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Harriet Brooks
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<p>Harriet Brooks (July 2, 1876 – April 17, 1933) was the first <a href="/facts/Canadians/9y5ceYgk">Canadian</a> female <a href="/facts/Nuclear_physicist/fzQbt1aF">nuclear physicist</a>. She is most famous for her research in <a href="/facts/Radioactivity/Ya6FVjt4">radioactivity</a>. She discovered <a href="/facts/Atomic_recoil/9DoQJ7At">atomic recoil</a>, and <a href="/facts/Transmutation_of_elements/MjlvjsV6">transmutation of elements</a> in radioactive decay. <a href="/facts/Ernest_Rutherford/hjjMEskl">Ernest Rutherford</a>, who guided her graduate work, regarded her as comparable to <a href="/facts/Marie_Curie/EGjeuJ14">Marie Curie</a> in the calibre of her aptitude. She was among the first persons to discover <a href="/facts/Radon/0V9arWKl">radon</a> and to try to determine its <a href="/facts/Atomic_mass/J1FJY9MV">atomic mass</a>. </p>