1. The daughter of poet Lord Byron, this lady had an interest in mathematics from her childhood. Her mother encouraged her to study math and logic, in part to supposedly prevent her from developing the insanity which plagued her father. Her tutor was the extraordinary Mary Somerville, who herself was the first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society. Mary introduced her to Charles Babbage with whom she developed one of the earliest computers for which she wrote the program. Who was this lady who, when she died at the age of 36, was the world’s only computer programmer?
2. At the age of 18, she woke up to find she had become Queen, reigning over more than 12 million miles of land. She was an adept linguist who spoke German, French, English, Italian, Latin and even Hindi and Urdu. Her nine children married into royal families all over Europe. She came to symbolise a whole era of values which were named after her. The 63 years in which her empire became stronger was named after her. Who was this iconic lady?
3. This fearless lady saw a plane for the first time when she was 10 years old. She went on to get her pilot licence at the age of 26. In just two years, she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic and went on to become the second person to fly across the Pacific solo. She said, “Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” Her quest to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe was her final voyage, during which she mysteriously disappeared. Who was this daring aviator?
4. When this lady told her parents she wanted to take up nursing, they weren’t very happy. She had a thorough education in Latin, Greek and literature, and in the early 1800s, nursing was associated with low social status. In just a few years, she became the superintendent of a London-based women’s hospital. In 1850, Britain and France clashed with Russia over the Slavic empire’s invasion of Turkish territory. At that time the mortality rate in a hospital was 42.7%. Under her strict supervision, she brought down the number to less than 5%. And to ensure her orders were being followed, she used to go around in the night with a small lamp to check if bandages needed to be changed. Who was this ministering lady?
5. This Lady was a research associate at King’s College in London in 1951. Her colleague Wilkins showed a particular X-ray diffraction photo of hers (without her permission) to a friend called Watson who instantly realised the implications. This moment led to three Nobel Prizes, none of which even mentioned her. Who is this woman and what important event in science did she help bring about?
6. Reita Faria was born in Goa and obtained her MBBS degree in Bombay. After higher studies in London, she started her practice in Dublin. In 1966, what did she win that made her the first ever Asian woman to do so and the first ever winner who went on to become a doctor?
7. In 1963, this lady became only the fifth ever human in history to do something. She logged in 70 hours of work, in the process compiling more time than all four American men who had done the same before, combined. She was 26 years old at that time, a full decade younger than the youngest man who had gone before. In the late 90s it was made public that before the event, she had even found a bug in the landing program, which would have led to disastrous consequences but, thanks to her, was resolved. She had told her parents she was going for a skydiving competition and they learnt about the event only on the news. Who is this record-setting lady?
8. Arunima Sinha was a national-level volleyball player when she was pushed from a running train by robbers in 2011 as she was resisting them. As a result, one of her legs had to be amputated below the knee. In 2013, after a gruelling 52-day-trek, what did she become the first female amputee to do?
9. Mithali Raj is considered one of the greatest players of this game regardless of gender and so far the only team captain to lead the Indian national team to a World Cup final twice. In what sport does Mithali have this and more achievements?
10. Born Loretta Pleasant in 1920, this lady went to Johns Hopkins Hospital, which was the only hospital in the area that treated black patients at that time. The physician discovered a fast-growing cancerous tumour on her cervix. Samples of her cells were obtained without her knowledge or permission and sent for scientific research. These cells had an extraordinary ability to grow and stay alive in any condition. It is estimated that Loretta’s immortal cells currently live in labs in every continent and have been used to test drugs that treat thousands of diseases. Only in the 2010 was her contribution to science finally recognised and today the name she took on — Henrietta Lacks — lives on in the immortal cell line. What is the name of the cell line?
Answers
1. Countess Ada Lovelace
2. Queen Victoria
3. Amelia Earhart
4. Florence Nightingale — The Lady with the Lamp
5. Rosalind Franklin — discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA
6. Miss World 1966
7. Valentina Tereshkova
8. Scale Mt. Everest
9. Cricket
10. HeLa cells
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’. @bertyashley
