ABSTRACT
Mary Jane Rathbun, whose carcinological career was initiated with her appointment as a ‘copyist’ in the Division of Marine Invertebrates of the US National Museum in 1886, is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, woman to have a direct Impact on carcinology in the United States. As Mary Rathbun’s name is synonymous with early brachyuran systematics, the name of another contemporary of hers at the Museum, Harriet Richardson, is equally recognized in the field of isopod systematics. To get an idea of the inroads women have made in some of the scientific societies today, the readers reviewed the membership rolls, membership retention, and publication history of the Crustacean Society. In 1945, Jentena Leene was offered the curatorship in the section of fiber technology at the Laboratory for Mechanical Technology, Polytecnical University of Delft and in 1949 also became a lecturer in fiber technology.
