Today is International Women’s Day, so here is another edition of the Women in Chemistry history series. This edition features women whose achievements in chemistry include the creation of synthetic emeralds, the impact of diet and nutrition on intelligence and health, and more.
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Keng Hsien-Seng (Circa 975 CE): Alchemist at the Chinese Imperial Court. As well as distilling alcohol from camphor, she developed a technique for extracting silver from its ore using mercury.
Vera Popova (1867–1896): One of the first female chemists in Russia and the first Russian woman to author a chemistry textbook. She died in an explosion in her laboratory.
Ume Tange (1873–1955): One of the first Japanese women to gain a doctorate in science. Her research focused on vitamins and vitamin deficiencies, particularly vitamin B2.
Florence E. Wall (1893–1988): Coined the term “canitics” for the science of hair dyeing. She was the first woman to receive the medal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists in 1956.
Christina Miller (1899–2001): Her analytical chemistry discoveries, including isolating the first ever sample of pure phosphorus trioxide. She was deaf from childhood and lost an eye in a lab explosion.
Mary Fieser (1909–1997): Jointly wrote a number of successful organic chemistry textbooks with her husband, Louis Fieser. They also carried out research on quinones and steroids.
Birgit Vennesland (1913–2001): Researched and compared how enzymes in animals and plants work. She was later a Director at the Max Planck Institute, where she led an eponymous research institute.
Emīlija Gudriniece (1920–2004): Organic chemist who synthesised furacin, a topical antimicrobial. She was also amongst the first to recognise the potential for the use of vegetable oils as biofuels.
Clara Lim-Sylianco (1925–2013): Researched mutagens and antimutagens: compounds that cause or prevent damage to DNA. She also wrote textbooks on organic chemistry and biochemistry.
Cecile Hoover Edwards (1926–2005): Carried out nutritional research, proving that nutrition and environment have an impact on intelligence. She also researched the metabolism of the amino acid methionine.
Edith Flanigen (1929–2026): Invented over 200 synthetic substances, including synthetic emeralds. She also researched molecular sieves for separating complex mixtures of substances.
Grace Oladunni Taylor (1937–2025): Researched heart disease and showed cholesterol levels are affected by diet and exercise, not by race. First African winner of the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award.
