Stephanie Kwolek
Kwolek in 1986
Born	Stephanie Louise Kwolek (1923-07-31)July 31, 1923 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	June 18, 2014(2014-06-18) (aged 90) Talleyville, Delaware, U.S.
Education	Carnegie Mellon University
Known for	Invention of Kevlar
Awards	Howard N. Potts Medal (1976) Chemical Pioneer Award (1980) Lavoisier Medal (1995) National Inventors Hall of Fame (1995) National Medal of Technology and Innovation (1996) IRI Achievement Award (1997) Perkin Medal (1997) National Women's Hall of Fame (2003)
Scientific career
Fields	Polymer chemistry

Stephanie Louise Kwolek (/ˈkwoʊlɛk/; July 31, 1923 – June 18, 2014) was a Polish-American chemist best known for inventing Kevlar (poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide). Her career at the DuPont company spanned more than 40 years.^[1]^[2]

For her discovery, Kwolek was awarded the DuPont company's Lavoisier Medal for outstanding technical achievement. As of August 2019, she was the only female employee to have received that honor.^[3] In 1995 she became the fourth woman to be added to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.^[4] Kwolek won numerous awards for her work in polymer chemistry, including the National Medal of Technology, the IRI Achievement Award and the Perkin Medal.^[5]^[6]

Early life and education

[edit]

External videos

Stephanie Kwolek, "I don't think there's anything like saving someone's life to bring you satisfaction and happiness", Science History Institute^[1]

Kwolek was one of two children born to Polish immigrant parents in the Pittsburgh suburb of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, in 1923.^[7] The grade school she attended was small enough to require her classroom be shared by two different grades, which she found to be an advantage. As Kwolek's love of science grew, she easily outpaced even the older children across the room.^[8] Her father, John Kwolek,^[7] died when she was ten years old.^[9] He was a naturalist by avocation, and Kwolek spent hours with him, as a child, exploring the natural world.^[1] They would spend afternoons together exploring the woods nearby, collecting plants and observing animals that they would later name and characterize in a scrapbook Kwolek kept, as a child.^[10] She attributed her interest in science to him and an interest in fashion design to her mother, Nellie (Zajdel) Kwolek, who worked as a seamstress. Her mother told her that she was too much of a perfectionist to work a career in fashion, so Kwolek decided to become a doctor.^[3]^[7]^[9]

In 1946, Stephanie earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in chemistry from Margaret Morrison Carnegie College of Carnegie Mellon University. She had planned to become a doctor and hoped she could earn enough money from a temporary job in a chemistry-related field to attend medical school.^[9]

DuPont career

[edit]

Kwolek was offered a position at DuPont's Buffalo, New York, facility in 1946 by William Hale Charch, a future mentor.^[11] During her interview with DuPont, Dr. Charch had said the company would reach out to her in about two weeks to tell her whether she had secured the job. Kwolek asked if they could possibly respond sooner because she had to notify another company if she would accept their offer. Charch then called in his receptionist to dictate Kwolek's offer letter in front of her.^[12]

As a chemical company, DuPont was trying to find a petroleum-based polymer fiber that would be lighter and harder-wearing than steel in radial tires. The firm had vacancies, given that many men had been overseas fighting in World War II. DuPont had introduced nylon shortly before the war, and that business boomed and blossomed into several textile applications.

At the same time, the protracted second World War emphasized the need for a lightweight, wearable armor to protect personnel and equipment. As the war raged overseas, soldiers engaged in battle had to do without body armor because there was no material strong enough to stop a rifle bullet but light enough to wear in battle.^[8] Steel was the only armor material available, and its weight limited its use to armored vehicles. Even then, steel could be pierced by specialized armor-piercing ammunition.

