Commemorating Women's History Month: Highlighting Groundbreakers & Their Contributions

Written by: Evangeline Johnson ('29), Faye Holliman ('29), & Amolika Bhatia ('29)

In 1987, Congress passed a public law declaring that March would be recognized as “Women’s History Month” across the United States. March was specifically chosen to line up with 1978 and 1980’s Women’s History Week, as well as international Women’s Day, which occurs each year on March 8th. In his 1987 proclamation, former president Ronald Reagan said that “Women have helped shape our Nation,” and with this proclamation and the legislation passed, the government officially marked March as Women’s History Month. 

Portrait of Amelia Bloomer wearing “bloomer” pants.

If you were to open your sister’s or your mother’s closet, you’d probably see several pairs of pants of many varieties.  But this was not always the popular or socially acceptable choice of attire.  In the early 1800s and prior, the common choice of clothing for women consisted of tight corsets and heavy dresses, which looked fashionable, but could be discomforting.  In an attempt to create a comfortable yet fashionable solution for the unmanageable fashion statement, women’s rights activist Amelia Bloomer invented the “bloomers,” which were loose-fitting, blouse-like trousers. The bottoms were quickly adopted by women’s suffrage activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.  Unfortunately, others did not admire Bloomer’s invention, and viewed her achievement as both a fashion and political failure.  Throughout the rest of Bloomer’s life, she was criticized for attempting to change fashion, and her bloomers were regarded as “ugly”.  It seemed Bloomer’s design was bound to remain a failure, but after her death on December 30, 1894, the bloomers quickly sprang into popularity following the bicycle craze in 1895, only one year after she passed away.  Amelia Bloomer is best known for her impact on modern women’s fashion, and her contribution to women’s rights paved the way for other suffragists to be bold, whether it be with their voice or their presentation.

Have you ever looked up at the sky at night, seen the moon, and thought of traveling there someday? Because none of it would have been possible without the contributions of Katherine Johnson. Born on August 26th of 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Johnson showed extraordinary mathematical abilities from a young age. She enrolled in high school at the age of 10, and graduated at just 14 years old. After graduating from West Virginia State College, Johnson first became a public school teacher. When she was told about a position at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), she took the opportunity, spending the next four years analyzing data from test flights. Over her career, Johnson would contribute to many NACA and NASA projects, including 1961’s Freedom 7 (America’s first human spaceflight), the Apollo 11 moon landing, and Apollo 13. Notably, astronaut John Glenn, before his flight on Friendship 7, told the engineers to “Get the girl to check the numbers,” referring to the flight calculations. Glenn followed with, “If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go.” This trust was not misplaced as greatly evidenced by Johnson’s quick thinking in the Apollo 13 rescue. When the mission was aborted, her work on backup procedures allowed the astronauts to safely return to Earth. Her trailblazing has gone on to inspire other young girls of diverse backgrounds in the STEM field, showing how it is possible to do things that others might say is impossible. 

Katherine Johnson calculating for NASA’s lunar mission, Project Apollo.

Another notable female scientist is Dr. Rosalind Franklin, whose contributions helped to discover the modern double-helix structure of DNA. While working in a lab with other male scientists, she primarily was used for her work on x-ray diffraction studies of protein solutions until she shifted her research to DNA. Franklin kept humidity constant when examining extracted DNA by bubbling hydrogen through salt solutions. Due to the high humidity levels, she discovered that there were two forms of DNA. She found the “dry” crystalline form as well as a longer, thinner, heavily hydrated  paracrystalline form, which she called the “wet” form (“B”). The wet DNA produced a sharp diffraction picture that resembled the pattern British physicist Alec Stokes had predicted. Very pleased when he heard of this, biophysicist Maurice Wilkins suggested that he and Alec Stokes collaborate with her, but she refused. Later, they reached a compromise that Franklin would work with the “dry” crystalline form known as “A” and Wilkins would work with the “B” form. However, Wilkins was unable to make any significant progress with his sample. Franklin's notebooks from 1951-1952 show that she thought a helix was possible, but she would not theorize it without evidence. To her, the correct approach was to gather data first and then build models from them. In February 1953, she concluded that both A and B forms were two-chain helices. She and British scientist Raymond Gosling eventually wrote and published an article on the likely molecular structure.

Rosalind Franklin conducting research.

These women are only three examples of groundbreaking femininity in history, and the impacts they have had on fashion and science. It is important to take the time to appreciate and celebrate the achievements of these individuals and what they have contributed to modern society.