Ellen Swallow Richards

Ellen Swallow Richards was a trailblazer in science for women, primarily interested in using her knowledge of chemistry to benefit the health and safety of the average person. Ellen enrolled in Vassar College in her mid-twenties where she obtained both a bachelors and masters degree. As a woman, she was classified as a “special student” by the college, but she had the encouragement of Maria Mitchell (previous post) behind her. Ellen had difficulty finding work in her field of chemistry, so she applied instead to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, becoming the first women to be admitted. During her time at MIT, she became aware of increasing tensions between those who supported feminism and those who didn’t and of the poverty, filth, and diseases that filled the city. Ellen became an unpaid instructor at the laboratory for women at MIT built by the Women’s Education Association where she taught chemistry, biology, and mineralogy to bright young women. She also became an instructor at the Lawrence Experiment Station which was built to study the sanitation of Massachusetts’ water supply and established the first water quality standards and modern sewage treatment plant in the country. She continued to study the sanitation of water, air, food, and even materials and desired to apply the principles of science to everyday life through what she called “home economics.” To Ellen, if women were to be the ones who prepared meals and cleaned house, they should be well versed in how to prepare food in a safe and nutritious manner and how to keep a house free of diseases. Many believed that to educate women was to remove them from their traditional roles, but Ellen believed the two realms of education and domesticity could coexist happily. She was also living proof of what the female mind was capable of, and she hoped improved household efficiency would allow women more time to pursue other activities. Ellen Swallow Richards was not only a pioneer in science and a promoter of higher education for women, but she was also a scientist who used chemistry FOR women’s benefits, both by improving sanitation for everything we consume or touch and also by making domestic work a little easier. It may seem a small thing to us now, but even accepting that women should understand science at all was a big step toward toward equal rights and opportunities.

Today, be inspired to…Support women, whatever choice they make. We fought for the right to choose, whether we want to be CEOs, artists, teachers, doctors, homemakers, soldiers, or politicians, and it isn’t right that we judge each other so harshly on our choices. We’re all different, and we’re all always going to prefer different lifestyles.

Photo credit: chemheritage.org

Jane Addams

Jane Addams was a humanitarian who poured her heart and energy into community improvement and various social causes and was also the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Inspired by her parents work in charity and politics, she had a deep desire to help the poor but was initially uncertain of how to do so. She envisioned a society where everyone had a voice, from children and women to the downtrodden and disadvantaged, and where learning, community, and equality were valued. Jane set out to accomplish this dream by founding a settlement house called Hull House with the help of a friend. The purpose of Hull House and the twenty-five women who lived there was to give back to and improve the community around them by offering every sort of community service from night classes to further adult education and childcare for working parents to a library and a gym. The house promoted the study of social work, the development of the arts, and research and education of absolutely all sorts. Jane emphasized equality and democracy and encouraged women to take an interest in politics. In addition to running Hull House, she also gave lectures frequently to promote her ideas of education, peace, and suffrage outside of her community as well. Jane Addams was an all-around advocate for every issue needing promotion and person needing help, and she focused her work on a community that needed her, knowing that the way to building a better tomorrow starts right on your own neighborhood with the people you share your life with.

Today, be inspired to…Invest in your own community. If you’re going to live there, try to make it a nicer place for yourself and for others.

Photo credit: adorablewall.com

Jeannette Rankin

Many past entries have been about women fighting for their right to be heard by their representatives in government—now it’s time to hear about a woman who took it a step further and became that representative herself. Jeannette Rankin was the first woman elected to Congress, first elected in 1916 before American women were even allowed to vote. Jeannette became involved in politics through the women’s suffrage movement, organizing for the New York Women’s Suffrage Party and lobbying for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She credited problems within the government to a lack of female involvement, feeling women provided a necessary balance toward peace and conflict resolution. After her election to Congress, Jeannette voted against entering World War I, feeling she must promote peace when given the chance. After her first term, she took time off and was not elected again until 1940. When World War II struck, she again voted against being a part of it, the only congress-person to do so, and suffered quite a bit of outrage over her stance. Both when serving in Congress and not, she was a devout promoter of peace, giving lectures on pacifism, acting as a lobbyist for the National Council for the Prevention of War, and even studying the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi in India. She was also a supporter of Civil Rights, feminism, and the ending of child labor. Jeannette Rankin broke ground for American women by becoming the first woman elected to Congress, and she used her position there to promote her ideas of peace, equal rights, and protection for the those who needed it most.

Today, be inspire to…Stick to your guns, even when people don’t like it. Even if an angry mob forces you to hide in a phone booth because you voted “no” on entering a war, hold with what you believe in.

