The 2024 list: Catholic Women Pioneering in Science

I am preparing a talk for the 2024 Conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists, my contribution is titled: “With the Future in Mind: Catholic Women Pioneers in Science”.

The women presented here come from a variety of scientific disciplines and lead lives as diverse as life itself can be, but they all had two characteristics in common: (1) they have had an impact on the science and/or scientific education at their time and (2) their lives were informed, transformed, and inspired by their Catholic faith.

Twenty-four of these women were presented in the 2023 post, and 11 new short biographies have been added.

1. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
2. Herrad of Landsberg (1130–1195)
3. Laura Bassi (October 1711 – 20 February 1778)
4. Maria Gaetana Agnesi (16 May 1718 – 09 January 1799)
5. Marie-Anne Lavoisier (20 January 1758 – 10 February 1836)
6. Maria Dalle Donne (12 July 1778 – 9 June 1842)
7. Agnes McLaren (4 July 1837 – 17 April 1913)
8. Agnes Mary Clerke (10 February 1842 – 20 January 1907)
9. Therese von Bayern (12 November 1850 – 19 September 1926)
10. Marcella O’Grady Boveri (7 October 1863 – 24 October 1950)
11. Emily Fortey (1866 – 10 September 1946)
12. Eva von Bahr-Bergius (16 September 1874 – 28 February 1962)
13. Euphemia Lofton Haynes (11 September 1890 – 25 June 1980) 
14. Dorothy Annie Elizabeth Garrod (5 May 1892 – 18 December 1968)
15. Sr. Hilary Ross (1894 – 30 November 1982)
16. Anna Reinach (21  June 1884 – 29 December 1953)
17. Sr. Mary Glowrey (23 June 1887 – 05 May 1957)
18. Anna Maria Dengel (16 March 1892 – 17 April 1980)
19. Hermine Speier (28 May 1898 – 11 January 1989)
20. Regina Flannery Herzfeld (December 1904 – November 26, 2004)
21. Anneliese Maier (17 November 1905 – 2 December 1971)
22. Sr Mary Celine Fasenmyer (4 October 1906 – 27 December 1996)
23. Máirín de Valera (12 April 1912 – 8 August 1984)
24. Piedad de la Cierva (1 June 1913 – 31 December 2007)
25. Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller (17 December 1913 – 10 January 1985)
26. Guadalupe Ortiz de Landazuri (12 September 1915 – 16 July 1975)
27. Sr. Miriam Michael Stimson (24 December 1913 – 17 June 2002)
28. Anne-Marie Staub (13 November 1914 – 30 December 2012)
29. Sr. Monica Asman (14 September 1920 – 05 April 2016)
30. Kathleen “Kay” McNulty Mauchly Antonelli (12 February 1921 – 20 April 2006)
31. Stephanie L. Kwolek (31 July 1923 to 18 June 2014)
32. Mary Brück (29 May 1925 – 11 December 2008)
33. Gabriella Morreale de Escobar (07 April 1930 – 4 December 2017)
34. Wangari Maathai (1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011)
35. Angelita Castro-Kelly (26 August 1942 – 07 June 2015)

Christian Women Pioneering in Science

We have featured various women scientists in our previous blog posts. In this article, we aim to unite over 50 remarkable women who have significantly influenced science and/or science education during their time. The selection process adhered to two specific criteria: (1) their notable impact on science or science education, and (2) the profound influence of their Christian faith on their lives. We sought compelling evidence that their Christian beliefs, irrespective of their faith tradition (Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox), played a pivotal role in shaping their personal experiences. Mere familial connections, such as being a pastor’s daughter or coming from a Catholic country, were not sufficient for inclusion in this presentation.

1. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
2. Herrad of Landsberg (1130–1195)
3. Sophie Brahe  (1559 – 1643)
4. Maria Cunitz (1610 – 22 August 1664)
5. Justine Siegemund (December 1636 – 10 November 1705)
6. Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 1647 – 13 January 1717)
7. Laura Bassi (October 1711 – 20 February 1778)
8. Maria Gaetana Agnesi (16 May 1718 – 09 January 1799)
9. Caroline Lucretia Herschel (16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848)
10. Marie-Anne Lavoisier (20 January 1758 – 10 February 1836)
11. Maria Dalle Donne (12 July 1778 – 9 June 1842)
12. Mary Somerville (26 December 1780 – 29 November 1872)
13. Charlotte Murchison (18 April 1788 – 9 February 1868)
14. Orra White Hitchcock (8 March 1796 – 26 May 1863)
15. Mary Buckland (20 November 1797 – 30 November 1857)
16. Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847)
17. Maria Mitchell (1 August 1818 – 28 June 1889)
18. Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910)
19. Katherine Mary Clerk Maxwell (1824 – 12 December 1886)
20. Antoinette Brown Blackwell (20 May 1825 – 5 November 1921)
21. Agnes McLaren (4 July 1837 – 17 April 1913)
22. Agnes Mary Clerke (10 February 1842 – 20 January 1907)
23. Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (3 December 1842 – 30 March 1911)
24. Therese von Bayern (12 November 1850 – 19 September 1926)
25. Marcella O’Grady Boveri (7 October 1863 – 24 October 1950)
26. Emily Fortey (1866 – 10 September 1946)
27. Annie Scott Dill Maunder (14 April 1868 – 15 September 1947)
28. Eva von Bahr-Bergius (16 September 1874 – 28 February 1962)
29. Elisabeth Schiemann (15. August 1881 – 3 January 1972)
30. Euphemia Lofton Haynes (11 September 1890 – 25 June 1980) 
31. Dorothy Annie Elizabeth Garrod (5 May 1892 – 18 December 1968)
32. Sr. Hilary Ross (1894 – 30 November 1982)
33. Cecilia Helene Payne-Gaposchkin (10 May 1900– 07 December 1979)
34. Natasha Dobzhansky (29 August 1901 – 22 February 1994)
35. Elena Kasimirchak Polonskaya (21 November 1902 – 30 August 1992)
36. Kathleen Lonsdale (28 January 1903 – 1 April 1971)
37. Sr Mary Celine Fasenmyer (4 October 1906 – 27 December 1996)
38. Virginia Apgar (7 June 1909 – 7 August 1974)
39. Marguerite Perey (19 October 1909 – 13 March 1975)
40. Dorothy Vaughan (20 September 1910 – 10 November 2008)
41. Máirín de Valera (12 April 1912 – 8 August 1984)
42. Piedad de la Cierva (1 June 1913 – 31 December 2007)
43. Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller (17 December 1913 – 10 January 1985)
44. Guadalupe Ortiz de Landazuri (12 September 1915 – 16 July 1975)
45. Sr. Miriam Michael Stimson (24 December 1913 – 17 June 2002)
46. Anne-Marie Staub (13 November 1914 – 30 December 2012)
47. Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson (26 August 1918 – 24 February 2020)
48. Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya (7 March 1922 – 12 January 2004)
49. Stephanie L. Kwolek (31 July 1923 to 18 June 2014)
50. Mary Brück (29 May 1925 – 11 December 2008)
51. Mildred Fay Jefferson (6 April 1927 – 15 October 2010)

Catholic female scientists through the centuries

The following blog post comes from a presentation I gave recently for some wonderful women across Europe in a monthly zoom meeting, called “Catholic Women in STEM”*. For some of the women presented here, you will find more information in previous blog posts – just follow the links.

Monasteries and Female Excellence in Science

First, let us go back in history for nearly 1.000 years.

Medieval monasteries allowed women to develop their talents, being free from the hardship that wives and mothers experienced at that time. And these women made their contributions in science, in art and in society. We start with contributions to science:

St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. She is considered to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.

These 20 women scientists didn’t see a conflict between science and faith

Here and here are more Christian female Scientists, bringing the list to 40!

This message we received on twitter inspired today’s blog post:

She sounds really cool. Ever notice how Catholics always seem to be omitted from popular lists of female scientists and intellectuals?

The same lists almost always include Hypatia of Alexandria, simply because the people making the lists get to blame Christianity for her death.

— Gore Burnelli (@Gore_Burnelli) January 9, 2019

I went to my notes for Science Meets Faith and some other sources like wikipedia or John-Auguste Zahm‘s book “Women in science” and started a brief investigation, applying the following rules: (1) they should have had a scientific impact at their time and (2) I was looking for some kind of proof that their Christian faith – in whatever faith tradition, Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox (*) – was important to their personal life (being the daughter of a pastor or coming from a Catholic country just wasn’t enough to be presented here). And here are the first 20 short portraits of female scientists who took their Christian faith seriously.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. She is considered to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.

Herrad of Landsberg (1130–1195) , the abbess of Hohenburg in Alsace compiled the scientific compendium Hortus deliciarum. She wrote this work for the nuns of her convent and it was designed to embody in words and in pictures the knowledge of her age.