1997
Document1
q"
Shewasso deeplyengagedin astronomical
speculationthat sheneglectedherhousehold.
The daylighthoursshespent,for the mostpart, in bedbecauseshehad tired herself
from watchingtbe stfis at night,
JohannEberti,describingthe Germanastronomer
MarieCunitz,whose1650bookon astronomical
tablesclarified the work of JohannesKeDIer
Document2
When I began this little beatise, it was solely for my own satisfaction. I objected to
myself that it was not the profession of a lady to teachi that she should remain silent,
Iisten and leam, without displaying her own knowledge. On the other hand, I flattered
myself that I am not the first lady to hav€ had somethingpublished;that minds have
no sex and that if the minds of women were cultivalod tike those of men. thev would
be equal to the minds of the latt€r.
Marie Meurdrac,Frenchscientist,lorewordto
het ChemistrySimpliJiedfor Women,1666
Document
3
After dinner, I walked to a meeting of the Royal Society of Scientists in exp€ctation
of the Duchessof NowcasdelauthorofA World Made b, Atomes,1653],who had
desired !o be invited to the Society. She was invit€d after much debate,pro and con;
it seemsmany being againstit. The Duchesshath beena good, comely woman:but
her dress so antique and her depotment so ordinary, that I do not like her at all, nor
did I hear her say anyrhingrhal was worth hearing.
SamuelPepys,Englishdiarist,166?
1997
Document4
Repnntedby temission ofHoughronrrbtuy, HNdd Unive^iry.
Johannesand ElisabethaHeveliususing a sextantto collaborareon aslronomicalresearch.
JohannesH€velius,The H eavenly i4 achine, 16'13
1997
Document5
Sincemy youtb,I havestudiedinsecls.WhenI realizedthat
butterflies
andmoths
dev€lopmorequicklyihanothercaterpi'ars,I co'€cledall
!h;;;;;iil".*i"ii'L"la
fiod,in order!o observe
their metamoryhosis.
Thus,f witlarewfroni hum"" ,*f"ir'-
*i"ia-J"s
ilitr?:::,r:i:1":"1
T",TfiJil:il:ffil
*51;,'$,,#",-"a,,"
Maria Sibylla Merian,Germanentomologist,
tr'"f;Xi: :;,i;i;,
*. sesandsperiatio urishnemof
Documenr
6
Earlyrn-lhemominSrabour2:00a.m.r.rhesky $ar ctedr
dndstarry.Somenishr.
before.I hadobserved
a variaolesrar.and my $ite,a\ | .r.p,, *""1.ji. i"i."^a,*
it fo! hers€lf-In so doing, she iound a comet in the sky.
e, *t;"f, ,iln" .f," *.t" tn",
and I found rhar i! was indeeda comet.I w' rs surprrsed
rharI had not seenit $e night
befdre.
Gottfried Kirch. cerman astronomer,hDsbandof
Maria Wink€lmann.t680
Document7
I haveofien thorght thar women of el€vatedmind advance
knowledgemor€ properly
than do men. Women,whoseposirionputs rhem above
troublero." ina tutoi;ou.
cares,arc more detachedand thereforemore capabl"
of.onte.pfatng rf," gooj ana
thc beauriful.
Godried Leibniz,cerman marhemarician
and philosopber,169?
D o L U m e n l8
I do not believe$at Maria Winkelmannshouldcontinue
to work on our official
calendarof observarions.
I! sinply will not do. Even beforeher f,*t_a,. a.l,t, ,f,.
Academywas ridjculedbecauseirs calendarwas prepareo
Dy a woman.lf she were lo
be Kepton rn sucha capaciry.mouthswould gapeev€n wider.
JohannTheodorJablonski,secretaryto the
Berlin Academyof Scjences,le(er |o rhe
AcademypresidentopposingMaria Winketmann,s
applrcation
for membersbip
in the Academy.l7t0
1997
Document
9
Somewill feel as if I declarewar on men [by pmcticingmedicine]or at leastattempt
lo deprivethem of their privilege.Many of my own sex will think I placemyself above
them.
DorotheaErxleben,firs! woman to be granreda
GermanM.D. (Universityof Halle),
Inquiry into the CausesPreventin| the Fenole
Setfrom Studying,1742
DocumentI0
kamed women attractlitde aatenrion
as long as they limit their studyto music and
the arts.When a woman darcsro atrenda university,however,or qualifiesfor and
receivesa doctorate,she attractsa greatdealof aitention.The legality of such an
unde(aking must be investigated.
JohannJunker,h€adof the Universityof Halle,
a Germanuniversity,1745
DocumentI I
Do not rcproachme for my work on translatingNewton'sPn crpia.NeverhaveI made
a greatersacrificeto Reason.I get up at njne, somelimesal eight. I work till thr€e;
then I take coffee;I resumework at four; at ren I stop to ear a morselalone:I lalk till
midnight with Voltaire,who comes10have supperwirh me, and at midnightI go to
work again,and keepon till five in rhe moming. I must do rhis or lose the fruit of
my laborsif I shoulddie in childbirth.
MarquiseEmilie du Chatelet,Frencharislocrat
andscienLisl.
lenerto the MarquisJeanFrangors
de Saint-Lamben,1749
1997
Document12
Womenshouldnot studymedicineand astronomy.Thesesub.jects
fall beyondtheir
sphereof competence.
Womenshouldb€ satisfiedwith rhe powerthat their graceand
beautygivethelnandnot extendlheirempireto includemedicineandastronomy.
Marie Thirouxd'Arconville, Frenchanatomical
illustrator,in her preface,Thoughtson
Literature,Morals, and phrsics. 11.i5
Document13
Usually one thinksof a leamedwomanas neuroric.And shouldsheever go beyond
the study of literaturcinto highersciences,one knows in advancethat her clothine will
be neglectedand her hair will be done in anriquarianfashion.She torcesher way-inro
circles of men for whom she is norhingmorethan a book. For MademoiselleSchlozer.
this is not at all the case.Shesews,knits,and understands
householdeconomvDerfectlv
well. One must gain her confidencebeforeone comesro know rhe .cholar in irer.
Giittingennewspaperanicle describingDorothea
Schlozer,the frst woman to receivea ph.D.
from a G€rman universitv. 178?
END OF PART A