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Image of Hedy Lamarr publicity photo for the film The Heavenly Body, 1944
May 25 2018

Women and Science in the Military

Posted on May 25, 2018January 22, 2019 by Laurie Neuerburg
Image of Hedy Lamarr publicity photo for the film The Heavenly Body, 1944
Hedy Lamarr publicity photo for the film The Heavenly Body, 1944

On Memorial Day, we honor the individuals in the U.S. Armed Forces who have given their all serving our country. Memorial Day began in the 1800s when women began putting flowers on the gravestones of soldiers, leading the day to be known at the time as Decoration Day. In addition to the decoration of graves that led to Memorial Day, women have had an important presence during wartime. Even as far back as the Revolutionary War, women were nurses, cooks, seamstresses, fighting while disguised as men, and acting as spies. As time went on, women became involved with scientific developments that have impacted wartime efforts. Their intellects contributed to nuclear fission, cryptography, compilers for programming, wireless communication security, and Kevlar vests.

Lise Meitner (1878-1968)

First to explain nuclear fission, with her nephew Otto Frisch

 Image of book cover for Lisa Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age   Image of book cover for Lisa Meitner: a Life in Physics

Read: Lise Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age and Lise Meitner: a Life in Physics 

Elizebeth Smith Friedman (1892-1980)

Cryptanalyst for the U.S. Navy 

 Image of book cover for The Woman Who Smashed Codes: a True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies

Read:  The Woman Who Smashed Codes : a True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies 

Grace Hopper, Navy Reserves Rear Admiral (1906-1992)

Wrote the first compiler for computer programming

Image of book cover for Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age   Image of book cover for Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea

Read: Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age and Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea 

Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000)

Famous actress who invented frequency hopping, used for secure wireless communication, with George Antheil 

 Image of book cover for Hedy's Folly: the Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World   Image of book cover Beautiful: the Life of Hedy Lamarr

Read: Hedy’s Folly: the Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World and Beautiful: the Life of Hedy Lamarr

Stephanie Kwolek (1923-2014)

Inventor of Kevlar, used for bulletproof vests 

 Image of book cover for Innovation: a Very Short Introduction   Image of the book cover for Kevlar Legions: the Transformation of the U.S. Army, 1989-2005

Read: Stephanie Kwolek’s New Polymer: From Labs to Riches and Kevlar Legions: the Transformation of the U.S. Army, 1989-2005 

Posted in Chemistry, PhysicsTagged military, Navy, science, technology, war, women

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