a more complete picture of science—what science is, how it is done, and who gets to participate. You’ll see that women in science are not anomalies. They aren’t separate from the flow of time and onward march of history. Women, in their own innovative ways, have always played a part in shaping science and, in turn, our world and our understanding of our place in it.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Audiobook, Biography, Education

3 pages, Audiobook

Published March 2, 2023

About the author

Leila McNeill (also published as Leila A. McNeill) is an American writer, editor, and historian of science. She is an Affiliate Fellow in the History of Science at the University of Oklahoma and the co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of Lady Science Magazine. She has been a columnist for Smithsonian.com and BBC Future, and she has been published by The Atlantic, The Baffler, JSTOR Daily, and more.

Reviews

[Michelle L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, short list of 10 lesser known women in science who made worthwhile and notable contributions to multiple fields of study. Definitely worth the listen. I love coming across these nuggets.

Yes, there are multi-volume books that attempt to list women in science throughout history along with their stolen, overlooked, and outright ignored contributions. And, thankfully, there is an ever increasing number of biographies as books, on blogs, and captured on various websites attempting to document stories of women in science.

But this audiobook is the perfect bite size book for a week of lunch breaks or during a few workouts, or while commuting. An easy read whether you wanted an introduction to women’s contributions or just enjoy an accessible reminder of a history that continues to be largely unknown and willfully ignored by many.

[Michelle N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally enjoyed this short audiobook.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women were systematically denied education and access to scientific work, yet we do have women in history who had significant scientific achievements. However, we do not know about them, besides Marie Curie, even whose contributions were belittled as not coming from insight, but perseverance, because genius was reserved for men.

We do not know because they often had to carve out work in other places than academia - usually in their home, working with their husbands, or in low prestige work like tedious data collection. We do not know because their contributions went unattributed, absorbed into their male partners’ or bosses’ achievements, or were overlooked, neglected, and often deliberately erased. However, feminist historians now are looking to identify these women, and restore their place in history.

Leila McNeill identified ten little known women scientists and gave six lectures for on the life and contributions of these women, in this 3 hour long Audible original (available for free with an Audible subscription). Unfortunately this did not come with a PDF with the names of these women, so I have to re- listen and note them.

Lecture 1: Women at the Heart of Science
Overview of women’s role in science and why we have trouble finding their contributions.

Lecture 2: When Women Ruled the City: Bassi and Morandi

Laura Bassi became the first female doctor of philosophy at the University of Bologna in 1732. Her doctoral degree defense was a highly public event, attended by foreigners, clergy, professors, nobility, and onlookers—yet she was still forbidden from teaching at the university and was deliberately excluded from a prestigious group of academics within the Institute for Science.


Anna Morandi Manzolini worked at the same time as Bologna’s lady anatomist, who, with her husband, was a creator of wax human anatomical figures. Anatomy was at the time a new science and her models were known not just for their scientific accuracy but their artistic merit as well.


Lecture 3: Protecting Nature: Ammal and Clark

Janaki Ammal was an India’s leading botanist, an expert in cytogenesis, who spearheaded the conservation of indigenous plants, advocated for indigenous methods of preservation, and was heading the efforts to preserve the rain forests.


“Shark lady” Eugenie Clark has devoted her life to study marine life, and was fascinated by sharks. Her research and popularization of sharks changed our view of sharks as mindless eating machines into a vital part of maintaining balance in the food chain. She often dove with sharks and never got attacked.


Lecture 4: A Revolution in Geology: Lehmann and Tharp
Inge Lehmann was a geologist and seismologist who discovered that the Earth had a solid inner core.



Marie Tharp was a geologist and cartographer who first mapped the ocean floor and produced the first evidence for plate tectonics and continental shift.


Lecture 5: Public Health vs. Private Interest: Hayden and Kelsey

Frances Oldham Kelsey was a Canadian-American pharmacologist and physician who worked for the FDA and refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about proof of safety. Thalomide was a drig that caused severe birth defects. She contributed to new drug safety laws and regulations, and their enforcement.


Alma Levant Hayden was a chemist, an expert in measuring how substances absorb light. She was the first African-American employed by a major US scientific agency, and possibly the first at the FDA. She played a major role in proving that anti-cancer drug Krebiozen did nothing, and prompted a change in US drug laws to require proof of efficacy as well as safety.


Lecture 6: To the Stars: Easley and Rubin

Annie Easley was a computer scientist, mathematician and rocket scientist who worked as a human computer for NASA, and later developed applications supporting NASA’s rocket and space probe launches.


Vera Rubin was an astronomer who discovered dark matter.

She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studying galactic rotation curves. By identifying the galaxy rotation problem, her work provided evidence for the existence of dark matter. These results were later confirmed over subsequent decades. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is named in her honor.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of books like this one that attempt to humanize science by giving summaries of the contributions of individual scientists. What makes this one stand out is its focus on a handful of the thousands of women scientists who quietly advanced the field while their male peers took all the credit. McNeill does an excellent job of not only giving some well-deserved attention to these figures, but in describing the prejudices that handicapped them in the performance of their jobs. It’s a short read, but worthwhile.

[Mathew Benham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3hr audio book. This was a fun book to read, lots of stories of actual history. Hope to see more.

[Havenly Reads (Carlina) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only wish it were longer and covered more

[Lil Smiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look at the hidden women in science, how they have always been there, and how society has worked to diminish their accomplishments or transpose them onto the men in their lives.

[Lizz Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting information on some unsung female scientist heros. The narrator did a good job keeping my attention.

[Helga Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good summary of some women in science who had to fight to be seen and heard and most of their accomplishments went largely unnoticed within the scientific community and the public. These are just a few of many who should be acknowledged. These stories can inspire young girls today. Laura Bassi, 1732 became the first female Doctor of Philosophy but she was forbidden from teaching. There are many other women in the sciences from astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and the environment. Women have always played a part in shaping science.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still love to learn more about History and about women making history, so I loved these courses about both! I didn't know much of what I learnt and I think I'll read books about the subject to fix the knowledge I acquired. I still want to read Forces of Nature: The Women who Changed Science by the same author!