Dr. Gladys West was a pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology. Known as a “hidden figure”, she played a pivotal role in mapping satellite paths which helped create accurate models of the Earth; that technology is still embedded in today’s world including global commerce, aviation, and everyday navigation.   Early Beginnings West was born in 1930 in Virginia, USA, and spent most of her childhood working on her family’s farm. As the dau

Bessie Coleman never set out to be a trailblazer, but history made her one anyway. Born in 1892 in Texas to an African American mother and a Native American father, Coleman grew up during the Jim Crow era, in a society structured to exclude her on the basis of both race and gender. Discrimination and segregation were not abstract concepts; they shaped the reality of her everyday life from an early age. In 1915, Coleman moved from Texas to Chicago, joining the Great Migration

In an industry where gatekeeping was rife, Norma Merrick Sklarek didn't just break glass ceilings, she shattered them. As the first...