5 Women To Celebrate For Women's History Month
The achievements of women are all something to be acknowledged.
March marks the beginning of Women's History Month: a celebration of the achievements and contributions of women throughout history. There are so many women who have made an impact on history as we know it, but so many of them don't get talked about. We all know about women like Greta Thunburg, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earheart, and Helen Keller. Today, in no particular order, I'll be shedding light on five underrated women whose contributions to society are not as talked about as they should be.
01. Doctor Kizzmekia Corbett, Ph.D.
Doctor Kizzy Corbett is an immunologist at Harvard University. She was born on January 26, 1986, in North Carolina, where she had a large amount of step and foster siblings. In 2008, after graduating from the University of Maryland, Kizzmekia received a B.S in Science and Sociology. In 2014, she received a ph.D in microbiology and immunology. From 2009 - 2014, she studied the response of human antibodies to dengue fever in Sri Lankan children, and obtained research working as an immunologist. In December 2021, she was assigned by the mayor to Boston's Covid-19 committee.
Doctor Kizzy was the leader of the team of immunologists that created and tested the Moderna vaccine, which was shown to be more than 91% effective. Since 2002, she has received at least eight awards and honours for her work in the scientific community, and she was mentioned in USA Today's Women of The Year List in 2022.
02. Grace Hopper
Grace Hopper was a computer scientist, mathematician, and rear admiral in the navy. She was born in New York City in 1906, and had two younger siblings. Grace was always fascinated by technology, and was banned from owning clocks after she dismantled several of them at the age of seven, wanting to see how they fit together. At seventeen years old, Grace was admitted to Vassar College in New York, where she graduated from in 1928 with degrees in mathematics and physics. In 1934, after receiving two master's degrees from Yale University and publishing a dissertation, Grace got her Ph.D in mathematics.
During the second world war, Grace enlisted into the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve and attended school. She became a lieutenant and worked as part of the navy's computer programming staff. In 1949, she helped develop the UNIVAC 1 - the first general purpose electronic computer. As a woman in the field of technology in the 1960's, Grace was regularly undermined and underestimated by her male colleagues and superiors - but she stood her ground, and became the company's first director of automatic programming in 1954.
At the time of her retirement at seventy nine years old, Grace was the oldest active-duty officer in the USA. After her death in 1992, she was buried with full military honours. Over the course of her life, she was awarded with at least thirty nine different awards: nine of which were from her time in the military.
03. Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was a social reformer, statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. She became known during her time working as a nurse during the Crimean War in the 1950's, in which she organized care for wounded soldiers. Florence was born in Italy in 1820 to a wealthy, upper-class family, and had humanitarian parents who greatly influenced her decision to care for others. She and her sister, Parthenope, were educated by their father, who believed in the importance of education for women.
Florence traveled great distances between Europe, and as far as the Middle East, with companions she met along the way. She received medical training in Germany, and later became superintendent at the Institute for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in London, which was later renamed to Nightingale Hospital. In the mid-to-late 1950's, Florence helped tend to wounded soldiers at an army barrack in Turkey, where the medical staff was overworked and the medical supplies were severely lacking.
Later in her career, Florence set up the first nursing school in London, England, where she wrote several books on nursing and mentored aspiring medical students. She passed away in her sleep in 1910, at the age of 90.
04. Angela Davis
Angela Davis is a political activist, author, philosopher, and professor at the University of California. She was born in Alabama in 1944, and attended university in Frankfurt under the guidance of philosopher Herbert Marcuse. In the 1980's, she was a professor of ethics at San Francisco State University, and was a two-time candidate for vice-president of the communist party, of which she was a devout member.
In the 1940's, Angela attended a segregated elementary school in Birmingham, Alabama, and lived in a neighbourhood that was known for its bombing of homes. She was involved as a child in her church's youth group, and participated in Girl Scouts, with whom she rallied against racial segregation. After completing high school, Angela got a university scholarship, and later received a master's degree and a doctorate. In 1970, weapons belonging to Angela were used in the murders of four people, and an arrest warrant was put out for her. She fled the state, and was found guilty later by an all-white jury, despite having no involvement in the crimes.
After spending more than a year in prison, Angela was released on bail of $100,000, which was paid by members of the community. She attended a second trial, was found not guilty, and went on to travel giving speeches and become a lecturer. In 1997, Angela came out as lesbian after divorcing her husband. In 2019, it was announced that a biopic would be released about her life.
05. Golda Meir
Born in 1898, Golda Meir was an Israeli politician and teacher, who was active as prime minister during the Yom Kippur War. She was Israel's first and only female leader, as well as the first female head of state in the Middle East, and was extremely successful and well-liked during her time as prime minister. Golda was born to a Jewish family in Russia, and had two sisters, as well as five other siblings that died in childhood. From 1906 - 1912, Golda attended Fourth Grade Street School, which has since been renamed in her honour.
In high school. Golda became an active member of youth groups, spoke at public meetings, and embraced socialism. After marrying her husband in 1917, Golda planned to move to Palestine, but was unable to due to the start of the first world war. In 1921, she and her husband travelled to Jerusalem, where they had two children. Golda played an integral part in the Palestine War and the establishment of Israel. Shortly before the war began, she met with the King of Jordan, who was the only Arab leader willing to ally with Israel at the time.
In 1956, after becoming Foreign Minister, Golda changed her surname from her married name of Meyerson to Meir due to the requirements of the foreign service to adopt a Hebrew surname. In 1974, Golda was awarded the honour of World Mothers by American Mothers, and an award for Distinguished Public Service. In 1975, she received the Israel Prize for her contributions to society and the state of Israel. On December 08, 1978, Golda died of lymphatic cancer at the age of 80.
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ghostsandrebels
i'm a a queer writer, poet, cat lover, and author. i'm passionate about psychology, human rights, and creating places where lgbt+ youth and young adults feel safe, represented, and supported.
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Comments (1)
Stellar list! Thank you for this :)