Today, 14 October, has been declared Ada Lovelace Day, ‘an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths’, named after Lord Byron‘s daughter, later countess of Lovelace, and a renowned mathematician. We have not yet reissued anything by her, though we are hoping soon to be able to do her translation (and enlargement) of Luigi Menabrea’s Sketch of the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage, and we have of course produced several works by Babbage himself, who was a lifelong collaborator with this remarkable woman.
Instead, here are some of the scientific women we do publish, with links either to their works or to further information about them.
Agnes Arber: botanist
Hertha Ayrton: electrical engineer
Margaret Bryan: teacher of astronomy
Sophie Germain: mathematician
Caroline Herschel: astronomer
Maria Elizabetha Jacson: botanist
Mary Kingsley: explorer and anthropologist
Jane Marcet: teacher of science
Flora Murray: pioneering army surgeon
Marianne North: botanical artist and traveller
Mary Somerville: scientist and science writer
Catherine Traill: botanist
And below are a couple of pictures of Ada – NOT the stereotype of a mathematician!
Caroline
Cambridge Library Collection Blog 