The Impact of Women in Science How women have overcome many obstacles to advance scientific knowledge

Elizabeth Blackwell ( 1821 – 1910 ) First woman to obtain a medical degree in the United States Admitted because students believed the application was a joke from rival medical school Was at first banned from certain areas of the school, because she was a woman Eventually earned respect of fellow students and community

Dr. Lise Meitner ( ) Discovered and named the process of nuclear fission This led to the creation of the atomic bomb Dr. Meitner refused to be involved with the bomb project Passed over for Nobel Prize, Given only to her male partner

Ellen Swallow Richards ( ) First woman to attend MIT Pioneered water sanitation Began air and water conservation by introducing field of Sanitary Engineering

Marie Curie ( ) Studied radioactivity Discovered elements Polonium and Radium First woman to win Nobel Prize First and only person to win Nobel Prize in two sciences (Physics & Chemistry)

Margaret Mead ( ) Leading Anthropologist Studied cultures around the world Promoted controversial topics, such as legalizing marijuana Regarded as vocal commentator on modern American life

For more information on these and other Important women in history, visit the Library of Congress website at