Anna Zhyn characters

Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) | Computer algorithm
A friend of the Countess of Lovelace, the English mathematician Charles Babbage described the analytical engine capable of making calculations with 20 digits of precision. In 1840 he gave a lecture on his engine at the University of Turin. The lecture was then published in French. Ada Lovelace translated it into English, adding 52 pages of her own notes, where she described the algorithm for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli numbers with Babbage’s engine. The work was published under the initials “A.A.L.” and only in 1953 it was republished under the name of Ada Lovelace. Babbage’s engine was then recognized as a prototype for the modern computer and the notes of the Countess of Lovelace were acknowledged as the world’s first computer program. Ada Lovelace also prognosticated that in the future analytical engines would be able to solve problems of any complexity, including composing music and drawing pictures.

Mary Anderson (1866–1953) | Windshield wiper
In the winter of 1902, visiting New York City Mary Anderson noticed the driver of a tram trying to make his way through the snowstorm with both windows open to be able to see the road. Back home Mary Anderson hired an engineer and together with him designed a windshield wiper to be controlled from inside a vehicle. The device consisted of a lever attached to a rubber blade which moved back and forth across the outside of the windshield. A counterweight was used to ensure contact between the wiper and the window. In 1903 Mary Anderson was granted a patent for her invention, but the automobile industry paid attention to it only after the expiry of patent rights. In 1922 Cadillac became the first car manufacturer to adopt Mary Anderson’s windshield wipers as standard equipment.

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1910–1994) | X-ray structure analysis of biomolecules
Dorothy Crowfoot was born to a family of English archeologists, spent her childhood in Egypt and participated in the excavations of the ancient town of Jerash. But eventually she chose to be a chemist, and devoted her life to X-ray analysis—determining the three-dimensional biomolecular structures with X-rays. Having analyzed in this way a molecule of vitamin B12 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin contributed to discovering its role in the body. She also determined the spatial structure of insulin, a complex molecule of 800 atoms, and gave numerous lectures on the importance of insulin for diabetic patients. In 1964 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. All her life this woman adhered to left-wing views and campaigned against social inequalities. From 1976 to 1988 she was the President of the Pugwash anti-war movement of scholars.

Stephanie Kwolek (1923–2014) | Kevlar
After getting a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Chemistry Stephanie Kwolek intended to carry on her studies to become a doctor. To pay for her further education, in 1946 she took up a job at DuPont where she eventually stayed for 40 years. There with a team of colleagues Kwolek studied the properties of polymers and searched for a new synthetic fibre to be used in automobile tyres. In 1965 she discovered “Kevlar” (poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide)—fibre which is a few times stronger yet much lighter than steel. Nowadays it is used in the production of bullet-proof vests, tennis rackets, hockey sticks, boats, planes, cables, armoured vehicles, ultra-strong construction materials, clothes and shoes for firefighters. Stephanie Kwolek became the first woman to be awarded the DuPont company’s Lavoisier Medal for outstanding technical achievements.

Mary Dixon Kies (1752–1837) | Straw-weaving technique for bonnets
Mary Dixon Kies was the first woman to receive a US patent. In 1807 due to the Napoleonic wars the US embargoed all import from Europe. In order to make up for the shortfall of ladies’ bonnets and contribute to the US economy, Mary Kies proposed a simple and cheap method of straw-weaving based on using silk thread and ribbons. However, she merely improved the technique invented in 1798 by another American woman Betsy Metcalf. The latter could have sought a patent, but like most women at the time, who could not legally own property, she wouldn’t be able to receive it. Mary Kies however broke the barriers and on May 5, 1809 was granted the patent personally signed by the President James Madison.

Sophia Grojsman (born on March 8, 1945) | Revolution in perfumery
Sophia Grojsman was born in Belarus in the township of Lubcha. She’s had an acute sense of smell since childhood that is why Sophia’s mother would always take her to the market to choose the freshest vegetables. In 1960 the family moved to Poland where Sophia studied analytical and inorganic chemistry. In 1965 they immigrated to the US. Sophia took up a job at International Flavors & Fragrances and worked there for 50 years climbing the ladder from a lab assistant to the Vice-President. She owes her standing and success to the revolutionary approach to creating fragrances and break-up with the clichés formerly prevalent in the perfume industry. Grojsman opted for developing the main scent accord of just a few notes instead of using numerous components. Her most remarkable creation is “Trésor” by Lancôme, which is called “from bottom to top” perfume as unlike traditional perfumes it allows the heavy base notes to be revealed first.

