Discover the Women of the Hall

An astronomer who discovered a new comet in 1847, Maria Mitchell was the first woman named to membership in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She was also a founder of the Association for the Advancement of Women.

First woman and first Hispanic to be named Surgeon General of the United States. A pediatrician, Novello has used her position to alleviate suffering worldwide, especially for women and children.

Received the first diploma awarded by the nation’s first school of nursing. Richards dedicated her career to creating professional nurses training schools nationwide to improve both patient care and nurses’ skills.

Research biologist who identified that the “X” and “Y” chromosomes determined the sex of humans, ending scientific debate as to whether sex was determined by heredity or other factors. Stevens was a biology professor at Bryn Mawr College throughout her career.

The United States foremost pioneer in the development of midwifery and provision of care to rural areas. Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service.

Industrial engineer and expert in motion studies, Gilbreth was a pioneer in the relationship between engineering and human relations. She convinced managers that worker-efficiency is the result of the quality of the work environment.

First American woman to pilot a spacecraft. A math teacher at the Air Force Academy and test pilot, Collins served as pilot of the space shuttle Discovery during a mission to rendezvous with space station Mir. In July, 1999 she became NASA’s first female commander in space.

Physician best known for development of the Apgar Score in 1952. This system of simple tests is used to determine whether a newborn child requires special medical attention, and it has saved thousands of lives.

First woman to travel across the ice to the North and South Poles. She was the first woman to travel across Greenland on skis, and in 1993, was leader of the American Women’s Expedition, a group of four who skied more than 600 miles to the South Pole.

First U.S. woman and second woman ever to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Prize was awarded for developing the shell model of the nucleus of the atom, the basic model for the description of nuclear properties. Mayer was also a member of the team that first isolated fissionable uranium 235.

Author of numerous elegant essays, journals and other books. Lindbergh also excelled as co-pilot and navigator with her husband Charles on their historic flights to promote the development of international aviation.

Former dean of the Yale School of Nursing and founder of the Hospice movement in America, for which she was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Medical Sciences by Yale University in 1995. As a nurse, she went to Europe to study Hospice from the ground up.

First woman to chair the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the first African American woman to serve on the Commission. Elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for her contribution to physical science, she became an advocate for women in the areas of science, education and public policy. As Chair of NRC, she rearticulated the vision of the NRC to include reaffirmation of the basic health and safety mission of the agency.

First American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in science. Cori, along with her husband and Bernardo Houssay of Argentina, received the award in 1947 “for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen.” Their work, the first bioengineering of a large biological molecule in a test tube, became the foundation for our understanding of how cells use food and convert it to energy.

Nuclear physicist whose pioneering work altered modern physical theory and changed the accepted view of the structure of the universe.

A commercial, instrumental and multi-engine-rated pilot, Dr. Shannon Lucid was a member of the first astronaut class to admit women (1979). In her more than 30 year tenure with NASA, she served in various capacities and participated in five space flights. Dr. Lucid was the first woman to hold an international record for the most flight hours in orbit by any non-Russian, and, until June 2007, she held the record for the most flight hours in orbit by any woman in the world – 5,354 hours or 223 days in space.

First female surgeon in the U.S. Army, she continually crossed the Confederate lines to treat civilians. After being taken prisoner in 1864 and imprisoned in Richmond, she was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the first woman to receive this award. In 1917, her medal, along with 910 others, was taken away when Congress revised the standards to include only “actual combat with the enemy.” She refused to return the medal, wore it until her death, and it was finally awarded to her posthumously.

First nurse to hold the rank of Rear Admiral and the title of Deputy Surgeon General for the United States. She developed the first tested coronary care unit. A national pioneer in nursing research, she has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications and helped change the focus of nursing from disease-centered to patient-centered.

First woman elected to the Tribal Council, she became determined to lead the fight against tuberculosis among the Navajo. She wrote a dictionary to translate English words for modern medical techniques into Navajo, and hosted a radio broadcast in the Navajo language to explain how modern medicine could help in better care for pregnant women and new babies and other family health problems.

A journalist with the Miami News Record, she was an active leader in the Florida suffrage movement and an environmentalist credited with saving the Everglades as a national resource. Douglas authored over ten books and several plays, including The Everglades: River of Grass. After receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993 at the age of 103, she remained an active and influential environmentalist to her death.

A medical and pharmaceutical researcher for the Food and Drug Administration, she refused to approve the use of thalidomide in this country, saving countless babies from terrible deformities. As a result of her testimony before Congress, the 1962 drug act was passed, giving the FDA greater control over the manufacture, testing and distribution of drugs. During a career with the FDA which spanned over 39 years, her supervision of clinical investigators has institutionalized the protection of the patient in drug investigations.

An undersea explorer since age 13, Earle became an internationally recognized marine biologist, author, lecturer and scientific consultant. Denied the opportunity to participate in the U.S. Navy “Tektite Project” to study the ocean, she founded “Tektite II”, an all-female expedition that spent two weeks exploring the ocean floor. The founder of two companies to design and build undersea vehicles, she is chief scientist and consultant to oceanographic and marine research centers throughout the world.

In 1973, Emily Warner became the first American female commercial airline pilot when Frontier Airlines broke the barrier against hiring women pilots. She later became the nation’s first woman airline captain, also at Frontier Airlines.

Pediatrician and pathologist who was the first to identify cystic fibrosis and developed a simple, definitive diagnostic test for the disease.