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American Women:
From Adventure to Invention
(courtesy of Nancy Kendall)
Is there a "woman Edison"? A female "Columbus"? A feminine counterpart to
fast flyers Charles Lindberg and John Glenn? If so, who are they? From the
list below, identify some of our most famous women adventurers, explorers,
and inventors.
Names to Select from:
- Amelia Earhart
- Sacagawea
- Maria Mitchell
- Maya Ying Lin
- Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
- Sally Ride
- Isadora Duncan
- Margaret E. Knight
- Imagine inventing a symbol that represents the meaning of an entire war.
This Asian-American architecture student did just that when she entered a
design competition for a memorial for Vietnam War soldiers. Her black marble
walls meet in the shape of a V and are engraved with 57,939 names. Because
the walls are shiny, they reflect back the living images of relatives and
friends. Who was this inventive 21-year old woman?
- In 1932, this "First Lady of the Air" became the first woman to fly solo
across the Atlantic Ocean. Fifteen hours and nineteen minutes after she left
Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, she landed her flame-shooting plane in a
farmers field in Londonderry, Ireland. Who was this female aviator who
calmly explained to onlookers, "Ive come from America"?
- In 1943, this U.S. Naval Reserve lieutenant served her country by working
on the Navys "Computation Project" where she learned to program the worlds
first large-scale digital computer. Her contributions are still felt today.
The "compiler" and COBOL, a data processing language, are her inventions.
Who is this computer pioneer who satisfied her curiosity as a child by
disassembling alarm clocks?
- Did you ever wonder who invented the square-bottomed paper bag? In 1870,
"Mattie," who had been always handy with tools, developed a paper folding
device as well as other practical inventions like a window sash, a clasp for
robes, and a shoe cutter. Who was this "woman Edison,"as biographers call
her, registering 27 patents - more than any other woman of her time?
- This Native-American explorer whose name means "Bird Woman" served as a
guide to Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition to the western United
States in 1804. She knew how to survive living off the land, making the
difference between the expeditions success and failure of reaching the
Pacific coast. This female "Columbus" has been honored by having a river, a
peak, and a mountain pass named after her. Who is the most memorialized woman
explorer in American history and was, according to Clark, "the inspiration,
the genius of the occasion"?
- This largely self-educated astronomer from Nantucket, MA discovered a new
comet in 1847, and a year later, became the first woman member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A public school is named after her, as
well as a crater on the moon. As a professor of astronomy, she taught her
students the power of observation over sophisticated tools. Who was this
"explorer of the Heavens" who, colleagues claim, didnt even own a decent
telescope?
- This California dancer and free spirit greatly influenced dance expression
in the early 1900s and established training schools for children in France,
Germany, and Russia. Inspired by the art of Greece, she often danced
barefoot, in loose, flowing tunics and with no scenery on-stage. Her training
was classical ballet, her inspiration - nature. What modern dance pioneer
imitated the passing clouds and the tumultuous sea all over the world, and
set the stage for fresher, more personal ways to express ideas through
movement?
- She was the first American woman to watch sixteen sunrises and sixteen
sunsets every twenty-four hours. Hows that? In June, 1983, this United
States astronaut became the youngest flyer and the first woman to rocket into
space. For over six days, she served as the flight engineer for the space
shuttle Challenger, launching and retrieving satellites. Who is this
scientist who has been stargazing ever since she was a child?
Answers
- 4 -- Maya Ying Lin
- 1 -- Amelia Earhart
- 5 -- Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
- 8 -- Margaret E. Knight
- 2 -- Sacagawea
- 3 -- Maria Mitchell
- 7 -- Isadora Duncan
- 6 -- Sally Ride
RESOURCES FOR INFORMATION
- Portraits of American Women by G. J. Barker-Benfield and Catherine Clinton;
- Gallant Women by Senator Margaret Chase Smith and H. Paul Jeffers;
- Women Adventurers, Explorers, and Inventors by the Michigan Department of Education;
- To Space and Back by Sally Ride and Susan Okie;
- The U.S. Space Camp Book of Astronauts by Anne Baird;
- Sally Ride: A Space Biography by Barbara Kramer;
- The World Book Encyclopedia
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