Ruth Hubbard (1924–2016,) née Hoffmann, was an Austrian-born American biologist and activist known for her pioneering research in vision biochemistry and advocacy for social responsibility in science. She was the first woman to hold a tenured biology professorship at Harvard University.
Born in Vienna, Austria, her family fled to the U.S. in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution. She studied at Radcliffe College, earning a B.A. in biochemical sciences (1944,) then pursued a PhD in biology, researching infrared vision under George Wald, whom she later married.
Hubbard made significant contributions to vision biochemistry, publishing over 30 scientific papers. In 1967, she and Wald received the Paul Karrer Gold Medal for their work on retinal pigments. She was a vocal critic of gender bias in science and a champion for social justice.
By the late 1960s, she shifted focus to feminism and activism, challenging biological determinism and advocating ethical scientific practices. Her books include The Politics of Women’s Biology (1990,) Explaining the Brain (1979,) and Profitable Promises: Essays on Women, Science, and Health (1994,) arguing against genetics’ misuse to justify social inequalities.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Ruth Hubbard
Without words to objectify and categorize our sensations and place them in relation to one another, we cannot evolve a tradition of what is real in the world.
—Ruth Hubbard
Topics: Words
To overturn orthodoxy is no easier in science than in philosophy, religion, economics, or any other disciplines through which we try to comprehend the world and the society in which we live.
—Ruth Hubbard
Topics: Scientists, Science
Every theory is a self-fulfilling prophecy that orders experience into the framework it provides.
—Ruth Hubbard
Topics: Assumptions, Theory
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