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A cura di Dava Sobel

WOMEN IN SCIENCE
From astronomy to radioactivity:
women scientists as told by a Pulitzer Prize winner

Astronomy became an area of female employment in the late 19th century, thanks largely to Edward Pickering, director of Harvard Observatory in Cambridge. Pickering’s commitment to astrophotography brought astronomy into the college by making it a daily activity for his female staff, made up of ladies of all ages: mathematical experts, keen astronomers, or both. Although women were paid less than men for equal work, they were fully recognized for their discoveries and welcomed within professional bodies. Some thus earned a place of honor in the history of astronomy-Williamina Fleming, Antonia Maury, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Annie Jump Cannon, and Cecilia Payne. In contrast, Marie Curie was often regarded only as her husband’s assistant and despite her pioneering work in the new frontier of radioactivity for which she shared the Nobel Prize in physics with Pierre, The French Academy Of Sciences refused to admit her.

Dava Sobel is an American journalist specializing in popular science. She has written for “The New York Times”, “The New Yorker”, “Life”, and “Science Digest”. After the extraordinary success of Longitude, with which she won the Pulitzer Prize, she devoted herself to books full time. Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, The Secret of Copernicus and The Women Scientists Who Measured the Sky are available in BUR.