Women - Women's Innovations

Rita Levi-Montalcini

🔬 Neurobiology

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🔬 Neurobiology

1986, won Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Stanley Cohen for the discovery of nerve growth factor
Served in the Italian Senate as a Senator for Life from 2001 until her death in 2012
died at age 103 & is the longest living Nobel laureate
Had a twin sister Paola who was a painter
After seeing a close family friend die of stomach cancer, she decided to be a doctor instead of a writer
Lost her job as an assistant in the anatomy department at the University of Turin after a 1938 law barred Jews from holding university positions was passed
During WWII she set up a lab in her bedroom to study the growth of nerve fibers in chicken embryos
Survived the Holocaust when her family fled to Florence in September 1943 & lived under false identities with the help & protection of some non-Jewish friends
worked for Prof. Viktor Hamburger in his lab at Washington University in St. Louis for 30 years
1963, 1st female recipient of the Max Weinstein Award
She could trace her family's Jewish roots to the Roman Empire
At age 94 she sued Beppe Grillo, an Italian comedian, actor, blogger, & politician, for calling her an "old whore"

Born: 1909

Country: Italy

Education: University of Turin Medical School MD 1936

Dorothy Levitt

🔍 Race Car Driver

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Alexis Lewis

💡 Inventor

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Lilian Leonora Burwell Lewis

🔍 Zoology 🔍 Endocronology

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Ida Lewis

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Judith Leyster

🎨 Art 🤖 Painting

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Kitty Liao

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Chekesha M. Liddell-Watson

🔬 Materials Science

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Dorothy Liebes

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Candy Lightner

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Frances S. Ligler

🔬 Biochemistry ⚛️ Bioengineering

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🔬 Biochemistry ⚛️ Bioengineering

Her work on optical biosensors made it easier to detect toxins & pathogens in food, water, or when airborne
Holds 49 patents
Spent 33 years working in industrial & government research labs
Grew up training horses oh her grandfather's farm
Holds 2 PhDs
Went into biochemistry because "I like doing things with my hands & finding out about life in a hands-on way"
Made optical biosensors smaller, more versatile, & more automated
Developed the underlying technology for RAPTOR, a portable, automated biosensor used by NATO & to test water deliveries to US Navy ships

Born: 1951

Country: USA

Education: 1977 D.Phil.. Biochemistry, Oxford University; 1972 B.S. Biology-Chemistry, Furman University; 2000 Oxford University PhD Biosensor Technology

Maya Lin

🔍 Architecture

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Lisa Z. Lindahl

💡 Inventor 💼 entrepreneur

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💡 Inventor 💼 entrepreneur

Co-inventor of the sports bra (Jogbra) in 1977 with Hinda Miller & Polly Smith
In 2001 with Dr. Lesli Bell, used sports bra technology to patent a chest compression garment for breast cancer patients (Belisse Compressure Comfort Bra)
Developed educational material to raise awareness of truncal lymphedema, an under diagnosed problem effecting a significant percentage of breast cancer survivors
Was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 4; works to raise awareness about it
Is an accomplished visual artist & writer
Met Polly smith in 8th grade when both lived in Montclair, NJ
In 1977 was jogging 30 mile/week
Her given name is Eugenie
Holds a Master's degree in culture & spirituality from Holy Names University
Holds 10 patents

Born: 1948

Country: USA

Education: Vernon court Junior College; University of Vermont, BS Education 1977;MA Culture & Spirituality, Holy Names University 2007; Advanced Program of Shamanic Studies

Lilian Lindsay

🔍 Dentistry 🔍 Librarian 🔍 Historian

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Helen Ling

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Barbara Jane Liskov

💻 Computer Science

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Yang Liu

🔭 Aerospace

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Naomi Livesay French

📊 Mathematics

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Ruth Smith Lloyd

🔍 Anatomy 📚 Educator

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Rachel Holloway Lloyd

🔬 Chemistry

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Erica Lockheimer

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Belva Ann Lockwood

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Elizabeth Fishman Loftus

🔍 Psychology

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🔍 Psychology

Her experiments reveal how memories can be changed by things we are told (Misinformation effect)
Is an instrumental figure in cognitive psychology
Has provided expert testimony or consultation for attorneys in over 300 court cases including the legal teams for Ghislaine Maxwell, Harvey Weinstein, Ted Bundy, O.J.Simpson, Angelo Buono, & Robert Durst
Is a very controversial figure in her field
Her mother drowned when she was 14
1075, provided the 1st expert witness testimony in Washington State on the topic of eyewitness identification
Following the 1994 publication of her book, "The Myth of Repressed Memory," she received death threats; armed guards accompanied her at lectures

