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Maria Cunitz
(1610 to 1664)
She was a German astronomer who provided much insight into the field of Astronomy. She is best known for writing the book Urania Propitia, which gave a better and more advanced solution to Kepler's Problem, which would more easily determine the position of planets in their paths around the sun. -
Margaret Cavendish
(1623 to 1673)
She was a British natural philosopher who helped to make some of the major ideas of the Scientific Revolution popular. Cavendish published two books on areas she felt were lacking in terms of discoveries and also advocated for a larger female presence in science as well as better education for girls. -
Maria Sibylla Merian
(1647 to 1717)
She was a German botanist and zoologist who created an illustrated book of specimens of European insects, moths, and butterflies. In 1672, Merian traveled to Suriname (Dutch South Africa) with only a female companion and collected specimens there which she later published into her noteworthy Dissertation in Insect Generations and Metamorphosis in Surinam. -
Maria Winkelmann
(1670 to 1720)
Maria Winkelmann was a German astronomer who worked with her husband, Gottfried Kirch developing astronomical calendars. Since female scientists were not respected at the time, Winkelmann acted as his assistant even though she was actually his co-worker. In 1702, Winkelmann became the first woman to discover a comet. -
Marie Curie
(1867 to 1934)
She was a Polish-born physicist and chemist. She is best known for her outstanding work in radioactivity. She developed the theory of Radioactivity, and discovered the elements radium and polonium. She won a Nobel Prize for Physics and Chemistry, becoming the first woman to win the award. -
Chien-Shiung Wu
(1912 to 1997)
She was a Chinese-American physicist, who is most known for her work in nuclear physics. Wu was one of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons during WWII. Her experiment, known as the Wu Experiment, which proved that parity could not be conserved in weak interactions. This finding greatly impacted the scientific community, as it was previously believed that parity could be conserved.