Joan of Arc A leader of royalty
Joan of Arc was born to a peasant family in France during the early fifteenth century. She was raised by parents loyal to French royal leadership, despite being surrounded by villages which were sympathetic to a rebel uprising; one that paved the way for the English to invade France. When Joan was 13, she says […]
Dorothy Hodgkin: Molecular Mapper
“I was captured for life by chemistry and by crystals.” Born in 1910 to parents that were both Egypt-focused archaeologists, Dorothy Hodgkin experienced a bumpy, cross-cultural upbringing in both Egypt and England. As the inevitability of the outbreak of World War I became apparent, Hodgkin’s parents, rather than returning to the much more […]
Park Geun-Hye: A Tradition All Her Own
“I will end the history of division and conflict through reconciliation and fairness.” At first glance, following in the footsteps of one’s father would hardly seem to be something entirely out of the ordinary. However, Park Geun-Hye’s father was the President of South Korea, and she is the country’s first-ever female president. Born […]
Are You Woman Phobic – by Ali Campbell
Ali Campbell gives advice to men who are too frightened to start conversations with women – and who are “women phobic”! If you are the guy who has been spotting a hot girl in a bar and then blundering in there with some corny pre-rehearsed ‘line’ or interrogation type questioning then please, please, please…stop!! […]
Rocky Road: Valentina Tereshkova
The highest flying seagull It is not often the case that a mill worker not only dreams of the stars, but goes there. Such is the story of Valentina Tereshkova. Born in 1937 in Maslennikovo, Central Russia, she was the daughter of a tractor driver and a textile plant worker, where Tereshkova also worked. When […]
Rocky Road: Stephanie Kwolek
Born in 1923 in Pennsylvania, USA, Stephanie Kwolek had no intention of being a world-changing chemist. She wanted to be a doctor. Without the funds to go to medical school after finishing her degree in chemistry in 1946, she took a “temporary” job with chemical giant DuPont. Nylon had recently been discovered and […]
Calling it quits by The Best You
According to a 2011 census in England and Wales, 42 per cent of marriages end in divorce. The Best You chats to people about their experiences, and asks a few experts for their advice. His story For me, divorcing was a sad occasion. Because of the lack of understanding, my parents disowned me and […]
Sheryl Sandberg – Leading Lady
Ruthless, the new face of feminism, role model. Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, has been called many things, some positive, some critical. The Best You looks at the career of this powerful woman, and asks how women can also get to sit at the table with the men. Born in 1969 in Washington DC Sandberg from […]