Women in Science

[vagina]

Originally Posted by vagina

Dr. Walker was a feminist, abolitionist, war hero and a hundred or so years ahead of her time on not only what women could do, but what she DID do as a woman and how she dared to look doing it.

She was born in Oswego NY in November 26, 1832 to progressive parents. She worked on her family's farm from a young age where during working hours she refused to wear women's clothing due to their restrictiveness, her mother had the intelligence to support her in this and preach against the unhealthy dangers of corsets and tight laced clothing.

Dr. Walker's mother was a teacher and Mary followed in her footsteps, later using the money she made from teaching to put herself through medical school where she graduated in 1855 as the ONLY female in her class.

Dr. Walker volunteered for the Union side during the Civil War, where she served as a nurse because sexist insecure army officials wouldnt allow her the status of her full medical degree. She frequently crossed battle lines to treat injured civilians and was even captured for several months by the Confederates. She was later recommended for the Medal of Honor and was granted it on November 11th 1865 by President Johnson. In 1917 due to idiot red tape, Dr. Walker was stripped of her Medal, but continued to wear it right up to her death. In 1977 President Jimmy Carter posthumously reinstated Mary's Medal and due right to female/feminist history.

After the war Mary lectured, wrote and joined the ranks of suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Mary fought for women's healthcare, women's rights and dress reform for women, sporting masculine attire while doing so.

Dr Walker died February 21, 1919 at the age of 86. Mary Walker carried female differently in how she dressed, the education she demanded for herself as a female, her right to risk her life for her country, her bravery for imparting all this to other women where ever she lectured, in short Dr Mary Walker did woman different in every breath she took.

I didn't credit the author of the post. Right now it's plagiarized.

[Toska]

Great post!

Marianne North


From Listverse:

We’re all familiar with the prim-and-proper ideal of Victorian womanhood, but Marianne North loved kicking down cliches. In a world where snagging a husband was considered a woman’s greatest achievement, North declared marriage was a “terrible experiment.” In her nearly 60 years on Earth, she never married nor had any kids. Instead, North dedicated her life to painting plants.North’s life as an artist began in 1867, when she took her first painting class. She was immediately addicted, comparing painting to “dram drinking.” North also loved botany and wanted to travel the planet, capturing wild flora on her canvas. At 39, she took her inheritance from her father and set off to explore the world.While most Victorian ladies were suffocating in England, North was putting 19th-century adventurers to shame. In 13 years, she visited America, Brazil, Japan, India, and many other countries. For the most part, she traveled alone. If someone insisted on going along to keep her safe, she found a way to escape her escort and sneak off alone into the wilderness.North wandered until a plant caught her eye. Whipping out her canvas and oils, she set to work. Unlike other botanical artists of her day, North didn’t paint a single flower on a white backdrop. Instead, she recorded everything in the environment. With her subject in the foreground, North filled the canvas with additional flowers, rocks, and bugs. Her style was highly controversial, but it gave her paintings a feel of realism, and that was especially appreciated in the days before color photography.Despite the haters, North’s work was wildly popular with the public, even drawing the attention of Charles Darwin, who asked North paint the plants of Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. In addition to its beauty, North’s artwork is so special because she painted many specimens now extinct. And during her career, she captured quite a few plants. She created over 1,000 paintings, 833 of which were placed in the Marianne North Gallery, an amazing exhibit you can visit in the Kew Gardens today.