Marion Donovan (1917–1998) | Waterproof diapers
In the late 1940s Marion Donovan was a young mother. Exhausted by constant change of napkins, she once took a shower curtain and sewed the first in the world waterproof diaper. Her invention was met with rapture not only by women, but also by children, as it replaced previously used rubber rompers which would cause a lot of discomfort. Donovan continued her work on the design and as a result received four patents including the patent for plastic snaps to be used instead of safety pins to fasten diapers. Marion Donovan patented more than 20 inventions, many of which then came to stay in our everyday life and made it much more comfortable. Those were the inventions such as a towel dispenser, storage container, dental flossing products etc.

Josephine Cochrane (1839–1913) | Dishwashing machine
Josephine Cochrane was fond of throwing dinner parties in her mansion in Illinois. Servants who washed dishes after such parties were careless at times. Once, when they chipped some of the heirloom china plates, Josephine cried out in despair: “If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself!” She built wire compartments, each specially designed to fit plates, cups or saucers. The compartments were placed inside a wheel that lay flat inside a copper boiler. A motor turned the wheel while hot soapy water squirted up from the bottom of the boiler. That was the first dishwasher to use water pressure instead of scrubbers for cleaning the dishes. After receiving a patent in 1886 Josephine Cochrane showed her invention at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and won the highest prize.

Bette Nesmith Graham (1924–1980) | Correction fluid
In 1951 a young single mother Bette Nesmith got a job as a secretary at Texas Bank. At that time secretaries used typewriters with carbon tapes which made it impossible to erase mistakes, and due to a single misprint the entire page had to be retyped. Watching painters’ work Bette once realized that misprints could be painted over, for example, with white tempera. For 5 years she experimented with painting liquid formula, helped by her son’s chemistry teacher. Bette’s coworkers frequently borrowed her miraculous corrector. She realized its potential profitability and in 1956 set up the production of the correction fluid “Mistake Out”. Later the invention was patented and renamed as “Liquid Paper”. In 1979 Bette Nesmith sold the plant “Liquid Paper” to “Gillette” for $ 47,5 million.

Marie Skłodowska Curie (1867–1934) | Use of radiation in medicine
Maria Skłodowska was born in Poland, but in 1891 she went to study Chemistry and Physics at the Sorbonne where she became one of the best students and got acquainted with Pierre Curie who was a lecturer in Physics. In 1895 they got married and worked together until Pierre died in 1906. The Curies studied radioactivity, discovered radium and polonium (the latter was named after the country of Marie’s birth), and in 1903 together with Henri Becquerel they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Maria Curie was the first woman in the world to receive the Noble Prize, and the first person in history to be awarded twice, as in 1911 she won the Noble Prize in Chemistry as well. During the World War I Maria taught military doctors to use X-rays to discover shrapnel wounds and assisted in setting up radiography units in the near front zones. She also researched the impact of radioactivity on cancer cells.

Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000) | Wi-Fi connection algorithm
Hedy Lamarr is the pseudonym of the Austrian actress Eva Maria Kiesler adopted by her after moving to Hollywood in 1937. In the 1930s-1950s Lamarr starred in more than 20 films and at the same time tried to invent different things, for instance, to upgrade a traffic stoplight or to create a tablet that would turn water into a carbonated drink. During World War II willing to contribute to the US army, Hedy Lamarr designed and described a safe way of transmitting signals to radio-controlled torpedoes. To protect the signals against interception and jamming Lamarr suggested using “hopping frequencies” that would constantly and randomly change in both transmitter and receiver. George Antheil, an avant-garde composer, was her co-author. On August 11, 1942 they were granted a patent for “secret communication network”, one of the principles behind today’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. Hedy Lamarr’s birthday (the 9th of November) is now celebrated as the Inventor’s Day in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin, «Veuve Clicquot» (1777–1866) | Remuage (riddling)
At the age of 27 Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin became a widow and took over the wine house of her deceased husband François Clicquot. In 1808 she developed and successfully applied the technology of remuage (riddling) which made champagne crystal clear without the loss of carbon dioxide. To achieve that, the bottles with wine were placed upside down at a 45-degree angle on special riddling racks and kept there for 2-3 months. On a daily basis the bottles were twisted so that the dead yeast would all gather near the cork. Once the settling was complete, the lees was frozen and quickly removed together with the cork (disgorgement), followed by an addition of wine to refill the bottle. For some time this know-how technology was kept inside the wine house Clicquot, but in the late 1820s the secret was revealed and other companies began using riddling techniques for mass production of champagne, thanks to which we can enjoy champagne the way it is now.