The word “engineer” is somewhat of a modern marvel. It was used in the military during the American Revolution to describe officers and soldiers assigned to build fortifications. Civilians began using it in the 1800s, and the first professional engineering association was founded in the U.S. in the 1840s.
The ancient world didn’t have the term engineer to describe the scholars and scientists whose discoveries contributed to the advancement of engineering. But ancient engineers helped to create equipment and equations that are still used today.
Some of these ancient engineers were women. Here are three ancient women engineers whose discoveries made a mark on scientific history:
1. Maria Hebraea
(Credit: Michael Maier, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
