The First Woman in Space
On June 16, 1963, aboard Vostok 6, Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel into space. After 48 orbits and 71 hours, she returned to earth, having spent more time in space than all U.S. astronauts combined to that date.
Discovery of Pulsars
Rapidly rotating neutron stars, called pulsars, were discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell in 1967. This discovery was recognized by the award of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics, but despite being the first person to discover pulsars, Burnell was not one of the recipients of the prize.
Development of Kevlar
Kevlar, a powerful para-aramid synthetic fiber, was developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965. She discovered the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness; poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide.
Nuclear Shell Discovery
In 1963, Maria Goeppert-Mayer won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of the nuclear shell of the atomic nucleus. Goeppert-Mayer accepted this award alongside a few other physicists who completed independent studies to develop the model of the nuclear shell.
Dagenham (UK) Ford Factory Strike
Women working at the Dagenham Ford Factories staged a strike in 1968 to campaign for equal pay. The majority of the women striking worked as sewing machinists to make car seat covers. As stock ran out, production halted at nearly all the UK Ford automobile plants. This strike led to the founding of the National Joint Action Campaign Committee for Women’s Equal Rights.
