Abstract
The three women featured in this chapter – Kate Gleason (1865–1933), Edith Clarke (1883–1959), and Mária Telkes (1900–1995) – were truly “energetic trailblazers” during their lifetimes and their legacies today are very much alive. The chapter is presented in chronological order, describing each of these women’s work in related fields and begins during the early decades of the 1900s. To set some context for that time period, Kate Gleason was a close friend and mentee of Susan B. Anthony. This fact helps set the stage for a wider view of this period of women’s suffrage activism and the variety of fronts on which women were forging ahead and breaking new ground for women in their own ways. There are several similarities between the three women and overlapping themes linking their lives and work. All three were alive during World War I and felt its impact, and each had an early initial interest in science and engineering and achieved recognition during her lifetime. They each continue to have a transformative impact well beyond their individual lives and careers, and we all benefit from their legacies today.
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Notes
- 1.
Many sources say 1913 – many records of the organization were destroyed in World War II and the date cannot be confirmed.
- 2.
Many sources say she became a member of ASME in 1914.
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Tietjen, J.S., Bailey, M. (2022). Energetic Trailblazers: Kate Gleason, Edith Clarke, and Mária Telkes. In: Bailey, M., Shackelford, L. (eds) Women in Mechanical Engineering. Women in Engineering and Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91546-9_1
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