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Amazing women in history

Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese woman, was widely considered to be the world’s first novelist. She was a noble woman living in Japan around the year 1,000 AD. She wrote a novel called The Tale of Genji, which tells a riches-to-rags story about the son of a Japanese emperor forced to live as a commoner. The Tale of Genji is widely considered to be a masterpiece of Japanese literature. Shikibu also wrote a book of poetry.

Maria Sibylla Merian

Born in Germany in 1647, Merian was fascinated by insects, and began collecting, studying and drawing them when she was as young as 13. She was one of the few naturalists of her time to actually study live insects. It was through her study of caterpillars that she discovered the truth about their life cycles. She made a major contribution to the field of entomology (昆虫学).

Ada Lovelace

Lovelace was the world’s first computer programmer. She was working to design early computing machines that she hoped would be able to quickly solve math problems. In addition to designing this early computer program, she was also the first to suggest that computers should be able to do more than calculating. She imagined them doing everything, from producing images to composing music.

Lucy Stone

Born in 1818, Stone married an activist and changed her name, but decided to change it back a year later. She held the belief that a wife shouldn’t take her husband’s name. She became the first American married woman to keep her maiden name for her entire life. Stone was also one of the founding members of the American Equal Rights Association and fought for the ending of slavery.