Who was the scientist who first proved the existence of dark matter?

Vera Rubin (1928-2016) is the astrophysicist whose groundbreaking work proved the existence of dark matter. Her study of galaxy rotation rates pioneered the field of dark matter study and offered the evidence scientists use to continue their exploration in this field. She developed her interest in astronomy at the age of 10, building her own telescope out of cardboard and began to track meteors.

Because girls were not encouraged to study in the scientific fields, Vera was told to study art instead of astronomy. She refused and completed her degree in 1948 as the only woman in the program. Princeton and Harvard refused to admit her for her graduate degree because of her gender. Finally she was accepted at Cornell University. While a grad student she began her study of the movement of galaxies. Receiving her graduate degree in 1951 and her PhD from Georgetown University in 1954. She was 26 years old and accomplished all this while married and raising two children.

She received numerous awards for her work, including the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, one of only two women to receive such an honor. She also receive honorary doctorates from five universities including from two that had rejected her because she was a woman.

She continued her extraordinary work until her death on December 25, 2016. Unfortunately, she never received a Nobel Prize for her revolutionary work even though two male colleagues received one for developing theories based on her work.