Photo credit: biography.com

Mary Kay Ash

You might laugh a little at the idea of a woman who sold cosmetics changing the world, but Mary Kay Ash deserves recognition as the entrepreneur and businesswoman she was. Frustrated at being passed over for promotions in favor of male colleagues at the business where she worked, Mary Kay formulated her own ideas about business and turned them into her plan for Mary Kay Cosmetics. Mary Kay built a company that allowed women to work for themselves at whatever level they desired. Her policy was always to praise and inspire and to use business as a way to build self-esteem and self-reliance. The program had built-in incentives that rewarded and encouraged hard work—top-selling consultants even received pink Cadillacs! Mary Kay’s business was so successful in part because of the company’s unique design, but also because of her wholesome business practices that attracted so many consultants. Mary Kay believed that God and family should come first, then business; and that the golden rule applied in all situations. Mary Kay Ash took her disappointment at the sexism in business along with her marketing knowledge and people skills and created a company where women could work and succeed in a positive environment. Her intention was to build a company that would allow the average wife and mother to be her own boss, an opportunity denied to most women at that point. It takes a lot of guts to put everything you have into a start-up business, and a lot of business savvy to make it work. Mary Kay was fortunate not only in her success but also in her ability to use her natural charisma and personality to win that success. She hoped that she inspired not only the women who worked for her company, but also their children as they watched their mothers work hard and achieve so much as independent and prosperous businesswomen. She’s certainly an excellent inspiration to any woman wanting to start and run her own businesses.

Today, be inspired to…Support female entrepreneurs, and support raises and promotions based on merit and not on gender.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell began her professional career teaching at a school she ran with her sisters in Ohio, but though she greatly enjoyed self-improvement and education itself, teaching just wasn’t the right job for her. Inspired by an ill friend, Elizabeth began to look into become a physician, noting that many women would feel more comfortable being tended by a female doctor and believing that a woman’s natural instincts would be beneficial to the job. Overcoming her natural squeamishness was a challenge, but Elizabeth began to study anatomy privately as she struggled to find a medical school that would accept her. She was finally admitted to Geneva Medical College almost by chance and became classmate to a group of men who became curiously quiet and well-behaved in her presence. Elizabeth worked at an almshouse to gain experience during her school years, and graduated with a thesis written on typhus. After continuing her education in Europe where she unfortunately lost the sight in one eye in a medical accident, she decided to open her practice in America. Along with two other women, she opened the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children which also boasted women on its board of trustees. Elizabeth would go on to assist the Union during the Civil War and to open a medical school for women in London. Elizabeth was met with opposition every step of the way on her journey to becoming a doctor—schools refused to teach her, doctors refused to work with her, even the male physicians on the battlefields rejected her assistance, and many places she went would only allow her to work if she limited herself to traditionally feminine tasks like midwifery. Yet she persisted in her goal to become a physician, and she lived to see changes begin for women in medicine. By the time she retired, she had seen several women complete medical school and become doctors and had mentored young hopefuls. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America to be granted a medical degree, and she opened the door for many bright, eager women to follow in her footsteps.

Today, be inspired to…Be persistent. Goals are achievable, but sometimes they can take some time to happen.

Photo credit: history.com

Maria Mitchell

Maria Mitchell was a pioneer in the field of astronomy for women. Her parents encouraged both her education and her interest in astronomy from her early childhood. When she was twelve, her father helped her calculate the timing of an annual eclipse, sparking a life-long interest in studying the skies. In 1847, Maria used a telescope to discover a comet too distant to be seen with the naked eye, an achievement that won her a gold medal from King Frederick VII of Denmark and made her the third woman to discover a comet. Next Maria became the first female elected fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She worked for the Nautical Almanac Society for a time where she studied the planet Venus, then became the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College where she was also director of the observatory. And Maria wasn’t just a gifted astronomer–she also fully believed in equal rights and equal pay for women. When she found out she was being paid less than younger, less experience male colleagues, she firmly insisted the situation be rectified. The college complied and raised her salary to the appropriate level. In addition to her feminist views, Maria also supported abolition and avoided the use of products produced by slave labor. Maria Mitchell was an impressive woman for her intelligence, her moral convictions, and her decision to choose a unique and male-dominated field because it’s what she loved to do. Maria followed her passion, and it led her straight to the stars—or at least to a comet.

Today, be inspired to…Do what you love to do. That’s really all that matters.

