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In the 1940s, Dorothy made more scientific strides even with a baby, prompting the college to award maternity pay. From October 2014.

The correspondence of Nobel Prize winning scientist, Dorothy Hodgkin (1910-1994), introduced by her biographer, Georgina Ferry.

In the 1940s, Dorothy worked on the structure of a new medicine with a miraculous reputation, penicillin: making her first big breakthrough while breastfeeding her daughter Liz and with her peripatetic husband, Thomas, living and working away from home. Somerville College invented maternity pay for her, a benefit which Dorothy accepted rather reluctantly. As ever, her mother urged her to go gently but, inspired by her discoveries, Dorothy worked harder than ever.

Producer: Anna Buckley.

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15 minutes

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Thu 30 Mar 2017 02:15

Dorothy Hodgkin's Papers - the archive

With thanks to the Hodgkin family for permission to broadcast the letters. The archive of Dorothy Hodgkin鈥檚 papers is held by the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

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  • Wed 8 Oct 2014 13:45
  • Wed 29 Mar 2017 14:15
  • Thu 30 Mar 2017 02:15

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