IMPORTANT WOMEN IN HISTORY

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." - Wow. That's so inspiring! Where is it from? - It belongs to the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Are you familiar with it? - It rings a bell but I haven't read it. What is it about? - It takes place in a small town in Alabama during the 30s. It gives a view on racism and segregation at that time in the USA especially in the south. - Oh, I see. Do you know if the author lived that same situation? - Well, she was born in 1926 and actually wrote the novel in the 60s but she was inspired by her hometown  for the backround of the story. - That's pretty interesting! She is a really important author, isn't she? But did she write any other books? - She is very well

THE SHADOWS OF SCIENCE HISTORY The most important discoveries in science history are known worldwide. However, some of these discoveries were made by women that have a minor role in the way history is told. This is the case of Rosalind Franklin.   Franklin was born on July 25, 1920, in London, to a wealthy Jewish family who highly valued education. She studied physics and chemistry at Cambridge University.  After Cambridge she went to work for the British Coal Utilization Research Association . Finally,  in 1946, Franklin moved to Paris where she perfected her skills in X-ray crystallography, which would become her life's work. She worked hard all her life, but it can be said that she got a raw deal.  Her  contribution to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA was crucial. However, this participation in such a remarkable finding is little known. After working in Paris, she also worked in London in Kings College . Her main achievement  was the x-ray p

SCIENCE GENIUS We are all familiar with names such as Darwin or Einstein. But in the list of remarkable scientists there are not only men, but really important women as well. Marie Curie is one of these important women that hasn't gone unnoticed. She was born in Poland in 1867 and moved to Paris in 1891 to study physics and mathematics. There she met her husband, Pierre Curie, with whom she worked along her career.  They worked really hard investigating radioactivity and discovered a new chemical element: polonium, which was named because of Marie's nationality. They also discovered radium . This research was crucial in the development of x-rays in surgery. During World War One, Marie provided ambulances with x-ray equipment, which she herself drove to the front lines. She also taught these new techniques to other doctors as leader of the International Red Cross. She became the first woman to teach at the University of Paris. In adittion, she won two Nobel

 AERONAUTICS STARS It seems that women in aeronautic usually have a secondary role. However some of the most important people in NASA have been women, without us even noticing it.  That is the case of Katherine Johnson .  Johnson was born in 1918 and showed a talent for maths from an early age. She took many mathematics courses at the West Virginia State College and soon started to work as a teacher. Finally in 1953 she was offered a job of  NASA . She worked as a "computer"  analyzing topics such as gust alleviation for aircraft and calculating procedures for the male physicians. Johnson at NASA in 1966. "Know how to learn. Then want to learn" She worked in NASA for many years and she calculated trajectories for many flights from Project Mercury, Apolo 11 flight to the moon, missions of John Glenn and Alan Shepard and plans for a mission to Mars. In 2015 she awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Katherine Johnson at the age of 9

OUTSTANDING WOMEN IN ART Today we're introducing you to one of the most representative women in art.  Her name is Frida Kahlo.  Frida is a Mexican painter, born on July 6, 1907 and who died on July 13, 1954. Throughout her life, she suffered from physical pain as she contracted polio and had a car accident. As a consequence, most of her paintings were done while lying in bed and they recreate the pain she had to deal with, not just physical but also emotional. "THE BROKEN COLUMN" This was painted after the car accident and the spinal surgery she needed in account of that. As with many of her self-portraits, pain and suffering is the focus of the work Not only was she a painter, but also an icon of feminism and freedom.  Back in the  20th century, she made public her bisexuality being one of the first to do so . She also defied the female beauty standards and gender stereotypes , as she painted herself with bushy eyebrows, armpits and moustache. "