Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin

CHEMIST who discovered the molecular structures of penicillin, vitamin B12, and insulin -- feats that were considered impossible by most scientists
Only by understanding the structure of these substances could they be recreated synthetically and applied medicinally
Born Dorothy Mary Crowfoot, her parents worked in archaeology and were traveling throughout the Middle East most of the time, so Hodgkin (attending school in England) saw little of them, although both parents encouraged Hodgkin's interest in science
Acted as guardian for her three younger sisters while she was in college
Won the 1964 NOBEL PRIZE in Chemistry for her work developing protein crystallography, the x-ray technique that enabled her to identify the penicillin and vitamin B12 structures -- one British paper marked her achievement with the headline, "Oxford Housewife Wins Nobel"
Used some of her Nobel prize money to help establish a child care center at Somerville so mothers could continue their studies and work
Identified the structure of insulin five years later, although she'd been working on the problem periodically for over thirty years
FIRST woman to win the Royal Society's prestigious Copley Medal
Second woman (after Florence Nightingale) to receive Britain's Order of Merit
Third woman elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society
Taught at the all-women Somerville College for more than forty years, actively mentoring and supporting students
Fought and OVERTURNED the university rule that women automatically lost their fellowships and stipends upon marriage
A passionate advocate for world peace, she protested the Vietnam War and volunteered for many anti-war organizations, some of which had ties to the Communist Party, resulting in her visa application being rejected by United States authorities
Awarded the Lenin Peace Prize
Helped found the International Union of Crystallography

Bibliography: Doyle, Caitlin. Girls Can Do Anything: From Sports to Innovation, Art to Politics, Meet Over 200 Women Who Got There First. Buffalo: Firefly Books, 2016. Print.
Green, Jen. Women in Science. New York: Penguin Random House, 2018. Print.
Ignotofsky, Rachel. Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2016. Print.
Smeltzer, Ronald K. "Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin." Extraordinary Women in Science & Medicine: Four Centuries of Achievement, The Grolier Club, 2013, 104-109.
Vare, Ethlie Ann and Greg Ptacek. Mothers of Invention: From the Bra to the Bomb, Forgotten Women and Their Unforgettable Ideas. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 1987. Print.
Ferry, Georgina. Dorothy Hodgkin. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dorothy-Hodgkin
The Dorothy Hodgkin Project. https://dorothyhodgkinproject.com/

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