Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Women in Science, Class of 1913

Any 96-year-old female biochemist would have had to overcome gender discrimination in her day. Mildred Cohn eventually won the National Medal of Science for her pioneering research but was once told that studying chemistry would not be "ladylike." After earning her Master's degree (at the age of 19), Columbia University wouldn't hire her as a teaching assistant because the position was reserved for men.

"My career has been affected at every stage by the fact that I am a woman, beginning with my undergraduate education," she once wrote.

Mildred Cohn didn't go to Wellesley but did attend Hunter College when it was a women's college. Click here to read the obituary for Mildred Cohn.

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