It may come as a surprise to you that, from the computer to an ice-cream maker, some of the most important discoveries and inventions were by women.

We’ve all heard of famous inventors such as Thomas Jefferson (Monticello’s Great Clock), Alexander Graham Bell (the telephone), and Benjamin Franklin (bifocal glasses), but what about Grace Hopper and Stephanie Kwolek?

Hopper invented computer programming — without which, it’s fair to say, the world would be a very different place—and Kwolek invented Kevlar, a material five times stronger than steel and currently used around the world to protect people from bullets.

Despite how important these inventions are, history has shown us that women’s achievements are often overlooked when it comes to handing out praise. So we’re looking to spread the love.

Mary Wells Lawrence is fifth on a chronological list compiled by David Lidsky in an article for Fast Company. A rising star in advertising’s Mad Men era, Wells built a fast-growing indie agency, took it public, and won over clients with dazzling bravura. She used irony to elevate underdogs andc prioneered existential branding, (revamping airlines’ ads and their service) — ideas that now pervade all of advertising.

To learn more about her, please click here.

David Lidsky is Deputy Editor of Fast Company.