Google on May 5 celebrated the birth anniversary Elena Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman to earn a Ph.D, with a doodle. Born in 17th century Venice to a nobleman and his mistress, Piscopia was a prodigy. She was a polyglot – being proficient in Latin, Greek, French and Spanish by the age of seven. She later mastered Hebrew and Arabic. She could skillfully play the harp and the violin. As she grew older, her interests expanded to physics and astronomy. In 1669, she translated the ‘Colloquy of Christ’ from Spanish to Italian. The bishop of Padua, when he learned that Picsopia was pursuing a degree in theology, refused to award her a Ph.D on the grounds that she was a woman. She did, however get her degree in philosophy. “Her oral examination in 1678 attracted so much interest that the ceremony had to be moved from the university to Padua Cathedral to accommodate an audience that included professors, students, senators, and invited guests from Universities all over Italy,” says the Google doodle blog. This doodle, created by California-based illustrator Alyssa Winans, was inspired by Piscopia’s “single-minded dedication to her studies but also by the sheer enjoyment she felt at the prospect of quiet study”. In a short interview on the blog, the artist said it’s vital to highlight the accomplishments of women in academia. “I think it’s vital, not only to inspire students of today to recognize what they can accomplish but also to paint an accurate portrait of women’s contributions throughout history.”
