The case of Rosalind Franklin makes me wonder how many scientific studies were made by women who were denied credit by men. Is there any evidence of this in the 19th century, and could it have happened earlier? How would we find this out?
Pickering's Harem comes to mind. I'm not an expert by any means, so I would love to see someone with more knowledge jump into this.
The basic outline:
Pickering was the head astronomer at the Harvard Observatory from 1877-1919. His male assistants were subpar for the work he needed (computations, filing, organizing) so he hired women at half the pay to do the same work. None of his discoveries would have been possible without their work.
Some of the women rose through the ranks to produce their own work. E.g. Annie Jump Cannon produced a system for classifying stars that is still in use today.
Questions for someone who actually knows about this:
How much would these women have understood the science behind what they were doing?
What was the social backlash for this at the time? The name "Pickering's Harem" has negative connotations now. I imagine it did then as well.
How "progressive' was Pickering for the time? Was he interested in women's rights or cheap labor?
Just how much does Pickering's reputation rest on the shoulders of these women?