Pioneering women in science who finally have their moment in the sun

? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Another story of women in science is here with Mischievous Creatures. Fully titled Mischievous Creatures: The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science is the previously untold story of two sisters who spurred the growth of American Science. Historian Catherine McNeur sheds light on the lives of Margaretta Hare Morris, an entomologist known for her research on cicadas and other insects, and Elizabeth Carrington Morris, a botanist and illustrator who supplied specimens to leading experts in the field, in her thoroughly researched text.

You probably didn’t know this, but the Morris sisters played a pivotal role in making American science what it is now. This isn’t an unusual occurrence, women in science have historically been denied credit for work, with the phenomenon persisting even now. The Morris siblings know this all too well as unsung pioneers of the privatization of the field, which later enforced the underappreciation of women for generations to follow.

NOTE- If you want to read more about this occurrence, take a look at our piece on the MatildaEffect, a term coined by Margaret W. Rossiter to describe the invisibility of women in science.