Sassy Bitches of Science: Hypatia

Hypatia is considered the first notable woman in mathematics, living in Alexandria circa. 350-415 CE. She wrote and taught about philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy, and is credited with several inventions. What little information about her life survives indicates that she was an extremely sassy lady.

Though she was herself a pagan, early Christian authors held her as a symbol of virtue. She once even repelled a would-be suitor by showing him her used maxi pads. Despite her reputation, she came to an untimely and violent end at the hands of an angry Christian mob, convinced that she was causing the Egyptian Prefect to reject the Archbishop with her feminine wiles. Whether she was the first "witch" burned at the stake or actually involved in the strained relationship between the church and the state is still discussed, but there is little debate that she is one of the great Sassy Bitches of Science.