Kwolek intended to work for DuPont temporarily, in order to raise money for further study. At DuPont, the polymer research she worked on was so interesting and challenging that she decided to drop her plans for medical school and make chemistry a lifetime career. ^[5]^[13]^[14] Her research group moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 1950.^[11] In 1959, she won a publication award from the American Chemical Society (ACS), the first of many awards. The paper, The Nylon Rope Trick,^[10] demonstrated a way of producing nylon in a beaker at room temperature. It is still a common classroom experiment,^[15] and the process was extended to high molecular weight polyamides.^[16] In 1985, Kwolek and coworkers patented a method for preparing PBO and PBT polymers.^[17] Because Dupont was at the cutting edge of polymer technology and innovation, Kwolek never outgrew the position and spent her whole career doing research at Dupont. Over her 40-year career, Kwolek would file 28 patents. In addition to Kevlar, she contributed to products such as Spandex (Lycra), Nomex, and Kapton. She continued as a consultant to Dupont after her retirement in 1986, and became the first woman to earn the company’s Lavoisier medal for research in 1995.

She was engaged in the search for new polymers as well as a new condensation process that takes place at lower temperatures around 0 to 40 °C (32 to 104 °F). The melt condensation polymerization process used in preparing nylon, for example, was instead done at more than 200 °C (392 °F). The lower-temperature polycondensation processes, which employ very fast-reacting intermediates, make it possible to prepare polymers that cannot be melted and only begin to decompose at temperatures above 400 °C (752 °F).

Kevlar

[edit]

Kwolek is best known for her work during the 1950s and 1960s with aramids, or "aromatic polyamides", a type of polymer that can be made into strong, stiff, and flame-resistant fibres. Her laboratory work in aramids was conducted under the supervision of research fellow Paul W. Morgan, who calculated that the aramids would form stiff fibres owing to the presence of bulky benzene (or "aromatic") rings in their molecular chains but that they would have to be prepared from solution because they melt only at very high temperatures. Kwolek determined the solvents and polymerization conditions suitable for producing poly-m-phenylene isophthalamide, a compound that DuPont released in 1961, as a flame-resistant fibre with the trade name Nomex. She then extended her work into poly-p-benzamide and poly-p-phenylene terephthalamide, which she noted adopted highly regular rodlike molecular arrangements in solution. From these two "liquid crystal polymers" (the first ever prepared), fibres were spun that displayed unprecedented stiffness and tensile strength. The innovative polymer Poly-p-phenylene terephthalamide, as invented by Kwolek, was released commercially under the name Kevlar.^[9]

In 1964, in anticipation of a gasoline shortage, Kwolek's group began searching for a lightweight yet strong fiber to replace the steel used in tires.^[3]^[9] The polymers she had been working with, poly-p-phenylene terephthalate and polybenzamide,^[18] formed liquid crystal while in solution that at the time had to be melt-spun at over 200 °C (392 °F), which produced weaker and less stiff fibers. A unique technique in her new projects and the melt-condensation polymerization process was to reduce those temperatures to between the two worlds 0 and 40 °C (32 and 104 °F).^[9]

As she explained in a 1993 speech:^[19]

The solution was unusually (low viscosity), turbid, stir-opalescent and buttermilk in appearance. Conventional polymer solutions are usually clear or translucent and have the viscosity of molasses, more or less. The solution that I prepared looked like a dispersion but was totally filterable through a fine pore filter. This was a liquid crystalline solution, but I did not know it at the time.

This sort of cloudy solution was usually thrown away. Kwolek was denied the use of the spinneret for her solution because it was thought the solution would clog the machine.^[20] However, Kwolek persuaded technician Charles Smullen, who ran the spinneret, to test her solution. She was amazed to find that the new fiber would not break when nylon typically would. Not only was it stronger than nylon, Kevlar was five times stronger than steel by weight. Both her supervisor and the laboratory director ^{[citation needed]}understood the significance of her discovery, and a new field of polymer chemistry quickly arose. By 1971, modern Kevlar was introduced.^[9] Kwolek learned that the fibers could be made even stronger by heat-treating them. The polymer molecules, shaped like rods or matchsticks, are highly oriented, which gives Kevlar its extraordinary strength. Kwolek continued research of thermotropic Kevlar derivatives containing aliphatic and chlorine groups.^[21]

Applications of Kevlar

[edit]

Kwolek was not much involved in developing practical applications of Kevlar.^[22] Once senior DuPont managers were informed of the discovery, "they immediately assigned a whole group to work on different aspects", she said. Still, Kwolek continued research on Kevlar derivatives.^[23] She did not profit from DuPont's products, as she signed over the Kevlar patent to the company.^[24]

