Dorothy Hodgkin and the most inspirational British women scientists

From penicillin to plesiosaurs, here's the Royal Society's list of the top ten most influential British women in science

With a tribute to British chemist Dorothy Hodgkin currently sitting atop of Google’s search bar, we thought we’d use this as an excuse to run down some of the most influential British women in science.

Hodgkin’s own accomplishments included advancing the use of X-ray crystallography to work out the structure of the penicillin molecule (the feat that the Doodle commemorates), but other female British scientists’ achievements range from the discovery of dinosaurs to the development of in vitro fertilisation.

The gallery of below of the ‘top ten’ (the list comes from the Royal Society who published it in 2010 to celebrate the organization’s 350 anniversary) begins with the 18th century astronomer Caroline Herschel who discovered eight comets, fourteen nebulae and a whole range of star clusters and other celestial bodies.

It continues through the likes of Mary Anning (a Georgian with an uncanny ability for locating and unearthing fossils) and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (a Victorian who became the first Englishwoman to qualify as a doctor and paved the way for other women). Click through below to get the full picture: