Women in science have been conspicuous by their apparent absence throughout history. Yet from Theano, the wife of Pythagoras, in the fifth century B.C. or Hypatia in the last days of the Roman Empire (born in A.D. 370) to Marie Curie, women have been practicing and teaching science and mathematics. Their profile has, however, been so low that most female scientists never made an impact on general society. From original research carried out along the western seaboard of Europe (United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain), it is clear that the population in general can only consistently cite Marie Curie as a memorable female scientist. The second most remembered female scientist is Rosalind Franklin or Dian Fosse in the English speaking countries and Hypatia (the mathematician) in France and Spain. Indeed, for nearly...