Elsie Macgill: The 'Mother Of Hurricanes'

Superior Essays
In the 1940’s, seeing a woman with a degree was an amazing sight, but having a degree in a field that was overrun by men, that was unheard of, at least, until Elsie MacGill came along. Elsie MacGill was the first woman to get a degree in aeronautical engineering, and she graduated from the University Of Toronto, the University Of Michigan, and the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology with her bachelors degree. Many people believe that she was recognized for her accomplishments, though others believe she was recognized because her husband was a very successful and widely known engineer, and back then according to History.com, “Women were not respected in work fields that were run by men.”Multiple historian sources claim that these articles …show more content…
People may never know the true story of Elsie MacGill, but with all the hate and abuse she got for being a woman in a mans industry, she fought through it and now her actions have helped the people of today’s society and for the future. Picture you living your childhood, discriminated against due to your gender, and wanting to make a difference in the world but having to endure years of abuse to change it.MacGill was one of the most honored woman of her time, according to her mother, Helen MacGill.That is how Elsie’s life was since she graduated from the University of Toronto, full of abuse from men and cushioning from her fellow women. MacGill’s family and spouse also got a lot of abuse, some reports stating that her cousin was murdered by a man she worked with due to them disagreeing with Elsie’s choices. After she got her degrees and went into the workforce, MacGill got a group of women together and started protesting how women were getting treated in the workforce.History.com clearly states that during their protesting, the wives of men started to leave them, causing them to change their minds about how they treated working women. The discrimination towards women in engineering was uncalled for, according to a historian that studies women history.History.com states that the end result of MacGill’s actions and her standing up for what she believes in led her to be a figure for women of that time to look up too. As you can see,It is out in the open that Elsie MacGill was a huge part of women rights in engineering, and in any work field Such as her accomplishments, being the first woman to

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