Kevlar is used in more than 200 applications, including tennis rackets, skis, parachute lines, boats, airplanes, ropes, cables, and bullet-proof vests.^[1] It has been used for car tires, fire fighter boots, hockey sticks, cut-resistant gloves and armored cars. It has also been used for protective building materials like bomb-proof materials, hurricane safe rooms, and bridge reinforcements.^[24] During the week of Kwolek's death, the one millionth bullet-resistant vest made with Kevlar was sold.^[25] Kevlar is also used to build cell phone cases; Motorola's Droid RAZR has a Kevlar unibody.^[26]

Kevlar has gone on to save lives as a lightweight body armor for police and the military; to convey messages across the ocean as a protector of undersea optical-fiber cable; to suspend bridges with super-strong ropes; and to be used in countless more applications from protective clothing for athletes and scientists to canoes, drumheads, and frying pans.^{[citation needed]}

Advocacy for Women in Science and Legacy in STEM Education

[edit]

Beyond her scientific achievements, Stephanie Kwolek was a passionate advocate for increasing women's participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As one of the few women chemists working at DuPont during the mid-20th century, Kwolek often spoke about the challenges she faced in a male-dominated field and sought to encourage young women to pursue careers in science.

After her retirement, Kwolek volunteered her time to mentor students and deliver talks about chemistry in classrooms across the country. She believed in the importance of hands-on science education and frequently demonstrated experiments such as the “nylon rope trick” to engage students—especially girls—in the wonders of chemistry. Her outreach helped demystify science for young audiences and inspired many to view STEM as a creative and impactful field.

Kwolek also worked with organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council to promote diversity in scientific disciplines and to advise on science education policy. She served on panels that focused on innovation and the role of women in research, lending her voice to the push for broader inclusion in science and technology professions.

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s decision to name a biennial award after her—the Stephanie L. Kwolek Award—underscores her lasting influence not only as a chemist but also as a role model. The award honors outstanding contributions in materials chemistry from scientists working outside the United Kingdom, and its establishment reflects her global impact.

Kwolek’s life and career are now taught in many classrooms as part of broader efforts to bring underrepresented figures into STEM curricula. She is frequently included in lists of pioneering women in science and is regarded as an example of perseverance, intellectual rigor, and the importance of representation in research and innovation.

Awards, honors, and legacy

[edit]

A quote by Stephanie Kwolek, photographed in 2024 inside the Delaware Museum of Nature & Science.

For her discovery of Kevlar, Kwolek was awarded the DuPont company's Lavoisier Medal for outstanding technical achievement in 1995, as a "Persistent experimentalist and role model whose discovery of liquid crystalline polyamides led to Kevlar aramid fibers."^[27]^[28] At the time of her death in 2014, she was still the only female employee to receive that honor.^[29] Her discovery generated several billion dollars of revenue for DuPont, being her employer at the time, but she never benefited directly from it financially.^[24]

In 1980, Kwolek received the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists, and an Award for Creative Invention from the American Chemical Society.^[5] In 1995,^[11]^[30] Kwolek was added to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.^[4] In 1996, she received the National Medal of Technology and the IRI Achievement Award. In 1997, she received the Perkin Medal from the American Chemical Society.^[31] In 2003, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.^[7]

She has been awarded honorary degrees by Carnegie Mellon University (2001),^[32] Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1981)^[5] and Clarkson University (1997).^[33]

The Royal Society of Chemistry grants a biennial 'Stephanie L Kwolek Award', "to recognise exceptional contributions to the area of materials chemistry from a scientist working outside the UK".^[34]

Kwolek is featured as one of the Royal Society of Chemistry's 175 Faces of Chemistry.^[35]

Later life

[edit]

In 1986, Kwolek retired as a research associate for DuPont. Toward the end of her life, she consulted for DuPont and served on both the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences. During her 40 years as a research scientist, she filed and received either 17 or 28 patents.

After retirement, Kwolek dedicated herself to science education and outreach. She regularly visited classrooms to demonstrate chemistry experiments and inspire students, especially young girls, to pursue STEM careers. She also remained active in professional organizations, advocating for women in science and offering mentorship to early-career chemists. She continued writing about scientific demonstrations and remained intellectually engaged until her passing.

