1950's Science and Technology | Women in Science and Technology

Marion Donovan.

In 1951 Marion Donovan had a problem. The diapers of the day were made of cloth. As a young mother, she had to wash her baby's diapers by hand in hot water, then bleach and boil them. The only alternative was an expensive diaper service. Marion Donovan's solution was "The Boater." Made of an absorbent layer coated with a piece of shower curtain, The Boater was a disposable diaper held in place by snaps (instead of the usual safety pins). Remarkably, manufacturers were not interested in the product. Donovan manufactured her product herself and was quite successful.

Rosalyn Yalow.

The term supermom refers to a woman with a career who also successfully raises a family. A prime example is Rosalyn Yalow. After graduating from college, she was denied positions in graduate school on the grounds that a Jewish woman did not belong in science. She persevered and received her Ph.D. in physics from the...