Hertha Ayrton
Personal Information
Born: 1854
Died: 1923
Country of Birth: United Kingdom
Nationality: British
Ethnicity: White
Education
Girton College Cambridge; University of London BS 1881
Professional Life
Field of Study: Electrical Engineering
Institution/Corporation: None found
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Institution of Electrical Engineers (1st female member, now IET 1899)Women's Social & Political Union (1907)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1906 Hughes Medal, Royal Society; 2007 & 2018 English blue Plaques were erected in Paddington & Portsmouth respectively; 2010 was named 1 of the 10 Most Influential British Women in the History of Science by a panel of the Royal society
Achievements: held 26 patents for everything from an improved movie projector to implements for the British military; 1902, published The Electric Arc, a 500 page textbook that analyzed the electric arc used in lighting; discovered the hissing sound of lamps originated in the oxidation of the positive carbon electrode & proposed changes in the shape of the electrodes that greatly reduced the noise; 1884 patented a line divider an engineering drawing instrument for dividing a line into any number of equal parts & enlarging & reducing figures; 1904 was the 1st female to read a paper before the Royal Society, her previous paper had to be read to the Society by a male friend of her husbands a fellowship at Girton is 1 of 2 fellowships in her name; 1901 began studying sand ripples
was born Phoebe Sarah Marks & was known as Sarah growing up
there are 2 stories about how she became known as Hertha; the 1st says she became an agnostic at age 16 & began calling herself Hertha after the heroine of a poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne that criticized organized religion; the 2nd story says she was nicknamed Hertha by her friend Ottilie Hancock after the heroine of a novel by Swedish feminist Frederika Bremer
father died in 1861 when her mother was pregnant with their 8th child, she was the 3rd child & helped by assuming responsibility for her younger siblings
at age 9 was invited to live with her aunt Marion Hartog (an author) & her family in northwestern London & attend a school run by Marion & her husband
by 16 was working as a governess
George Eliot supported her application to Girton College in Cambridge where she studied mathematics, constructed a sphygmomanmeter (blood pressure meter), led the choral society, founded the Girton fire brigade, & with charlotte Scott formed a mathematical club
1880 passed her Mathematics Tripos but was not awarded a degree because Cambridge didn't give degrees to women; she then passed an external exam at the University of London which gave her a BS in 1881
earned money teaching & doing embroidery, ran a singing club for working girls, & cared for her invalid sister
1885 married Professor William Edward Ayrton a pioneer in electrical engineering & physics education, helped him with his experiments in physics & electricity
was an active supporter of the women's suffrage movement
was a close friend of Marie Curie & gave her daughter Irene math lessons
her daughter Barbara Bodichon Ayrton (named after her patroness Barbara Bodichon) became a member of Parliament for the Labour Party & her grandson was the artist Michael Ayrton
the character Mirah Cohen in George Eliot's novel Daniel Deronda published in 1876 is based on Ayrton
1902 was nominated as a fellow of the Royal society but was denied because married women had no standing in Britain