Top 10 Female Trailblazers They Didn't Teach You About In School

Abandoned by her husband and with a young son to support, Williamina took a job as a maid for Professor Edward Charles Pickering, the director of the Harvard College Observatory. In 1881, he hired her to assist with clerical work, declaring that she could do better than his incompetent team. He wasn’t wrong. She discovered almost 400 celestial objects during her newfound career, most notably the Horsehead Nebula and the first white dwarf. Her methods for classifying stars by brightness and size are still used today. She even led her own female team, which became known as the “Harvard Computers.” Speaking of computers, Ada Lovelace is another name you should know. Due to her work in the 1840s, she’s widely considered the first computer programmer.

Jemison’s story is phenomenal even before we get to her space adventure. At just 16, she attended Stanford University, and during her senior year, deliberated between a career in dance or attending medical school. She chose the latter. Her medical career and time in the Peace Corps took her all over the world, but there was another destination on her bucket list. So, in 1987 she took a chance and applied for NASA. In 1992, she embarked on the STS-47 mission, becoming the first Black woman to travel into space. Later, the “Star Trek” fan also became the first real-life astronaut to appear on the popular sci-fi series.

If the name “Herschel” rings a bell, you might be familiar with the work of Caroline’s brother William. Sadly, Caroline never escaped her brother’s shadow despite being a pioneer for female scientists. In addition to assisting her brother with his calculations and developing better telescopes, she also made discoveries of her own, including eight comets. In 1787, at the behest of King George III, she became the first female scientist to receive a salary. She was also the first woman to hold a government position in the United Kingdom and to publish her findings in the “Philosophical Transactions” of the Royal Society.

Nicknamed “The Mother of the Movement,” Clark used her role as an educator to empower Black communities. After losing her job for refusing to renounce the NAACP, she was hired by Tennessee’s Highlander Folk School, which supported the movement and was pro-integration. She created the Citizenship Schools that revolutionized education in the South. As the school’s program director, she used literacy classes to teach Black Americans about their citizenship and voting rights. Some of her most celebrated students included Fannie Lou Hamer, Diane Nash, and Rosa Parks. If we’re talking about Parks by the way, we have to mention 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her seat on the bus about nine months before Parks did.

In 1942, a 21-year-old graduate from Clark University was hired to join the OSS Map Division in what’s known today as the CIA. According to the organization’s records, she was the first woman employed in this sector. Her job entailed gathering intelligence to create maps that assisted military strategy during the war. She and her team developed new, detailed maps and 3D topographic models. It’s reported that their innovation helped the Allied forces invade occupied Italy. Following its success, these maps were in high demand by military leaders. Even after the war ended and her division was dissolved, she continued working for the CIA until 1958.

A lot of what we know today about genetics and DNA can be credited to this microbiologist. She discovered the bacterial virus Lambda Phage, and changed our understanding of genetics and antibiotic resistance. She also pioneered genetic engineering lab techniques. Of course, when it came to public recognition, her husband and their two research partners won the Nobel Prize in 1958. Esther was overlooked, even though much of this work couldn’t have been achieved without her. Sadly, she spent most of her career eclipsed by her husband. Likewise, geneticist Nettie Stevens uncovered the X and Y sex chromosomes; but sole credit was given to a man. Eventually though, she became one of the first American women recognized for her contribution to science.

“The First Lady of Physics” and “Queen of Nuclear Research” were just some of the nicknames given to this incredible Chinese-American physicist. In 1944, she was invited by J. Robert Oppenheimer to join the Manhattan Project. Her role was mainly focused on detecting radiation, but she was also part of the team that worked out how to split uranium. Later, she teamed up with physicists Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang to prove their theory regarding nuclear interactions. Sadly, when they won the Nobel, she was omitted. This was also the case for Lise Meitner, who helped figure out how to split atoms, the principle behind nuclear technology.

To the public, Heddy was a Hollywood star and “the most beautiful woman in the world.” But her real passion was inventing, and she was always looking for ways to improve the world. During World War II, she took her self-taught skills and joined the war effort. Along with composer George Antheil, she received a patent for a “Secret Communication System” that would change frequencies to prevent enemies from decoding messages. Unfortunately, the military didn’t really get it and passed. But without her, we wouldn’t have the wireless communications we depend on today. Another forgotten wartime trailblazer you should know about is the German Jewish photographer Gerda Taro. She was arrested for opposing the Nazis and became a dedicated front-line photographer covering the Spanish Civil War until her untimely passing.

The early twentieth century saw several notable women taking to the skies. In 1910, journalist Lilian Bland designed, built, and flew an airplane, becoming the first woman to do so. That same year, Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman to receive a pilot’s license. Eleven years later, in 1921, Bessie Coleman, nicknamed “Queen Bess”, became the first black woman and Native-American to acquire a pilot license. She was quite the celebrity, renowned for her daring airshows. Her goal was to help others like herself realize their dreams too. Also, shout out to Beverley Bass, who in 1986 became American Airlines’ first female captain. The sky’s the limit, ladies! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Keumalahayati, The First Female Admiral of the Modern World Remembered for Leading the Early Resistance Against the Dutch in Southeast Asia Alice Hamilton, a Pioneer in Occupational Health She Documented the Impacts of Harmful Chemicals, Saving Countless Lives Claudia Jones, Activist & Founder of Britain’s First Major Black Community Newspaper Also Remembered as the “Mother” of the Notting Hill Carnival Mary Kenner, Inventor of the Adjustable Sanitary Belt Due to Racism, It Took 30 Years to Get a Patent Marsha P. Johnson, A Leading LGBTQ+ Activist A Founding Member of the Gay Liberation Front & Advocate for Those Living with HIV/AIDS

Yes, in 1947, Daly was awarded a Ph.D. in chemistry by Columbia University. As impressive as that is, it’s what she did with it that’s even more incredible. With a keen interest in the human body’s chemistry, Daly focused her groundbreaking research around digestion, proteins, sugar, and cholesterol. She was among the first to identify risk factors in heart disease, especially related to blood pressure. Later in her career, Daly also examined the circulatory system, including the impacts of smoking. The biochemist would go on to further re-established the industry’s understanding of DNA. Given her own experience with prejudice, Daly advocated for other minority students in the STEM fields. Like all the women on this list, she teaches us that no glass ceiling is unbreakable.