9. The Sherlock Holmes Fan Who Pioneered Forensic Science
Chicago society dame Frances Glessner Lee (1878 – 1962) had a hobby that was quite unusual for women of her day: solving crimes and helping advance the science of forensics. She ended up developing a training system for homicide detectives that she called Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Deaths, parts of which are still in use today. She is considered the godmother of forensic science.
The daughter of an industrialist who became fabulously wealthy from investing in International Harvester, Lee got hooked on Sherlock Holmes tales as a young girl. She dreamt of growing up to become a crime solver and wanted to attend college, but her family would not permit it. She was also discouraged from pursuing her interests in forensic pathology. Her dreams did not die, however, and after the death of her father and then her brother, she inherited the International Harvester fortune at age 52.