Notable Women

When I blog, I try not to make my posts too long because I actually want them to be read. I recently blogged about a lovely biography of Dr. Perkins … but wait, there’s more to the story!

I was quite intrigued to learn that two of Dr. Perkins’ closest lifelong friends from her days at Radcliffe College were also quite notable women. If you are the curious type, use the links below to read more extensive biographies of each woman.

Dr. Helen Brooke Taussig

Perkins and Helen Taussig both spent their junior year of undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley. After graduation, Taussig went to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and had several noted accomplishments to her name:

In 1930 she became the first female professor of pediatrics.
She is known as the founder of pediatric cardiology.
She was a major contributor to our understanding of the dangers of pregnant women using the drug thalidomide, which caused an epidemic of birth defects.
And in 1965 she was elected the first woman president of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Susanne Langer

Perkins and Langer were fellow students at Radcliffe and kept their friendship throughout their lives. Langer often visited Perkins in Westerlo. Langer was a philosopher, writer, and educator and is known for her theories on the connections between art and the mind. Her best known publication is Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art. Here’s a fun fact about Langer’s work. She wrote about the “virtual world” and experts in virtual reality have attributed the term to her work.

I believe it’s important to know how women have lived, worked, and moved through society in the past and now. These three women did important work in their time. If you’ve read this far, I would ask you a question… who were the important women in your life? Were there female teachers, supervisors at work, company presidents, or women in your family you are proud to have known?