Kwolek died at the age of 90 on June 18, 2014. Her funeral was at St. Joseph on the Brandywine.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Women in Chemistry – Stephanie Kwolek". Science History Institute. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
^ U.S. patent 3,819,587 Wholly Aromatic Carbocyclic Polycarbonamide Fiber. Kevlar patent awarded in 1974 to Stephanie Kwolek.
^ ^a ^b ^c Dan Samorodnitsky, "Meet Stephanie Kwolek, the woman who gave us bulletproof vests and yoga pants" Massive Science, July 31, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Citation conferring an Honorary Doctor of Science degree on Stephanie Louise Kwolek". University of Delaware. UDaily. May 31, 2008. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bensaude-Vincent, Bernadette (March 21, 1998). Stephanie L. Kwolek, Transcript of an Interview Conducted by Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent at Wilmington, Delaware on 21 March 1998 (PDF). Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation.
^ "SCI Perkin Medal". Science History Institute. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Stephanie Kwolek". Soylent Communications. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Domonoske, Camila (June 20, 2014). "Stephanie Kwolek, Chemist Who Created Kevlar, Dies At 90". NPR.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Inventing Modern America: Insight — Stephanie Kwolek". Lemelson-MIT program. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Morgan, P. W.; Kwolek, S. L. (1959). "Interfacial polycondensation. II. Fundamentals of polymer formation at liquid interfaces". Journal of Polymer Science. 40 (137): 299–327. Bibcode:1959JPoSc..40..299M. doi:10.1002/pol.1959.1204013702.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Invent Now". National Inventors Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ "Stephanie L. Kwolek". Science History Institute. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
^ Ferguson, Raymond C. (May 4, 1986). Stephanie Louise Kwolek, Transcript of an Interview Conducted by Raymond C. Ferguson in Sharpley, Delaware on 4 May 1986 (PDF). Philadelphia: Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry.
^ Rossiter, Margaret W. (1998). Women Scientists in America. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 267. ISBN 0-8018-5711-2. Retrieved May 24, 2009 – via Google Books.
^ Carlson, Michael (June 28, 2014). "Stephanie Kwolek obituary". The Guardian.
^ Morgan, P. W.; Kwolek, S. L. (1975). "Polyamides from Phenylenediamines and Aliphatic Diacids". Macromolecules. 8 (2): 104–111. Bibcode:1975MaMol...8..104M. doi:10.1021/ma60044a003.
^ US 4608427, Sweeny, W. & Kwolek, S. L., "PBO and PBT polymers", issued August 26, 1986, assigned to du Pont de Nemours, E. I., and Co., USA.
^ Stephanie Louise Kwolek Biography. Bookrags. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ Bregar, Bill (June 20, 2014). "Obituary Kevlar inventor Stephanie Kwolek". Plastic News. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
^ Women in Chemistry: Stephanie Kwolek, September 10, 2012, retrieved April 24, 2022
^ Kwolek, S. L.; Luise, R. R. (1986). "Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Aromatic/Cycloaliphatic Polyesters and Fibers". Macromolecules. 19 (7): 1789–1796. Bibcode:1986MaMol..19.1789K. doi:10.1021/ma00161a002.
^ Quinn, Jim. "I was able to be Creative and work as hard as I wanted". American Heritage Publishing. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ Morgan, Paul W.; Pletcher, Terry C.; Kwolek, Stephanie L. (August 29, 1984). "Aromatic Azomethine Polymers and Fibers". Polymers for Fibers and Elastomers. American Chemical Society. pp. 103-114. doi:10.1021/bk-1984-0260.ch007. ISBN 9780841208599.
^ ^a ^b ^c Pearce, Jeremy (June 21, 2014). "Stephanie L. Kwolek, Inventor of Kevlar, Is Dead at 90". New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
^ Newcomb, Alyssa (June 20, 2014). "Kevlar Inventor Stephanie Kwolek Dead at 90". Good Morning America. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2014 – via Yahoo! News.
^ Covert, Adrian; Rose, Brent (October 18, 2011). "Motorola Droid RAZR: Thinnest of All. Kevlar. Splashproof. Yes". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
^ "Welcome to the Global Collaboratory: Lavoisier Medal for Technical Achievement" (PDF). DuPont. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
^ "Dupont Scientists honored with Lavoisier Medals for technical achievement" (Press release). PRNewswire. April 27, 1995. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014 – via TheFreeLibrary.
^ "Kevlar inventor Stephanie Kwolek dies". BBC News. June 21, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
^ "The History of Kevlar — Stephanie Kwolek". The New York Times Company. About.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ "JCE Online: Biographical Snapshots: Snapshot". Journal of Chemical Education. American Chemical Society. Archived from the original on May 30, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
^ "Obituary: Carnegie Mellon Alumna and Hall of Fame Inventor Stephanie Kwolek Dies at 90". Carnegie Mellon News. Carnegie Mellon University. June 20, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
^ "Honorary Degrees". Clarkson University. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
^ "RSC Stephanie L Kwolek Award". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
^ Marr, Isobel (July 2015). "Stephanie Kwolek | 175 Faces of Chemistry". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved July 24, 2015.

