Paul Revere, Benedict Arnold, F. Scott Fitzgerald, these names sound familiar, no? Well, if they don't they should these men all throughout the school curriculum since Kindergarten.
What about; Peggy Shippen Arnold, Sybil Ludington, and Zelda Fitzgerald? - No? That is completely understandable as most of The Women on this list, I never even heard about until after I graduated high school and started my own research.
The four women discussed in this article are women that literally changed the course of time. These women made it possible for the men listed above to be able to do what they have done.
(Listed in no particular order).
1. Sybil Ludington
April 26, 1777, only two years after Paul Revere's "Midnight Ride," 16. year old Sybil saddled on to her horse, Star and began her history-changing journey of 40 miles, to save Thousands. Not only did she warn 400 militiamen of the British, she also stopped to warn the people of Danbury, Connecticut. At the end of that battle the British devastated three buildings and multiple homes, but more than half of the residents' lives were spared, thanks to Sybil Ludington.
Though, not as decorated as Paul Revere, Sybil was honored by then, Gen. George Washington. Many monuments have recently been raised around the early 1960's, depicting her image.
2. Henrietta Lacks
The Polio vaccine, AIDS, herpes, cloning and many other scientific breakthrough cures are thanks to Ms. Henrietta Lacks and her cells. In early 1971, she was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma, which is a type of cancerous tumor.
During her treatment at John Hopkins, doctors took a sample of her cancerous cells and one of her cells that were still healthy.
All of this was done without the consent or knowledge of Henrietta herself. In fact, nobody was even notified once discoveries were dealing with HeLa, which is what the sample ended up being named; until 59-years after her death.
To honor Ms. Lacks, there has been a high school to bare her name, as well as a mini-planet. She was also inducted into the Marland Women's Hall of Fame, in 2014.
3. Peggy Shippen Arnold
While her story is not one of heroism, Peggy Shippen Arnold's presence altered history in a major way. Ahe is vaguely known as the wife of the biggest traitor in history, Benedict Arnold.
Peggy Arnold, born Margeret Shippen; was born to a very influential and prominent family in Philadelphia. This is where under her father she learned about politics finances and the forces which overall led to the American Revolution.
You may or may not know that she gained her small time-notoriety for being the highest paid spy of the American Revolution. This though, is not why she made this list. While her " claim to fame " is almost unheard of, she is on this list for the hand she had in the outcome of the American Revolution.
Most of us have learned in school that , Benedict Arnold and his partner, then British Major, John Andre, were tried and condemned for treason against the colonies. But something is very important about the entire moment in history and that is Peggy Arnold's role in the whole thing.
She was the brains of the whole thing. As far as my knowledge goes, I don't remember reading anything about Peggy Arnlod in the books. Benidict though, I started hearing about as early as elementary school. As always a man was taking credit for a woman's work. She did not receive much, if any notoriety, but she was also the only one that got away free and clear.
4. Rosalind Franklin
Another instance of men cashing in on the hard work of a woman is exactly what happened to the last two unheard greats on this list .
Roselind Franklin, the one who truly discovered the double helix structure of DNA which is also known as the "secrete of life." Rosalind Elise Franklin ,born to a prominent British Jewish family in the 1920s at Notting Hill, London. Not only did Franklin grow up to be the woman she was, but her family also made their foot print on the pavement of story. The Franklin family is very well known in their own right. The women worked for the women's suffrage movement. Franklin and her family took in the Jews that escaped the Nazis.
Rosalind's claim to fame though, sadly was mercilessly snatched from her. During her time at King's College London, Franklin anid her young partner discovered that there are actually two forms of DNA.
This discovery led to further research. Franklin named these two forms B and A. By 1952, form B which was assigned a helix. By 1953, A which was assigned to her competitor Wilksin was slowly losing weight in the lab.
None of that mattered though - not Franklin's hard work or many nights spent the lab. None of that mattered after she left King's College in 1953 and switched to Birkbeck College. Soon after the switch, all of her work and research was given to Wilksin. He and his partner later won a Nobel Peace Prize for Frankin's discovery and research, without even a mention of Franklin or her notes. It got even sadder when Franklin was diagnosed with two large tumors and cervical cancer , that took her life at the age of 37.
She spent her last few months of life in the lab of Birkbeck, putting in even more work. Her partner Klug, won yet another Nobel Prize off of poor Rosalind's work. Even though she was rarely ever credited for her own work, Ms. Franklin has made a remarkable difference to the world that we live in today.
I personally want to thank all of the women on this list for their work and their courage to be more than what a young girl of their era was supposed to be. To every woman and young girl out there, never allow anyone to take your shine. We know that this world can be very unjust, but no matter what, know that you are able to conquer the world because you are women and they will hear you roar! You are intimidating, you will succeed! Every day is your day Queen, so go conquer it.
