IN 1953….Children with leukemia faced near-certain death…..until a chemist discovered a drug that brought them precious time…..Gertrude Elion was denied a PhD…..because she was a woman….but her systematic approach to drug design…..revolutionized medicine and saved countless lives…..
CLARA BROWN…..Was a pioneer, a community leader, a philanthropist….and the first African American woman to live in Denver, Colorado…..at the age of 56-years old, she became a real estate investor who established a successful laundromat chain during the Colorado Gold Rush in the 1800s…..she was born as a slave in Virginia in 1800…..but in 1856 she obtained her freedom because her master died and his will stipulated her freedom…..her family had been split up and sold off one by one to different owners……so Clara decided to search for them….especially her 4 children…..she headed west, moving from state to state while working as a cook and laundress…..after not being able to successfully find her family…..Clara decided to settle in Colorado in a town outside of Denver called Central City…..there, she opened a laundry business for gold miners…..in addition, she collected whatever gold dust came out of the miners’ pockets and made extra money by cooking and cleaning for them as well…….Clara was known for her generosity in the community….she denied herself any luxuries, and chose instead to help fund non-profit causes such as the construction of a local church…..over time, Clara expanded her laundry business to several locations…..and invested her earnings into real estate and mines….when she died, she owned quite a bit throughout the state of Colorado….building lots in Denver, houses in Central City, and mines in Boulder, Georgetown and Idaho Springs.
IN 1856….Eunice Foote discovered that carbon dioxide traps heat….predicting climate change….159 years before it became a global science…..she was barred from presenting her finding due to her gender.
ANNA JULIA COOPER….Was born into enslavement in 1858 in Raleigh, North Carolina….following her emancipation at age 9……Cooper set her sights on receiving an education…..in 1867, she became a student at the Saint Augustine Normal and Collegiate Institute in Raleigh……a school built specifically to educate formerly enslaved children…..in 1881, she enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio…..and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 1884 and received her master’s in 1887……both in Mathematics…..shortly after graduating, she took on a position as a math and science teacher at Washington High School (later M Street High School……and presently Dunbar High School) in Washington, DC…..she would go on to become principal of Washington High School…..where she set out to enhance vocational programs while also implementing college preparatory programs…..though teaching was often at the forefront of her mind, Cooper had extensive philosophies on a variety of pressing social topics…..her book, A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman in the South…..was published in 1892…..and is considered the first book length articulation of Black feminist theory, and notably, intersectionality……Cooper felt that Black women had a unique understanding of the world due to factors of both race and gender……and advocated for them to have the opportunity to get an education……Cooper’s work remains a guiding light for many……she advocated for better educational opportunities for her own community…..all while shedding light on the realities of the experiences of Black women……her work has been celebrated in many forms, such as within the U.S. passport where her quote….. “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class…..it is the cause of humankind…..the very birthright of humanity”……is highlighted…..it remains the only quote included in the U.S. passport from any woman.
A MOTHER CHANGED THE OLYMPIC GAMES…..Officials required all trainers to attend naked after….one mother snuck into the Olympic games…..disguised as a male trainer…..to see her son compete…..in ancient Greece, married women faced being thrown from a cliff….if caught watching athletes compete naked…..while unmarried virgins could watch with the Priestess of Demeter.
DURING THE CIVIL WAR…..Physician Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919)…..defied army prejudice by serving often unpaid….as a field doctor….in 1864 she finally secured a U.S. Army surgeon’s contract, and later…..after being captured while treating the wounded….she became the only woman ever….awarded the Medal of Honor.
KHUTULUN….(1260-1306)…..Great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan…..and daughter of the Central Asian ruler Kaidu….vowed to marry only a man who could beat her at Mongol wrestling….suitors lined up…..and lost….often forfeiting horses by the hundreds….chroniclers say she fought beside her father and remained undefeated…..she chose her own marriage later.
PATRICIA BATH…..Conceived a laser cataract treatment in 1986….by 1988, she patented her Laserphaco Probe….becoming the first African-American woman to secure a medical patent
IN 1699…..52-year-old naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian sold most of her work…..and sailed with her daughter to Dutch Suriname to watch insects alive….not pinned….for two years she traces eggs, larvae and a host of plants…..while she was sick….she published 1705’s Metamorphosis….a book of illustrations that reshaped entomology…..and inspired ecological thinking.