Further reading

[edit]

Edwin Brit Wyckoff (April 2008), Stopping Bullets with a Thread; Stephanie Kwolek and Her Incredible Invention, Enslow Elementary, ISBN 9780766028500, OCLC 74029319, OL 10937083M, 076602850X

External links

[edit]

Library resources about
Stephanie Kwolek

By Stephanie Kwolek

Media related to Stephanie Kwolek at Wikimedia Commons

Stephanie Kwolek at Famous Women Inventors
"Women in Chemistry – Stephanie Kwolek (Video)". Science History Institute.
Ferguson, Raymond C. (May 4, 1986). Stephanie Louise Kwolek, Transcript of an Interview Conducted by Raymond C. Ferguson in Sharpley, Delaware on 4 May 1986 (PDF). Philadelphia: Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry.
Bensaude-Vincent, Bernadette (March 21, 1998). Stephanie L. Kwolek, Transcript of an Interview Conducted by Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent at Wilmington, Delaware on 21 March 1998 (PDF). Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation.
Oral history interview with Stephanie L. Kwolek (1986) from Science History Institute Digital Collections
Oral history interview with Stephanie L. Kwolek (1998) from Science History Institute Digital Collections
Stephanie L. Kwolek papers at Hagley Museum and Library.
Stephanie Kwolek photographs and videotapes at Hagley Museum and Library.
Stephanie Kwolek photographs at Hagley Museum and Library.

Hall of Fame of Delaware Women

1980s

1981	Annie Jump Cannon Pearl Herlihy Daniels Ruth Mitchell Laws Mary Ann Wright
1982	Vera Gilbride Davis Mabel L. Fisher Ridgely Emalea Pusey Warner Pauline A. Young
1983	Esther Schauer Frear Sallie Topkis Ginns Edith Jackson Newton Cecile Long Steele
1985	Louise T. Conner Norma B. Handloff Mary Askew Mather Mary Jornlin Theisen
1986	Roxana Cannon Arsht Emily Bissell Hilda Davis Mabel Vernon
1987	Marguerite Hill Burnett Florence Bayard Hilles Gertrude M. Lowell Elizabeth H. Ryan
1988	Margaret Irving Handy Jane E. Mitchell
1989	Pauline Dyson Genevieve W. Gore

1990s

1990	Winifred J. Robinson Mary Ann Sorden Stuart
1991	Madaline Elliot Buchanan Katherine L. Esterly Nancy Churchman Sawin
1992	Claire La Mar Carey Lozelle Jenkins DeLuz Margaret R. Manning Jane T. Mitchell
1993	Carol E. Hoffecker Elizabeth Neal Ada Leigh Soles Frances D. Swift Tatnall Mae D. Hightower-Vandamm
1994	Helen S. Balick Eleanor L. Cain Harriet Ruth Williams
1995	Mae Riedy Carter Ruth Ann Minner Ruth Oates-Graham
1996	Cynthia M. Boehmer Julie K. Boozer Sally J. Knox Jane P. Maroney
1997	Mary Ann Shadd Cary Sherry L. Freebery Karen E. Peterson Harriet N. Smith Windsor
1998	Nancy W. Cook Henrietta R. Johnson Renee G. O'Leary Beatrice "Bea" Simonds
1999	Grace Ruth Batten Evelyn P. Burkle Lynne S. Frink Barbara Chase Herr