Born: 1944

Country: USA

Education: UCLA Ba Mathematics & Psychology 1966; Stanford University MA Psychology 1967, PhD Psychology 1970

Sarah Marinda Loguen Fraser

🔍 Pediatrics

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Irene Deihart Long

🔭 Aerospace Medicine

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Susan Love

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Ada Lovelace

📊 Mathmatics

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📊 Mathmatics

1st computer programmer
Her father was Lord Byron, the poet; she was his only legitimate child
Her mother refused to let her see a portrait of her father until her 20th birthday; she had no relationship with her father who died when she was 8 because her mother feared she would inherit his wantonness & insanity
At age 12 she became fixated on learning how to fly & studied the anatomy of birds, ultimately writing a book called "Flyology"
She became a Countess through marriage
She had a gambling habit & accumulated huge debts
she died at age 36 of uterine cancer; she was the same age as her father when he died & was buried next to him

Born: 1815

Country: Great Britain

Education: Had private tutors including William Frend, William King, Augustus De Morgan & Mary Somerville

Jeanie Low

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Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon Low

🔍 Philanthropy

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🔍 Philanthropy

formed her own group of Girl Guides in London in 1911
her birthday, October 31, is celebrated annually by the Girl Scouts as "Founder's Day" nicknamed Daisy
her mother was Eleanor "Nellie" Lytle Kinzie, a writer whose family played a role in the founding of Chicago
as a young child, she was accident-prone and had numerous injuries and illnesses
in 1866 she broke two of her fingers so severely her parents considered having them amputated
had frequent earaches and recurring bouts of malaria
developed partial hearing loss as a child
at her wedding a grain of rice thrown in celebration landed in her left ear and led to an infection & when it was removed her ear drum was accidentally punctured leading to permanent deafness in that ear
as a child she started a newspaper, the Malbone Bouquet, with her cousins which featured some of her early poetry
formed The Helpful Hands Club with her cousins, with the goal of helping others & they learned to sew & made clothing for Italian immigrants
was dubbed "Crazy Daisy" by her family and friends, due to her eccentricities
began boarding school by age 12 & attended several different ones during her teen years
While studying at Edgehill School she joined the secret group Theta Tau
1880 took painting lessons in New York
before marrying she travelled in Europe & learned several new skills, including shorthand, bareback riding, and hunting partridge
after marrying in 1886 she lived i London & Scotland
designed and built iron gates for her home in Warwickshire, UK
devoted time to charity work, including regular visits to a woman with leprosy; she also fed and cared for the poor in a nearby village, and joined the local nursing association
by 1901 was considering divorce due to her husband's affairs & the proceedings weren't completed when he died in 1905
funded most Girl Scout expenses herself
1915 wrote a new constitution that formed an executive committee and a National Council for the Girl Scouts & held the first National Council meeting under the new name, Girl Scouts, Inc. on June 10, 1915, and was elected the organization's founding president
1916 returned to England to fundraise and open a home for relatives of wounded soldiers, where she volunteered three nights per week
stepped down as the National President of the Girl Scouts in 1920 to devote more of her time to promoting Guiding and Scouting internationally
developed breast cancer in 1923 but kept it a secret
was buried in her Girl Scout uniform with a note in her pocket stating: "You are not only the first Girl Scout, but the best Girl Scout of them all."
Her tombstone reads "Now abideth faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love."
1965 her birthplace in Savannah Georgia was listed as a National Historic Landmark
donated a 7 acres of her family homestead as park in Savannah which bears her name
was an accomplished equestrian and athlete
encouraged girls to become self-reliant and independent, and she often promoted camping and outdoor adventures
designed the first Girl Scout uniform, which was a simple blue dress with a large sailor collar
was committed to inclusivity and actively promoted racial and cultural diversity within the Girl Scouts
was passionate about helping girls with disabilities and created a special Girl Scout troop for deaf girls
once sold her expensive pearls to fund Girl Scout activites
stood on her head at an early Scout board meeting, to display the new Girl Scout shoes that she was wearing
held 3 patents

Born: 1860

Country: USA

Education: Attended boarding & finishing schools in Virginia & New York completing her education in 1880

Elizabeth Low

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Ann Cole Lowe

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Josephine Shaw Lowell

🔍 Consumer’s League of the City of New York (CLCNY) 🔍 patterned after a similar English organization 🔍 to rally consumers to support better conditions for the workers who made the goods they bought.

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