Sisters of Prometheus: Unmasking Women’s Achievements in Chemistry

This monograph explores the participation of women in alchemy, chemical crafts, and the early stages of modern chemistry. By contextualizing their achievements within the broader social, cultural, and scientific landscapes of their time, this book enables readers to seize the challenges these women confronted and the obstacles they triumphed over. Alongside narrating how they shaped the development of chemistry, including their contributions to the body of chemical literature, it also emphasizes pivotal moments and milestones in the history of women’s emancipation. The book’s comprehensive and integrative approach, complemented by engaging storytelling, renders it an indispensable resource for students, researchers, and general readers alike.

João Paulo André, Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Minho, has a degree in Chemistry (Educational Branch) from the University of Coimbra and earned his PhD from the University of Basel (Switzerland) in the field of Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry. His education and public outreach is centered on the relations of science with music, literature and art, while he has also been an important part of his academic activity in recent years. He is the author of Poções e Paixões - Química e Ópera, published by Gradiva (2nd edition, 2019), which has been included in the National Reading List (Plano Nacional de Leitura) and produced in braille and in an audio format by the National Library of Portugal. His most recent book, Irmãs de Prometeu - A Química no Feminino (Gradiva, 2022), tackles the history of science, focusing on the women who contributed to the development of chemistry.