2000s

2000	Martha G. Bachman Alice Marie Smith Coleman Emily G. Morris Helen R. Thomas
2001	Myrna L. Bair Anna Janney De Armond Marian L. Harris Lucile Petry Leone
2002	Sister Ann Marguerite Gildea Gloria Wernicki Homer Jeanne D. Nutter Mary Sam Ward
2003	Joy Ann Bartell Sister Jeanne Cashman Margaret Rose Henry
2004	Patricia M. Blevins Linda L. Chick Carol A. Timmons Edith P. Vincent
2005	Muriel E. Gilman Patricia W. Griffin Teresa Haman Valerie A. Woodruff
2006	M. Jane Brady Felicia A. Dorman Lolita A. Lopez Betsy Rawls Loretta F. Walsh
2007	Sujata Kumari Bhatia Carolyn S. Burger Liane McDowell Sorenson Shirley M. Tarrant Valerie Whiting
2008	Elizabeth Empson Battell Renee Palmore Beaman Grace Pierce Beck Uma Chowdhry Christine Margaret McDermott Evelyn Dickenson Swensson
2009	Theresa L.I. del Tufo Sally V. Hawkins Lynn W. Williams

2010s

2010	Sister Ascension Banegas Jeanette Eckman Kathryn Young Hazeur Jacquelin Pitts Beverly Louise Stewart Judith Gedney Tobin
2011	Neda P. Biggs Imogene F. Chandler Susan C. Del Pesco Audrey K. Doberstein Moonyeen L. Klopfenstein
2012	Vicky Cooke Micki Edelsohn Vivian Rapposelli Frances West
2013	Beatrice Coker Patricia Maichle Wilma Mishoe Jane Richards Roth
2014	Stephanie Kwolek Catherine Devaney McKay Patricia H. Purcell Latricia Odette Wright
2015	Kim L. Allen Darlene Battle Sandra Ben Rita Landgraf Ileana Smith
2016	Annie Norman Chandra Pitts Sonia S. Sloan Jamie L. Wolfe
2017	Carolyn Berger Debra Heffernan Janice Nevin Kendall M. Wilson
2018	Jill Biden Lisa Blunt Rochester Reba Ross Hollingsworth Deborah Wicks
2019	Tania M. Culley Drewry N. Fennell Jan R. Jurden Maria Matos (Delaware) Blanche Williams Stubbs Marie Swajeski

2020s

2020	Mary Seward Phillips Eskridge Margaret Burton White Houston
2021	Fayetta M. Blake Stephanie Bolden Jennifer Cohan Marianne Blackburn “Mimi” Drew Ann Jaffe Valerie Longhurst
2022	Anne Canby Alice Dunbar Nelson Carolyn Fredricks Teri Quinn Gray Ilona Holland Karyl Rattay Aida Waserstein
2023	Patricia Dailey Lewis Bonnie Meszaros Paulette Sullivan Moore Leslie Newman (Delaware) Lynn Snyder-Mackler

v t e DuPont
Selected directors	Edward D. Breen Alexander M. Cutler Rajiv L. Gupta
Products	Corian FE-13 Freon Hypalon Kalrez Kapton Kevlar Mylar Neoprene Nomex Nylon Sorona Teflon Tyvek Vespel Viton Zodiaq Zytel
Subsidiaries and joint ventures	Antec International
Divisions and facilities	DuPont Central Research DuPont Experimental Station DuPont Building
Notable people	Éleuthère Irénée du Pont Alfred I. du Pont Eugene du Pont Francis Gurney du Pont Francis Irénée du Pont Henry du Pont Lammot du Pont Pierre S. du Pont T. Coleman du Pont Jeffery Stanford Agate Anthony Joseph Arduengo III Jacques Antoine Bidermann Samuel Bodman Norman Borlaug Donaldson Brown Richard H. Brown Wallace Carothers Uma Chowdhry Thomas M. Connelly Curtis J. Crawford John T. Dillon Linda Fisher Richard Goodmanson Jeff Gordon Charles O. Holliday Steven Ittel Edward G. Jefferson Ellen J. Kullman Stephanie Kwolek James Lynah Rudolph Pariser George Parshall Charles J. Pedersen William Dale Phillips Roy J. Plunkett John J. Raskob William K. Reilly Irving S. Shapiro Richard R. Schrock Joseph Shivers Howard Ensign Simmons Jr. Charles Stine Frederick N. Tebbe Chadwick A. Tolman Earl Tupper Charles M. Vest Edgar S. Woolard Jr. Nathaniel C. Wyeth
History	DuPont (1802–2017) Du Pont family Atlas Chemical Industries B Reactor (Manhattan Project) Eleutherian Mills Hagley Museum and Library Hercules Powder Company Kinetic Chemicals Nemours Estate Remington Arms Savannah River Site Wilmington Trust Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library Conoco Consolidation Coal Company DuPont analysis DuPont v. Kolon Industries Du Pont Motors DuPont Building (incl. The Playhouse on Rodney Square, formerly the DuPont Playhouse) Chemours
Sponsorship	Tour DuPont Pioneer 250 Hendrick Motorsports Car No. 24 (NASCAR Cup Series career of Jeff Gordon) The DuPont Show with June Allyson DuPont Show of the Month
Category Commons

