Laura Bassi

Laura Maria Caterina Bassi was an Italian physicist and academic. Recognized and depicted as "Minerva" (goddess of wisdom), she was the first woman to have a doctorate in science, and the second woman in the world to earn the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Bassi became the most important populariser of Newtonian mechanics in Italy. She was inducted by the Pope to the Benedettini as an additional member in 1745. She took up the Chair of Experimental Physics in 1776, the position she held until her death.