Whistling Woman Podcast

Lacking an official moniker, possibly because of her truly pioneering and unique work, today’s subject created the underpinnings of the Internet search engine. Her work in natural language processing, speech recognition, and term weighting created the communications link between humans and computers and has implications for Artificial Intelligence. Her name is Karen Sparck Jones.

The Witch of Agnesi sounds like a disturbing or tragic moniker. Instead it is a mistranslation of a math concept described by a woman who is believed to have written the first universal math textbook. Her name is Maria Agnesi.

The Mother of Modern Algebra developed two significant Theorems and advanced the concept of Symmetry Groups. The first great theorem give rise to conservation laws and laid the groundwork for fundamental discoveries in physics. In 1930, she was the world-wide authority on abstract algebra; mathematicians from all over the world came to study with her. Her name is Emmy Noether.

The Chinese Madame Curie, the Queen of Nuclear Physics, The First Lady of Physics, The Queen of Physics. These titles reflect the critical importance of this woman’s theory of Beta Decay, a type of radioactive disintegration, and her laboratory proof of the unnecessity of the conservation of parity. Her name is Chien-Shiung Wu.

The Queen of the Cosmos. A lofty moniker bestowed on the woman who posited that galaxies evolve at their own individual paces and that the Universe is Ever-Expanding – revolutionizing astronomy. She was also known, contemporarily, as “Brian Tinsley’s Clever Wife.” Her name is Beatrice Hill Tinsley.

Beijing, China, May 1903, a 28-year-old woman prepares to journey to Japan to enroll in a Japanese school that trains Chinese women to become better citizens. She is leaving behind a husband from an arranged marriage and two children. She is interested in the Chinese revolutionary movement but does not yet know how to channel her interest. Her name is Qiu Jin.

Chicago, Illinois, January 1887, a 24-year-old woman prepares to marry a man who has been convicted of murder. Her fiancé is an anarchist who participated in the Haymarket Riots that resulted in the death of 8 policemen. This woman attended the trial, a popular entertainment activity of the time, and became passionate about the case and the men on trial. Her name is Nina Van Zandt.

Detroit, Michigan, 1964, a 21-year-old woman has just achieved the greatest accomplishment in her profession – a #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. She is the most successful singer at her record label. She is considering an offer at a company that will offer her more opportunities than her current employer. Her name is Mary Wells.

Hull, England, May 1795, a 36-year-old woman, her 13-month-old daughter, and a French nursemaid prepare to board a ship for Norway. Her civil law husband is sending her to recover his lost silver because she is the most capable person and because he has a new girlfriend. During the trip & knowing that the relationship is over, the woman considers how she will support herself and her daughter upon their return. Her name is Mary Wollstonecraft.

Hollywood, California, 1917, a 38-year-old woman director created the most financial success film for Universal Studios in 1916. She has been the top paid and most financially successful director at Universal Studios for several years – making social commentary films that address taboo topics. She is now considering establishing her own film studio. Her name is Lois Weber.