Women - Women's Innovations

Dorothy Jean Johnson Vaughan

📊 Mathmatics

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📊 Mathmatics

One of NASAs Hidden figures
Self-taught expert in FORTRAN
Head of NACAs (now NASAs) segregated West Area Computing Unit 1949-1953
Wrote a song, "Math Math"
Collaborated on a handbook for algebraic methods used for calculating machines
1st Black supervisor at NACA, taking over for a white woman who had died; originally "acting supervisor" for several years before given title of supervisor
Worked with Katherine Johnson & Mary Jackson on John Glenn's launch into orbit
Worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA 28 years; specialized in calculations for flight paths, the Scout Project, & computer programming

Born: 1910

Country: USA

Education: Wilberforce University BA Mathematics 1929

Itala Fulvia Villa

🔍 Architecture

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Lydia Villa-Komaroff

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Jeanne Villepreux-Power

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Carmela Vitale

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Diane von Furstenburg

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Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic

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Jess Wade

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Ruth Jones Graves Wakefield

💡 Inventor 🔍 Chef

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Christine M. Daily Walck

⚛️ Mechanical Engineering

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⚛️ Mechanical Engineering

Designed an exercise machine for use by astronauts in space
For 25 months was the co-host of RoboNation TV, a program established by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI)
Spent 8 years at Tactical Electronic Warfare Division-Vehicle Research Section of the US Naval Research Lab before joining the Mechanical Engineering Dept at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University as an Assistant Professor
Has extensive experience in unmanned vehicles, decoys, & biomechanics
Currently studies muscle function, human movement, enhanced medical protocols, & optimize human performance
Is an avid bodybuilder

Born: Unknown

Country: USA

Education: St. Petersburg College AA Engineering 2009; University of Maryland College Park PhD Aerospace Engineering 2015; Embry-Riddle University BS Mechanical Engineering 2011, MA Electromechanical Engineering 2013, PhD Mechanical Engineering 2019

Florence Wald

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Lillian Wald

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Madam C.J. Walker

💰 Finance

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💰 Finance

Founder of Madame CJ Walker Manufacturing Company
1st child in her family (5 siblings) to be born into freedom
1906, began marketing her cosmetics & hair products for African-American women door-to-door in Denver; moved the business to Philadelphia in 1908 & opened her 1st salon to train "hair culturists" in the Walker Method
1913, opened her business in Harlem, New York
Her company closed in 1981 but the brand was purchased in 2013 by Sundial Brands & her products are now available exclusively at SRecords, she is the 1st female self-made millionaire in america
Showed Black women how to budget, build their own business, & be financially independent
1917, established the national Beauty Culturists & Benevolent Association of Madame CJ Walker Agents
Held yearly conventions & gave awards to agent who raised the most money for charity
Her lavish estate in Irvington, NY named Villa Lewaro was a social gathering place for the African-American community
Was orphaned at age 7; lived with an older sister & her husband; began working as a domestic servant at age 10
Had 3 months of formal education
Married at age 14 to escape abuse from her brother-in-law; widowed 5 years later; remarried 1894 but left this husband in 1903; married 3rd husband 1906, divorced 1912
1888, moved to St. Louis with her daughter' her 3 brothers were barbers there; while she worked as a laundress, they taught her about hair care

Born: 1867

Country: USA

Education: no formal education

Mary Edwards Walker

🔍 Surgeon

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🔍 Surgeon

Only female recipient of the Medal of Honor
Frequently arrested for wearing men's clothing
1871, attempted to register to vote but was rejected
1st female surgeon in the US Army during the Civil War; was denied a commission because she was a female
Was captured by Confederate soldiers after crossing enemy lines to treat wounded civilians & accused of spying; was imprisoned for 4 months before being released in a prisoner exchange
Her Medal of Honor was revoked in 1917 because she was a civilian; she refused to return it & wore it every day until she died; medal was restored in 1977
Parents founded a school in Oswego, NY in the late 1830s so their 6 daughters could receive the same education as their only son
1855, when married, wore short skirts with trousers underneath, refused to include "obey" in her vows, & retained her last name-all considered radical at the time; divorced because her husband was unfaithful
Began wearing men's clothing during the Civil War because it was less restrictive & more sanitary than trailing long skirts though dirt

Born: 1832

Country: USA

Education: Falley Seminary 1850-52; Syracuse Medical College MD 1855; NY Hygeio-Therapuetic College 1862

Maggie Lena Walker

💰 Finance

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💰 Finance

Founder of richmond council of Colored Women
1904, was the leader of the Richmond Streetcar Boycott
Started 1st Girl Scout Troop for Black girls in the South
1903, 1st woman to charter a bank & serve as president of it, the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, VA
Her mother was a former slave
Her father's death was ruled a suicide but she believed he was murdered
Age 14, joined the Independent Order of St. Luke's, an African-American benevolent organization; held many high-ranking positions in the organization
1915, husband was killed by her son who had mistaken him for a burglar
After several mergers over the years, the bank still operates under the name Premier Bank
After an illness in 1928, was confined to a wheelchair

Born: 1864

Country: USA

Education: Richmond Colored Normal School H.S. Diploma 1883

Margaret Abigail Walker

✍️ author

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Candace Walker

🔍 Social Technologist

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Daria Walsh

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Mary Elizabeth Walton

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Chelsea Walton

📊 Mathematics 🔍 Noncommutative Algebra

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Miranda Wang

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Renee Wang

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Wang Wang Zhenzi

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Dawn N. Ward

🔬 Chemistry

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Jessica Lee Ware

🔬 Evolutionary Biology 🔍 Entomology

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Kate Warne

⚖️ Law Enforcement

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Alicia Nicki Washington

💻 Computer Science 📚 Educator

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Talitha M. Washington

📊 Mathematics

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Keri Waters

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Jessica Andrea Watkins

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Dorothy Waugh

🎨 Artist 🔍 Landscape Architect ✍️ Children's Book Author

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Annie Dodge Wauneka

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Michaelina Wautier

🎨 Art 🤖 Painting

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Katharine Way

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Jane Wells

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Alice Stebbins Wells

⚖️ Law Enforcement

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Ida B. Wells

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Margaret (Maggie) Werner-Washburne

🔬 Molecular Biology

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Marlyn Wescoff

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Gladys Mae Brown West

📊 Mathematics

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📊 Mathematics

Developed satellite geodesy models leading to GPS
Was one of NASAs Hidden Figures
Designed a program to determine the movements of Pluto in relation to Neptune (Project 29V)
Was the program manager for Seasat, an ocean surveillance satellite
Her parents were farmers in a sharecropper community
Was her high school valedictorian; received a full scholarship to Virginia State College (now Virginia State University)
Initially worked as a teacher in racially segregated schools
Applied for many government jobs but they were given to white men
1956, 4th black employee hired at US Naval Proving Grounds in Dahlgren, VA
Obtained a PhD in Public Administration at age 70 after recovering from a stroke
As a child worked on the family farm; saw education as a way out of farm work
Worked at Dahlgren 42 years

Born: 1930

Country: USA

Education: Virginia State College (now Virginia State University) BS 1952 & MA 1955, both in Mathematics University of Oklahoma 2nd MA Public Administration 1973 Virginia Polytechnic Institute PhD Public Administration & Policy Affairs 2000