Women weren't allowed into Princeton's graduate astronomy program when Vera Rubin applied in 1948, so she attended Cornell instead.

Her groundbreaking work on galaxy rotation rates provided the first evidence for the existence of dark matter, a seminal breakthrough that led to the creation of a whole new field of astronomy.

Initially criticized for her theories, she was eventually awarded the National Medal of Science.

https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/07/23/vera-rubin-berkeley-commencement-address/

#WomensHistoryMonth

photo: Carnegie Institute