Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) rocketed to the forefront of American astronomy in 1847 when she spotted

When it comes to the topic of women in science, Marie Curie usually dominates the conversation. After all, she discovered two elements, was the first women to win a Nobel Prize, in 1903, and was the first person to win a second Nobel, in 1911. But Curie was not the first female scientist. Many other brilliant, dedicated and determined women have pursued science over the years.
At the age of 27, Emilie du Chatelet (1706-1749) florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale began to study mathematics and eventually branched into physics. Her most lasting contribution to science was her French translation of Isaac Newton's Principia .
After her brother discovered dinosaur florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale fossils near a seaside cliff, Mary Anning (1799-1847) began a long career as a fossil hunter. She found hundreds, possibly thousands, of fossils that helped scientists to draw a picture florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale of the marine world 200 million to 140 million years ago during the Jurassic.
Mary Somerville (1780-1872) delved into the study of algebra and mathematics florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale at the age of 14.She experimented with magnetism and translated astronomer Pierre-Simon Laplace's The Mechanism of the Heavens into English.
Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) rocketed to the forefront of American astronomy in 1847 when she spotted a blurry streak a comet through her telescope. She was honored around the world and became the first woman to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Gabrielle-Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, the daughter of the French court s chief of protocol, married the marquis du Chatelet in 1725. She lived the life of a courtier and bore three children. But at age 27, she began studying florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale mathematics seriously and then branched into physics. This interest intensified as she began an affair with the philosopher Voltaire, who also had a love of science. Their scientific collaborations they outfitted florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale a laboratory at du Chatelet s home, Chateau de Cirey, and, in a bit of a competition, each entered an essay into a contest on the nature of fire (neither florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale won) outlasted their romance. Du Chatelet s most lasting contribution to science was her French translation of Isaac Newton s Principia , which is still in use today. At age 43, she fell in love with a young military officer and became pregnant; she died following complications during the birth of their child.
Herschel was little more than the household drudge for her parents in Hanover, Germany (she would later describe herself florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale as the Cinderella of the family ), when her older brother, William, brought her to England in 1772 to run his household in Bath. After she mastered the art of singing to accompany William, who was the organist for the Octagon Chapel her brother switched careers and went into astronomy. Caroline followed. In addition to assisting her brother in his observations and in the building of telescopes, Caroline became a brilliant astronomer in her own right, discovering new nebulae and star clusters. She was the first woman to discover a comet (she discovered eight in total) and the first to have her work published by the Royal Society. She was also the first British woman to get paid for her scientific work, when William, who had been named the king s personal astronomer after his discovery of Uranus in 1781, persuaded his patron to reward his assistant with an annual salary. After William s death in 1822, Caroline retired to Hanover. There she continued her astronomical work, compiling a catalogue of nebulae florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale the Herschels florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale work had increased florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale the number florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale of known star clusters from 100 to 2,500. She died in 1848 at age 97 after receiving many honors in her field, including a gold medal from the Royal Astronomical Society.
In 1811, Mary Anning s brother spotted what he thought was a crocodile skeleton in a seaside cliff near the family s Lyme Regis, florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale England, home. He charged his 11-year-old sister with its recovery, and she eventually dug out a skull and 60 vertebrae, selling florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale them to a private collector for 23. This find was no croc, though, and was eventually named Ichthyosaurus , the fish-lizard. Thus began Anning s long career as a fossil hunter. In addition to ichthyosaurs, she found long-necked plesiosaurs, a pterodactyl and hundreds, possibly thousands, of other fossils that helped scientists to draw a picture of the marine world 200 million to 140 million years ago during the Jurassic. She had little formal education and so taught herself anatomy, geology, paleontology and scientific illustration. Scientists of the time traveled from as far away as New York City to Lyme Regis to consult and hunt for fossils with Anning.
Intrigued by the x s and y s in the answer to a math question florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale in a ladies fashion magazine, 14-year-old Mary Fairfax of Scotland delved into the study of algebra and mathematics, defying her father s injunction against such pursuits. Her studies were sidetracked by a marriage, florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale in 1804, to a Russian Navy captain, but after his death she returned to Edinburgh and became involved in intellectual circles, associating with people such as the writer Sir Walter Scott and the scientist John Playfair, and resumed her studies in math and science. Her next husband, William Somerville, whom she wed in 1812, supported these efforts, and after they moved to London, Mary became host to her own intellectual circle, which included the astronomer John Herschel and the inventor Charles florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale Babbage. She began experimenting on magnetism and produced a series of writings on astronomy, chemistry, physics and mathematics. She translated astronomer florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale Pierre-Simon florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale Laplace s The Mechanism of the Heavens into English, and although florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale she was unsatisfied with the result, it was used as a textbook for much of the next century. Somerville was one of the first two women, along with Caroline Herschel, to be named honorary members of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Young Maria Mitchell learned to observe the stars from her father, who used stellar observations to check the accuracy florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale of chronometers for Nantucket, Massachusetts, whalers and taught his children to use a sextant and reflecting telescope. When Mitchell was 12, she helped her father record the time of an eclipse. And at 17, she had already begun her own school for girls, teaching them science and math. But Mitchell florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale rocketed to the forefront of American astronomy in 1847 when she spotted a blurry streak a comet through her telescope. She was honored around the world, earning a medal from the king of Denmark, and became the first woman to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1857 Mitchell florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale traveled to Europe, where she visited observatories and met with intellectuals, including Mary Somerville. Mitchell would write: I could not help but admire [her] as a woman. The ascent of the steep and rugged path of science has not unfitted her for the drawing room circle; the hours of devotion to close study have not been incompatible with the duties florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale of wife and mother. florida to south korea plane ticket deal sale Mitchell became the first female astronomy professor in the United States, when she was hired by Vassar College in 1865. There she continued her observations, particularly those of the Sun, traveling up to 2,000 miles to witness an eclipse.