Published in 2001 (first published 1986)
240 pages
Margaret Alic holds a B.A. in Biology from Reed College, Portland, Oregon, and is currently working towards her Ph.D. in molecular biology at the Oregon Graduate Center. She has given courses on the history of women in science at Portland State University and has been active in the Science for the People movement in Oregon. Margaret Alic also works as a jazz radio programmer, for five years hosting a radio programme of women’s music called “Womansoul”.
What is this book about?
This work reaffirms women’s substantial contributions to scientific knowledge throughout the ages, revisiting names such as Hypatia of Alexandra, astrologer and philosopher Hildegaard of Bingen, Lady Mary Montegu – who developed inoculation against smallpox, the chemist Marie Levoissier, Caroline Hershel – a renowned astrologer, Ada Lovelace – whose work contributed to the beginnings of computer science, Mary Somerville the queen of 19th-century science and, of course, Marie Curie. In doing so she both reinforces women’s contributions to history and outlines the precedents for women making great strides in contemporary science.
