American women have been researching and applying science since the earliest times. American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians hold detailed Traditional Ecological Knowledge (also known as TEK). Such knowledge of plants, animals and the natural world is the foundation for a holistic world view and technologies of fishing, gathering, hunting, agriculture, building, manufacturing and plant and animal management.
Women have also pioneered fields such as aviation and astronomy. Women like Maria Mitchell (the first woman astronomer) revolutionized the way society understands the universe. Other figures, like Sergeant Amelia Jones, broke barriers by becoming the first in their fields. The stories of these women remind us how important their work is in understanding the larger story of American history.
Women of Public Health and Medicine
Women have always been central to the history of health. They have been doctors, nurses, midwives, activists, and public health experts.
Stories of Women in Science and Technology
Showing results 1-10 of 69
- Type: Person
- Locations: Denali National Park & Preserve, Homestead National Historical Park
Fannie Quigley is one of Denali's most celebrated historic figures, having arrived in the early 1900's gold rush to Kantishna, and making it her home until her death in 1944. Her childhood in Nebraska helped prepared her for life on the Alaskan frontier.
- Type: Person
Maggie Gee was of one of two Chinese American World War II Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). She was also a noted political activist and research physicist.
- Boston African American National Historic Site
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
- Type: Person
- Locations: Boston African American National Historic Site
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. A true pioneer, she battled deep-seated prejudice against women and African Americans in medicine.
- Type: Person
- Locations: Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park
Anna Etheridge, one of the Civil War's only two female Kearny Cross recipients, is proof that women of the era could be just as brave as men in places of battle.
- Type: Person
Sallie Wyatt Stewart was an African American educator, real estate broker, civil rights activist, and community leader based in Evansville, Indiana. During World War II, she organized Evansville’s Colored Women’s Work Committee to promote the sale of war bonds and stamps. These home front activities built on Stewart’s lifetime of service dedicated to her community, especially the advancement of African American women and girls.
- Type: Person
Dr. Me-Iung Ting worked tirelessly to improve medical care for women, children, and refugees, even when it put her at great personal risk. Ting’s experiences as a foreign student studying in the US illustrate the influence of American medical education around the world.
- Type: Person
- Locations: Andersonville National Historic Site, Antietam National Battlefield, Clara Barton National Historic Site, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, Johnstown Flood National Memorial, Manassas National Battlefield Park
Arguably the most famous Civil War nurse, Clara Barton went to great lengths to see after the sick and wounded and to ensure that they were treated both expediently and humanely. Her work in the war led her to found the American Red Cross, an organization that would provide humanitarian relief for a wide variety of crises.
- Type: Person
Dr. Virginia M. Alexander was a pioneering Black doctor and public health expert. She treated Black patients and studied racism in the healthcare system. Through her work, Dr. Alexander showed how segregation and racism harmed Black Americans' health.
- Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Wendy McNiel
- Type: Person
- Locations: Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
Wendy McNiel grew up in Wyoming and attended the University of Wyoming where she joined the ROTC program. After completing college, she joined the Air Force. She was assigned to the 44th Strategic Missile Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base from February 1991 to December 1992. She worked in the 67th Strategic Missile Squadron as a missileer. She eventually became an instructor training missileers.
- Type: Person
- Locations: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Presidio of San Francisco
Nurse Corps Dora E. Thompson joined the Presidio’s Army Nurse Corps in 1902 as one of the first women to officially serve in the US Army. She played an important role in the 1906 earthquake relief efforts. Thompson was appointed superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps in 1914 and later served as Chief Nurse at Letterman General Hospital.
Last updated: November 2, 2021