Pioneering scientists who were the first female Fellows of the Royal Society are commemorated in new short documentaries presented by Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock. It is eighty years since Kathleen Lonsdale and Marjory Stephenson became the first women to be elected to the Society’s Fellowship since its founding in 1660.
Space scientist and presenter of BBC’s The Sky at Night Maggie Aderin-Pocock joins astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell FRS and biochemist Judy Armitage FRS to uncover the legacies of these two remarkable women scientists.
Marjory Stephenson was a pioneer of bacterial biochemistry, born in Burwell near Cambridge, whose work formed the basis of much of our current understanding of biotechnology, including antibiotic production and environmental microbiology. She was the second president of the Microbiology Society, after refusing to be its first, and her book Bacterial Metabolism became required reading for microbiologists around the world.
The second documentary focuses on Kathleen Lonsdale who was a crystallographer, born in Newbridge, Ireland in 1903, best known for solving the structure of benzine – something many great scientists had failed to do.
Professor Alison Noble FRS, Vice President of the Royal Society and chair of its Women in STEM committee, said: “Marjory Stephenson and Kathleen Lonsdale were pioneers not only as the first women to be elected to the Royal Society Fellowship, paving the way for so many others, but also in what they achieved as scientists.
“While we celebrate their remarkable legacy, we cannot ignore that women were only admitted to the Royal Society – an institution founded in 1660 – as recently as 80 years ago. Women have always played an active role in scientific research, and as we continue to celebrate women past and present, we hope this will encourage and inspire scientists of the future.”
The films begin a year of activity at the Royal Society, celebrating, supporting and empowering women in STEM. More details and events to be announced.
The short videos can be viewed on the Royal Society YouTube channel – The Royal Society – YouTube
Gallery photos: First image is of Marjory Stephenson. Second image is of Kathleen Lonsdale. Photos courtesy of the Royal Society.