Inductees to the National Women's Hall of Fame

1970–1979

1973	Jane Addams Marian Anderson Susan B. Anthony Clara Barton Mary McLeod Bethune Elizabeth Blackwell Pearl S. Buck Rachel Carson Mary Cassatt Emily Dickinson Amelia Earhart Alice Hamilton Helen Hayes Helen Keller Eleanor Roosevelt Florence Sabin Margaret Chase Smith Elizabeth Cady Stanton Helen Brooke Taussig Harriet Tubman
1976	Abigail Adams Margaret Mead Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias
1979	Dorothea Dix Juliette Gordon Low Alice Paul Elizabeth Bayley Seton

1980–1989

1981	Margaret Sanger Sojourner Truth
1982	Carrie Chapman Catt Frances Perkins
1983	Belva Lockwood Lucretia Mott
1984	Mary "Mother" Harris Jones Bessie Smith
1986	Barbara McClintock Lucy Stone Harriet Beecher Stowe
1988	Gwendolyn Brooks Willa Cather Sally Ride Mary Risteau Ida B. Wells-Barnett

1990–1999

1990	Margaret Bourke-White Barbara Jordan Billie Jean King Florence B. Seibert
1991	Gertrude Belle Elion
1993	Ethel Percy Andrus Antoinette Blackwell Emily Blackwell Shirley Chisholm Jacqueline Cochran Ruth Colvin Marian Wright Edelman Alice Evans Betty Friedan Ella Grasso Martha Wright Griffiths Fannie Lou Hamer Dorothy Height Dolores Huerta Mary Putnam Jacobi Mae Jemison Mary Lyon Mary Mahoney Wilma Mankiller Constance Baker Motley Georgia O'Keeffe Annie Oakley Rosa Parks Esther Peterson Jeannette Rankin Ellen Swallow Richards Elaine Roulet Katherine Siva Saubel Gloria Steinem Helen Stephens Lillian Wald Madam C. J. Walker Faye Wattleton Rosalyn S. Yalow Gloria Yerkovich
1994	Bella Abzug Ella Baker Myra Bradwell Annie Jump Cannon Jane Cunningham Croly Catherine East Geraldine Ferraro Charlotte Perkins Gilman Grace Hopper Helen LaKelly Hunt Zora Neale Hurston Anne Hutchinson Frances Wisebart Jacobs Susette La Flesche Louise McManus Maria Mitchell Antonia Novello Linda Richards Wilma Rudolph Betty Bone Schiess Muriel Siebert Nettie Stevens Oprah Winfrey Sarah Winnemucca Fanny Wright
1995	Virginia Apgar Ann Bancroft Amelia Bloomer Mary Breckinridge Eileen Collins Elizabeth Hanford Dole Anne Dallas Dudley Mary Baker Eddy Ella Fitzgerald Margaret Fuller Matilda Joslyn Gage Lillian Moller Gilbreth Nannerl O. Keohane Maggie Kuhn Sandra Day O'Connor Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin Pat Schroeder Hannah Greenebaum Solomon
1996	Louisa May Alcott Charlotte Anne Bunch Frances Xavier Cabrini Mary A. Hallaren Oveta Culp Hobby Wilhelmina Cole Holladay Anne Morrow Lindbergh Maria Goeppert Mayer Ernestine Louise Potowski Rose Maria Tallchief Edith Wharton
1998	Madeleine Albright Maya Angelou Nellie Bly Lydia Moss Bradley Mary Steichen Calderone Mary Ann Shadd Cary Joan Ganz Cooney Gerty Cori Sarah Grimké Julia Ward Howe Shirley Ann Jackson Shannon Lucid Katharine Dexter McCormick Rozanne L. Ridgway Edith Nourse Rogers Felice Schwartz Eunice Kennedy Shriver Beverly Sills Florence Wald Angelina Grimké Weld Chien-Shiung Wu

