BIO GENIAL

She was born in a small French village in 1794. she met and married an Irish merchant. They moved to Sicily, where her interest in natural sciences flourished. Jeanne Villepreux-Power focused her studies on mollusks, particularly the cephalopod Argonauta argo. She was the first to discover how this creature makes its shell by secreting it around itself instead of obtaining it from another animal, as previously thought, and how it reproduces. She published two books, "Observations et expériences physiques sur plusieurs animaux marins et terrestres" and "Guida per la Sicilia." In 1843, Jeanne and her husband returned to Paris until the Prussian army besieged the city in 1870, forcing them to flee to their hometown, where she passed away at the age of 77. From 1832, Jeanne was the only woman member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Catania and a corresponding member of 17 other academies, including the Zoological Society of London. Despite being forgotten for over a century after her death, her work has recently been rediscovered, and in 1997, a crater on Venus was named in her honor.

JEANNE VILLEPREUX-POWER

Mary Fairfax Greig Somerville, better known as Mary SomervilleShe was born on 26 December 1780 in Jedburgh (UK) and died on 28 November 1872.Mary Somerville was one of the women of her time who passionately dedicated herself to the study of mathematics and the understanding of scientific advancements. It was very complicated in its beginnings because I was a woman, I did not have access to any university and I could not participate in scientific associations. In all her works, the author developed the mathematical contributions necessary for a better understanding of the theories she presented. As the daughter of a vice admiral in the English navy, the family lived near Edinburgh, where they spent their winters.Mary Somerville ultimately became a highly regarded scientific writer. Many of her critics, skeptical that a woman could undertake such significant work, When John Stuart Mill drafted a manifesto advocating for women's political participation and their right to education, Mary Somerville was among the first to sign it. Recognition of her work as a scientific writer is evident in numerous testimonials from the most important scientists of her time.

MARY SOMERVILLE