American Female Biologists

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 1 
Rachel Carson
(Marine biologist)
Rachel Carson
4
Birthdate: May 27, 1907
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Springdale
Died: April 14, 1964

Rachel Carson was a conservationist, marine biologist, and author. She is credited with authoring an influential book titled Silent Spring, which played a significant role in advancing the global environmental movement. Carson is also remembered for her book, The Sea Around Us, which earned her a U.S. National Book Award. She was posthumously honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

 2 
Lynn Margulis
6
Birthdate: March 5, 1938
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago
Died: November 22, 2011

Lynn Margulis was an evolutionary theorist, biologist, educator, and science author. She was a modern proponent of the significance of symbiosis in evolution. Along with British chemist James Lovelock, Margulis was the co-developer of the Gaia hypothesis. She was a strong critic of neo-Darwinism. In 2001, she was honored with the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. 

 3 
Nettie Stevens
(American Geneticist Known for Her Discovery of 'X and Y Sex Determining Chromosomes')
Nettie Stevens
8
Birthdate: July 7, 1861
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Cavendish, Vermont, United States
Died: May 4, 1912

Nettie Stevens was an American geneticist. She is credited with discovering sex chromosomes which later came to be known as the X and Y chromosomes. In 1994, Nettie Stevens was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

 4 
Barbara McClintock
3
Birthdate: June 16, 1902
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Died: September 2, 1992

Barbara McClintock was a scientist and cytogeneticist who received the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She earned her Ph.D. in botany from Cornell University and began her lifelong work in the development of maize cytogenetics. She eventually gained recognition as among the best in the field and was honored with several prestigious awards.  

 5 
Nell Newman
(Former Child Actress and Founder of ‘Newman’s Own Organics')
Nell Newman
8
Birthdate: April 8, 1959
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: New York, United States

Nell Newman is a biologist, environmentalist, and former child actress. An ardent supporter of sustainable agriculture, Newman is credited with founding a pet food and organic food production company called Newman's Own. For her environmental leadership, Newman was honored with the Rachel Carson Award in 2014. In 2017, she was made an inductee of the Specialty Food Hall of Fame.

 6 
Kathleen Rubins
(Astronaut, Biologist)
Kathleen Rubins
6
Birthdate: October 14, 1978
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Farmington

Kathleen Rubins is a microbiologist and NASA astronaut. In 2016, she became the 60th woman to fly in space when she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. She traveled to the International Space Station and returned to Earth after a few months. She has spent a total of 300 days, 1 hour, and 31 minutes in space. 

 7 
Elizabeth Blackburn
(Biological Researcher and Winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine)
Elizabeth Blackburn
7
Birthdate: November 26, 1948
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Hobart, Australia

Nobel Prize-winning Australian-American biochemist and molecular biologist Elizabeth Blackburn is best known for co-discovering the enzyme telomerase. She was allegedly removed from the American President's Council on Bioethics over her support for stem cell research, which went against the government. She has honorary doctorate degrees from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

 8 
Linda B. Buck
(American biologist)
Linda B. Buck
2
Birthdate: January 29, 1947
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Seattle

Linda B. Buck is an American biologist who received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her work on olfactory receptors; she shared the award with molecular biologist Richard Axel. An important and influential biologist, Linda has also won several other awards, such as the Takasago Award, Unilever Science Award, Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award, and R.H. Wright Award.

 9 
Carol W. Greider
(Biologist, Molecular biologist, Geneticist, Physician)
Carol W. Greider
3
Birthdate: April 15, 1961
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Davis

Carol W. Greider is a molecular biologist who discovered the enzyme telomerase in 1984. Her discovery was honored several years later when she received the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak for their work on telomeres.  The trio also shared the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for the same work.  

 10 
Lynika Strozier
(Biologist)
Lynika Strozier
2
Birthdate: August 28, 1984
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Died: June 7, 2020
 11 
Rebecca Lancefield
(American Microbiologist)
Rebecca Lancefield
1
Birthdate: January 5, 1895
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: March 3, 1981

Rebecca Lancefield was an American microbiologist best remembered for her association with the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. Over a period of 60 years, Lancefield published more than 50 publications. Rebecca Lancefield was the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the American Heart Association Achievement Award and the T. Duckett Jones Award. 

 12 
Mary Styles Harris
(Scientist)
Mary Styles Harris
0
Birthdate: June 26, 1949
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Before she became a renowned biologist and geneticist, Mary Styles Harris had already made history as the first African American student of Miami Jackson High School. Her research focuses on the detection and cure of ailments such as sickle-cell anemia. Her health-oriented radio and TV shows include Journey to Wellness.

 13 
Ruth Sager
(American Geneticist Known for Discovering Transmission of Genetic Traits Through Chloroplast DNA)
Ruth Sager
0
Birthdate: February 7, 1918
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: March 29, 1997

Though renowned geneticist Ruth Sager was involved in pioneering research on cytoplasmic genetics, her contribution wasn’t validated till the 1970s, largely due to gender bias. She later focused on cancer genetics. While she was initially interested in liberal arts, she later decided to join medical school but eventually settled for research.

 14 
Margaret Warner Morley
(Author)
Margaret Warner Morley
0
Birthdate: February 17, 1858
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Montrose, Iowa, United States
Died: December 12, 1923