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The Royal Society in London, England, is the world's oldest scientific organisation. This week, it has put 250,000 old documents onto computers for everyone to see.

Many of the documents show how when women made important discoveries, it was men who were praisedShowed approval and recognition. Said well done. and listened to.

In 1822, English doctor Gideon Mantell discovered a set of big teeth. He believed they belonged to an animal from the deep past. But fossilThe remains or shape of a prehistoric animal or plant preserved in rock. expertsSomeone who knows a lot about a particular subject. laughed at him.

Three years later, Mantell was proven right. He made drawings of his findings. Now, the drawings are shown in the new digitalInvolving the use of computers. collection.

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But this is not the whole story. Today, many think it was Mantell's wife Mary Ann who found the bones and helped with the drawings. But nobody ever recognised her work.

Mary Ann is just one example. There could be hundreds of women who made big discoveries, but are not in science books.

There have been famous women scientists, such as Ada LovelaceAn English mathematician known as the first computer programmer. and Marie CurieA Polish-French pioneer in the study of radioactivity and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.. But throughout history, most scientists have been men. Lovelace and Curie lived at a time when only a small number of women went to school.

Yes! Mary Ann's story shows that women deserve more creditRecognising an important piece of work that someone has done. . They have been missed out of the pages of the history books. Now, we should work to find out what discoveries were made by women, not men.

No! We cannot ignore that most scientists from the past are men, and so most big discoveries were made by men. It is time to look forwards instead, to make sure more girls become scientists.