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America has long led the world in advanced education opportunities for women. A number of 19th-century women majored in the sciences and had significant professional successes. The first to formally study engineering was Kate Gleason, who entered Cornell University in 1884 to major in mechanical engineering.
Gleason was born in Rochester, NY, in 1865, the eldest of four children. Her father operated a machine shop that specialized in making beveled gears. He designed a machine in 1874 that automatically planed them to a high precision.
Gleason was educated in the city schools and enjoyed working around machinery. She did odd jobs at her father's machine shop and at the age of 14 became his regular bookkeeper. The business was doing satisfactorily and Gleason felt comfortable in leaving it behind when it came time to study engineering at Cornell. But the Gleason Tool Company felt her absence and Gleason's father asked her to return. Gleason left college before completing her first year.
Another short period at...