By Pat Lawrence
Women have added to human knowledge and skill in every field, from
arts and humanities to aviation and government and especially, in
science and medicine. Their names aren’t memorized in grade
school, so we can’t begin to thank them for their lasting contributions
to women, children and humanity. But these are just a few of the women
who changed the world for the better.
Barbara McClintock was a geneticist whose pioneer work in genetics
and the complex mechanisms regulating cell development received a
Nobel Prize. Maria Goeppert Mayer was awarded the Nobel Prize
in Physics for developing the shell model of the nucleus of the atom,
basis for the description of nuclear properties and was a member
of the team that first isolated fissionable uranium. Gerty Radnitz
Cori received the Nobel award for discovery of the course of catalytic
conversion of glycogen, the foundation for understanding how cells
convert food to energy.
Chemist Mary Engle Pennington saved thousands of lives by creating
national standards for milk and dairy inspection. Rachel Carson was
a zoologist whose writings about pesticide effects initiated the environmental
movement and led to the creation of the EPA. The work of Gertrude
Belle Elion, who created drugs to combat leukemia, gout, malaria,
herpes and other auto-immune diseases, led to development of the first
major AIDS drug AZT. Scientist Florence Seibert made it possible
to test for tuberculosis and pioneered safe intravenous therapy. Pediatrician
and pathologist Dorothy H. Andersen identified cystic fibrosis and
developed a simple, definitive diagnostic test for it.
Frances Oldham Kelsey, Ph.D., M.D., a medical and pharmaceutical
researcher for the FDA, refused to approve the American use of thalidomide,
saving countless babies from deformity. Her testimony resulted
in new law helping the FDA regulate drugs.
Elizabeth Blackwell, the first American woman awarded an M.D, paved
the way for women in medicine. Mary Breckinridge pioneered the development
of midwifery and provision of care to rural areas, founding the Frontier
Nursing Service. In 1952, physician Virginia Apgar developed
the Apgar Score, a lifesaving system of simple tests to determine
newborn’s health status. Dorothea Dix was one of the earliest,
most effective advocates for humane treatment and care of the mentally
ill. Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.
Lillian Moller Gilbreth was the industrial engineer who convinced
managers that worker-efficiency is related to the quality of the workplace.
Astronomer Annie Cannon perfected the universal system of stellar
classification. Mae Jemison, physician, engineer and astronaut,
was the first African American woman astronaut in space, and today
works linking space age technology with developing nations. Jacqueline
Cochran led the Women's Air Force Pilots during World War II, was
the first woman aviator to break the sound barrier and was the first
woman to pilot a bomber across the Atlantic. In 1973, Emily Howell
Warner became the first American female commercial airline pilot (and
later, captain) when Frontier Airlines broke the barrier against hiring
women. Eileen Collins, the first American woman to pilot a spacecraft,
is NASA’s first female commander in space.
In 1967 legislation was passed allowing women to become generals
and admirals and lifting the quotas on women achieving other ranks.
Faye Glenn Abdellah, the first nurse to hold the rank of Rear Admiral
and the title of US Deputy Surgeon General, developed the first tested
coronary care unit. Grace Murray Hopper, mathematics genius, computer
pioneer, inventor, teacher and first woman to attain the rank of Rear
Admiral in the US Navy, is also known for pioneering "user-friendly"
computer software to make computers more accessible.
Women have embraced the challenges of science, mastered the math
and accepted the discipline that was necessary for exemplary achievement. Their
names may not be familiar but their contributions must be acknowledged
and appreciated by a grateful nation and the generations of women
that will follow in their footsteps.
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