Communication, Policy, and Advancement

As the World becomes more connected, and individuals from all walks of life have increased access to information at their fingertips, the need for effective science communication is becoming more and more imperative. Whilst as a discipline, science communication is relatively recent, the process of communication in science has been important for thousands of years, from the production of medical texts in ancient times to the formation of natural philosophy salons of the 17th Century.

In more recent times, science communication has evolved to include writing for non-scientific audiences, connecting individuals from different walks of life, as well as informing policy in the political realm. As the public awareness and interest in science continues to increase, so will the importance of this discipline; after all, all people from all walks of life as stakeholders in scientific development.  

Pre-19th Centrury

Cleopatra the Physician (c.100 AD) - Ancient Greek Medical writer

Hildegard of Bingen (1099 – 1179) – German Polymath and Philosopher

Herrad of Landsberg (c.1130 – 1195) – Alsatian Theologian Abbess

Margaret Cavendish (1623 – 1673) – English Author

Marguerite de la Sabliere (1640 – 1693) – French Hostess

Anna Θ¦kerhielm (1647 – 1698) – Swedish Author and Traveller

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689 – 1762) – English Pioneer in the use of Variolation

Γ‰milie du ChΓ’telet  (1706 – 1749) – French Mathematician, Physicist, and Author

Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718 – 1799) – Italian Mathematician and Author of early Mathematics Textbook

Jacoba van den Brande (1735 – 1794) – Dutch Founder of the first all-female science academy in the world

Margaret Bryan (c.1759 – 1836) – English Author and Teacher

Jane Marcet (1769 – 1858) - English Author 

19th Century -Present

ClΓ©mence Royer (1830 – 1902) – French Translator of On the Origin of Species

Jane Stafford (1899 – 1991) – American Medical writer

Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964) American Conservationist and Author

Joy Adamson (1910 - 1980) – Czech Naturalist and Author

Evelyn Fox Keller (1936 – 2023) American Physicist and author

Margaret W. Rossiter (1944 - ) – American Science Historian

Ann Druyan (1949 - ) – American Author 

Susan Blackmore (1951 – ) – British Author