Hubbard, Ruth (1924–)
Hubbard, Ruth (1924–)
American biologist. Name variations: Ruth Wald. Born Mar 3, 1924, in Vienna, Austria; dau. of physicians; Radcliffe College, AB, 1944, PhD, 1950; m. Frank Hubbard (pioneered a harpsichord revival), 1941; George Wald (scientist); children: (2nd m.) Elijah Wald (b. 1959), Deborah Hannah Wald (b. 1961).
Activist, scientist, educator and women's health advocate and Harvard University's 1st tenured woman biology professor, fled Nazism as a teenager; developed a reputation for challenging proponents of sociobiology; was a Guggenheim fellow at Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen (1952–53); at Harvard University, served as a research fellow (1950–52, 1954–58), research associate (1958–74), biology professor (1974–90) and professor emerita (from 1990); served on board of directors for Council for Responsible Genetics' (from 1982); worked as a Boston Women' Healthbook Collective consultant; believed that the male-gendered language of science affects women's thoughts, beliefs and health; wrote The Politics of Women's Biology (1990) and Profitable Promises: Essays on Women, Science and Health (1994), among others. Received University of Zürich's Paul Karrer Medal (with George Wald, 1967) and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom's Peace and Freedom Award (1985).