Photo credit: wikipedia

Marie Curie

Marie Sklodowska-Curie was a ground-breaking scientist and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Born in Poland and educated in France, Marie made many discoveries in the field of radioactivity, a concept so new she had to invent a name for it. She discovered two new elements, polonium and radium, and invented techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, which she then used to study neoplasms. She used an electrometer developed by herself, her husband, and her brother-in-law in a small, unofficial lab made from a shed to measure the activity of uranium and thorium. She also discovered that radium could destroy tumor cells, and when World War I struck, she used her knowledge of radioactivity to give medical aid. Marie took x-rays, developed mobile units for moving equipment, and used radium to sterilize wounds. As a director for the Red Cross, she set up a radiology center in France, equipped vehicles and field hospitals with radiology units, and trained people to use them. Her first Nobel Prize in 1903 was shared, but her second in 1911 was hers alone, and she became the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. Marie endured much hardship to receive so high an education, and she was rarely aided by money and a suitable laboratory to do her experiments. She made her discoveries out of the sheer brilliance of her mind and the determination of her spirit, and of course with the encouragement of her husband Pierre. The contributions Marie Curie made to science are staggering, but less mentioned and equally notable is her contribution to the wounded in WWI. She not only used her knowledge to help, but also used her Nobel Prize money to buy war bonds. Another unnoticed contribution lies with her influence on her own daughter, Irene Joliot-Curie, who followed in her mother’s scientific footsteps. Marie deserves recognition for being an excellent and inspiring role model to the person she had the most influence over–her daughter–and she remains a great inspiration for girls interested in science today.

Today, be inspired to…Inspire your daughter or another girl in your life. You’re always someone’s example, so be a good one.

Photo credit: Planet Science

Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly was the nom de plume of Elizabeth Cochrane, an intense and outspoken journalist. Nellie get her start in journalism after writing a sharp retort to a newspaper article that so impressed the editor that he hired her to write a column for the paper, where she first invented her pseudonym. Displeased with the light, feminine topics the paper assigned to her when she wanted to write more meaningful pieces about the working woman’s trials, Nellie went to Mexico in search of serious journalism. She left Mexico after six months under threat of imprisonment for her somewhat impudent remarks and returned to America seeking a new position. Little did she know her next story would make her as a reporter. Under directions from New York World, she feigned insanity so well that she was committed to an asylum for the purpose of investigating the treatment of the patients within. From the inside, she was able to witness the deplorable conditions that the mental patients were kept in, including inedible food, dirty water, unhygienic living areas, and the rats that ran unchecked. She was also horrified by the treatment of the wards as they were abused by staff, tied up, and denied basic human comforts. After ten days in the asylum, Nellie was released and published her shocking discoveries. The country was so aghast at her story that a formal investigation was launched into the running of asylums, and changes were made to how they operated and screened patients for admission in the future. One hit assignment wasn’t enough for Nellie though—her next venture would be to attempt to travel around the world in eighty days, writing home during her trip. She made the almost solo journey in seventy-two days, setting a new record. That would not be quite the end of Nellie’s career, though she would take some time off for family before writing again about women’s suffrage and World War I. As a reporter, Nellie Bly was excellent at using her voice to bring attention to a problem. Her discoveries in the asylum moved authorities to make a change in the treatment of patients. She wrote about what was meaningful to her, and she spoke unafraid of how people might respond, a true kind of conviction and courage.

Today, be inspired to…Speak up! For yourself or for others, use your voice (or pen) when you know something is wrong.

Photo credit: nellieblyonline.com

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was never much of a girly girl. She preferred to be outside, and it was watching planes outside as a child that first made her want to fly. After her first plane ride, she was determined to learn to pilot, but there would be many years of nursing, college, and social work before she made it back to the skies. She purchased her first two-seater bi-plane and christianed it “The Canary” for its bright yellow color. Amelia started setting records right away, starting with the highest altitude for a female pilot. Next she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, a significant accomplishment given that three other women had died attempting the same feat in the last year. The journey took her twenty-one hours, but it sealed her fame. To top her last achievement, Amelia then became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo, an accomplishment completed previously only by Charles Lindbergh. More records for altitudes and solo flights would pile up for Amelia, as would the accolades and awards. Amelia’s last attempt at making history was a flight around the world, most of which she completed. Unfortunately, close to the end of her journey, bad weather hindered her navigation, and radio problems prevented her from taking her landing cues from ground support. Both Amelia and her plane vanished near Howland Island, never to be seen again. Amelia Earhart was an amazing pilot, and an inspiring woman, but what I find most notable about her was her determination as a child. She kept newspaper clippings about women working in traditionally male occupations, she didn’t care to adhere to what little girls were supposed to like, and she knew as a child what she wanted to do one day. The fact that women generally did not fly planes meant nothing to her—she wanted to fly, so she did. She’s a great example to all our daughters to pursue their dream and never be told they can’t because they are girls.

Today, be inspired to…Encourage a young girl pursuing a male-dominated field, sport, or occupation. Tell her there is nothing that she cannot do.

Photo credit: Biography.com