2000–2009

2000	Faye Glenn Abdellah Emma Smith DeVoe Marjory Stoneman Douglas Mary Dyer Sylvia A. Earle Crystal Eastman Jeanne Holm Leontine T. Kelly Frances Oldham Kelsey Kate Mullany Janet Reno Anna Howard Shaw Sophia Smith Ida Tarbell Wilma L. Vaught Mary Edwards Walker Annie Dodge Wauneka Eudora Welty Frances E. Willard
2001	Dorothy H. Andersen Lucille Ball Rosalynn Carter Lydia Maria Child Bessie Coleman Dorothy Day Marian de Forest Althea Gibson Beatrice A. Hicks Barbara Holdridge Harriet Williams Russell Strong Emily Howell Warner Victoria Woodhull
2002	Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis Ruth Bader Ginsburg Katharine Graham Bertha Holt Mary Engle Pennington Mercy Otis Warren
2003	Linda G. Alvarado Donna de Varona Gertrude Ederle Martha Matilda Harper Patricia Roberts Harris Stephanie L. Kwolek Dorothea Lange Mildred Robbins Leet Patsy Takemoto Mink Sacagawea Anne Sullivan Sheila E. Widnall
2005	Florence E. Allen Ruth Fulton Benedict Betty Bumpers Hillary Clinton Rita Rossi Colwell Mother Marianne Cope Maya Y. Lin Patricia A. Locke Blanche Stuart Scott Mary Burnett Talbert
2007	Eleanor K. Baum Julia Child Martha Coffin Pelham Wright Swanee Hunt Winona LaDuke Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Judith L. Pipher Catherine Filene Shouse Henrietta Szold
2009	Louise Bourgeois Mildred Cohn Karen DeCrow Susan Kelly-Dreiss Allie B. Latimer Emma Lazarus Ruth Patrick Rebecca Talbot Perkins Susan Solomon Kate Stoneman

2010–2019

2011	St. Katharine Drexel Dorothy Harrison Eustis Loretta C. Ford Abby Kelley Foster Helen Murray Free Billie Holiday Coretta Scott King Lilly Ledbetter Barbara A. Mikulski Donna E. Shalala Kathrine Switzer
2013	Betty Ford Ina May Gaskin Julie Krone Kate Millett Nancy Pelosi Mary Joseph Rogers Bernice Sandler Anna Schwartz Emma Willard
2015	Tenley Albright Nancy Brinker Martha Graham Marcia Greenberger Barbara Iglewski Jean Kilbourne Carlotta Walls LaNier Philippa Marrack Mary Harriman Rumsey Eleanor Smeal
2017	Matilda Cuomo Temple Grandin Lorraine Hansberry Victoria Jackson Sherry Lansing Clare Boothe Luce Aimee Mullins Carol Mutter Janet Rowley Alice Waters
2019	Gloria Allred Angela Davis Sarah Deer Jane Fonda Nicole Malachowski Rose O'Neill Louise Slaughter Sonia Sotomayor Laurie Spiegel Flossie Wong-Staal

2020–2029

2020	Aretha Franklin Barbara Hillary Barbara Rose Johns Henrietta Lacks Toni Morrison Mary Church Terrell
2022	Octavia E. Butler Judy Chicago Rebecca S. Halstead Mia Hamm Joy Harjo Emily Howland Katherine Johnson Indra Nooyi Michelle Obama
2024	Patricia Bath Ruby Bridges Elouise P. Cobell Kimberlé Crenshaw Peggy McIntosh Judith Plaskow Loretta Ross Sandy Stone Anna Wessels Williams Serena Williams