City Of Fort Worth: Women's History Month: Discovery Makers

Press release from City of Fort Worth:

March 02, 2022

Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society and has been observed annually in March in the United States since 1987. In the spirit of that mission, each Wednesday this month, we’ll feature female history-makers from all walks of life in hopes that their stories will inspire you all year long to learn more about and celebrate the accomplishments of other women.

This week’s history-makers are women who made discoveries.

Wang Zhenyi was born during the early-Qing dynasty China, a time when women had no legal rights and women’s education was largely limited to prescribed duties such as cooking and child-rearing. And yet, in her tragically short life – she died at 29 – Wang Zhenyi became an accomplished astronomer, mathematician, textbook writer and poet.

A largely self-taught scientist, Wang Zhenyi worked to ensure that mathematical knowledge was easily understood by students and other readers. She wrote at least a dozen books that include expositions and explanations of mathematical theorems such as the Pythagorean Theorem and trigonometry, articles on her astronomy research and even original poetry that expressed her progressive ideas on wealth and gender inequality in her society.

Although most of Wang Zhenyi’s scientific and literary works have been lost to time, in 2002 her achievements were recognized by the International Astronomical Union by naming a crater on Venus after her.

Source: Massive Science 

Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person – man or woman – to win the prestigious award twice and for two separate sciences.

As a child, Curie took after her father, a math and physics instructor. She had a bright and curious mind and excelled at school. But despite being a top student in her secondary school, Curie could not attend the male-only University of Warsaw. She instead continued her education in Warsaw’s “floating university,” a set of underground, informal classes held in secret.

She worked as a tutor and governess until she was able to save enough money to move to Paris to attend the Sorbonne in 1891, where she earned degrees in physics and math and later became the institution’s first female professor.

Curie discovered radioactivity, and, together with her husband, Pierre, the radioactive elements polonium and radium while working with the mineral pitchblende. She also championed the development of X-rays after Pierre’s death.

The famed scientist died in 1934 of aplastic anemia, likely caused by exposure to radiation.

Source: Biography.com 

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, famous in the 1930s for her upbeat electric guitar playing style, is the original godmother of rock ‘n’ roll music. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 and recognized for her contributions in paving the way for other artists in the industry.

She grew up in a small town in Arkansas and was raised in the Pentecostal church, where she honed her talent in music during tent revivals and church gatherings. In the 1930s, Tharpe started making a name when she moved to New York, where she performed in the city’s nightclubs. In 1938, she became famous for her record called “Rock Me.” Her 1945 recording “Strange Things Happening Every Day” is considered the first gospel song that bridged the “race” (later called “R&B”) charts after it reached No. 2.

Tharpe’s fame was sustained until the 1950s, when she could fill arenas with thousands of fans who wanted to watch her perform on stage with her electric guitar. By the 1960s, a new generation of musicians seemed to have overshadowed her fame. Still, she went to Europe to perform for new audiences in London and Liverpool.

Tharpe died in 1973 at the age of 58. Even though her name was somehow forgotten by most people, her influence is very much alive.

Source: Black History 

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This press release was produced by City of Fort Worth. The views expressed here are the author’s own.