Nettie Stevens

Geneticist Who Discovered Sex Chromosomes

Nettie Stevens was expected to do what any woman born in the 1860s was expected to do… but she had other plans. Nettie devoted her life to becoming a scientist, a goal she achieved despite having to take breaks to earn enough money to pay for more schooling. Then, while studying mealworms, she made a discovery that would change our understanding of sex, gender, and reproduction forever.