Evelyn Hooker (1907-1996)
| Her 1957 report "The Adjustment of the Male Overt Homosexual" showed that homosexuals were not inherently abnormal, contrary to prevailing opinion in the psychological and psychiatric communities. Sixteen years later, the American Psychiatric Association agreed with Dr. Hooker and ceased |
calling homosexuality a psychiatric disorder. Dr. Hooker taught psychology at UCLA from 1939 until 1970. Her work was foundational to the gay liberation and gay rights movements. In her honor, the University of Chicago established the Evelyn Hooker Center for the Mental Health of Gays & Lesbians. |
Mary Douglas Nicol Leakey (1913-1996)
| A self-taught archaelogist and paleoanthropologist, Mary Leakey found the skull in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania which pushed back the time line on human evolution by millions of years. In 1948, she discovered the skull of Proconsul Africanus, establishing East Africa as the crucible of human evolution. In 1978, she discovered hominid footprints in volcanic ash |
that dated back 3.6 million years. She also discovered the skull of Zinjanthropus, a 1.75 million year old human. Leakey and her husband, Louis, were supported in their work by the National Geographic Society. It is said that Mary enjoyed a good cigar and an occasional glass or bourbon. |