As a historian of science, I am interested in determining who gets credit for scientific discoveries and why. Sadly, credit often goes to the powerful and connected, not to the people who actually do the work. Gender, race, status, and age discrimination often play a role in these narratives.
Examples of scientific injustice are finally entering more of the public’s consciousness, however. One well-known example is the 2016 Hollywood film Hidden Figures. It tells the story of Katherine G. Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan—three African American mathematicians who were instrumental in the success of the 1960s cold war space program but did not get the credit they deserved.
Read More About Hidden Figures In: 8 Amazing Black Scientists and How They Changed History
