A to Z of the forgotten XX U is for…UNKNOWN: Renowned
AS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH KICKS OFF, HERE’S YOUR...
A is for…ATOMIC: Male German boffin Otton Hahn got the Nobel prize for discovering nuclear fission which led to the development of atomic weapons.
Lise Meitner, its co-discoverer and the woman who coined the term, got nothing.
B is for…BAGS: In 1868 American Margaret Knight came up with a way to make flat bottomed paper bags, like those still in use today.
But a man called Charles Annan nicked her idea and patented it. She successfully sued him.
C is for…COMPUTERS: While 19th century British scientist Charles Babbage has been dubbed “father of the computer”, it was his assistant Ada Lovelace who wrote what’s reckoned to be the first computer program.
D is for…DNA: Male boffins James Watson and Francis Crick would win a Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA.
But much of the groundwork was done by British chemist Rosalind Franklin, who was overlooked for the award.
E is for…EATS: The chocolate chip cookie was invented by little known American chef Ruth Wakefield in 1930.
She sold her recipe rights to Nestle for a dollar and lifetime’s supply of chocolate.
F is FOR…FOSSILS: Palaeontologist Mary Anning, played in the mo Ammonite by Kate Winslet, found the first ichthyosaur and plesiosaur skeletons in the 19th century, but was refused membership of the Geological Society.
G is for…GAME: While Charles Darrow found fame with Monopoly, launched in 1935, it was actually based on a game invented by Lizzie Magie in 1903, who earned little from it.
H is for…HORROR: When Frankenstein was first published in 1818 it went out anonymously, with a preface by poet Percy Shelley. Many people thought he, not his wife Mary Shelley, had penned it.
I is for…INSPIRATION: While Alfred Hitchcock got all the glory as a famous movie director, few know that his wife Alma Reville collaborated on his scripts for mov
like Suspicion.
J is for…JOCKEY: British rider Dick Francis was known for best-selling crime novels but his wife Mary — uncredited on the covers — helped write them. He said: “Mary and I worked as a team.”
K is for…KILLED: You’ve heard of Archimedes and Pythagoras but what about 4th century genius Hypatia of Alexandria, the leading mathematician of her day? She was tragically murdered for being a pagan and her work forgotten for centuries.
L is for…LEPROSY: American chemist Alice Ball came up with some of the first treatments for leprosy, but after her death her results were published under another male scientist’s name.
M is for…MONSTROUS: Hollywood special effects designer Milicent Patrick created the iconic Gill-man costume for the 1954 movie Creature from the Black Lagoon, but another jealous male filmmaker took the credit and her career stalled.
N is for…NOT FAIR: The first four novels of French author Colette, played on screen by Keira Knightley, were published under her husband’s name, Willy.
O is for…OUTRAGEOUS: Artist Walter Keane became a famous artist in the 1960s for his big-eyed subjects. It would
later emerge that his wife Margaret had actually painted them.
P is for…PARTNER: Albert Einstein may be famous for coming up with the theory of relativity, but it was his wife Mileva Maric who proofread his work and did many of the calculations.
Q is for…QUIBBLE: Frank Cooper’s “Oxford” Marmalade, wasn’t his preserve — it was originally made by his wife Sarah-Jane from some leftover oranges in 1874.
R is for…RUBBISHED: Despite making ground-breaking discoveries in the world of gynaecology, 12th century Italian woman Trota of Salerno was dismissed by later writers as fictional.
S is for…SPACE: The 2016 movie Hidden Figures told the story of forgotten women like maths boffin Katherine Johnson whose calculations at NASA paved the way for the Apollo Moon missions.
T is for…TUNES:
German composer Fanny Mendelssohn’s better known brother Felix published some of her songs under his own name.
astronomer William Herschel is known for his discovery of Uranus.
But the boffin’s younger sister Caroline made many discoveries too including several comets.
V is for…VEHICLES: While German Karl Benz is credited with inventing the first practical motor car it was his wife Bertha who supplied the cash, took it for its first proper drive, invented brake linings and got his company its first sales.
W is for…WIPERS: American Mary Anderson patented the idea for a windscreen wiper in 1903 but couldn’t sell the idea. Later, other male inventors took credit
for the concept.
X and Y is for…XY
CHROMOSOMES: Despite discovering the role of sex chromosomes, it was male boffins who took the limelight from US scientist Nettie Stevens’ breakthrough.
Z is for…ZELDA: US author F Scott Fitzgerald, whose Great Gatsby was played on screen by Leonardo DiCaprio, pinched writing from his wife Zelda for his novels like The Beautiful and the Damned and Tender is the Night.