Electrical engineer and suffragist. Born Phoebe Sarah Marks in Portsmouth. Aged 16 began teaching in London. Studied maths at Girton College Cambridge. Married William Ayrton in 1885. Elected a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1899 and was the only woman member until 1958 (shame on them). In 1902 she was proposed for the Royal Society but this was blocked because a married woman had no standing in law and so was ineligible. Not surprisingly Hertha supported the militant suffragists and marched in all the suffrage protests, in academic gown, which, of course, she was not entitled to wear. Mrs Pankhurst and other hunger strikers were nursed in her home and Hertha declared herself "proud" when her daughter Barbara was imprisoned. Barbara went on to become an MP and to produce Michael Ayrton, the artist. Hertha died in Sussex.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Hertha Ayrton
Commemorated ati
Hertha Ayrton
Hertha Ayrton, 1854 - 1923, physicist, lived here, 1903 - 1923. English Herit...
Other Subjects
Edith S. Kerrison
The first woman to serve on the West Ham council and an advocate of welfare for women and children. Was offered the Mayoralty but in view of her advancing years and increasing deafness she declined...
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Westfield College
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Caroline Martineau
Born Caroline Anne, daughter of Richard Martineau, a director and partner of the Whitbread Brewery. Early on she was interested in the study of natural science, attending lectures at the Royal Ins...
Boo Armstrong
Born as Rachel Armstrong she grew up in Ealing. As an adult lived in Camden - the photo shows her on her canal boat Moonshine on which she lived in the Cumberland Basin from 1999. The Picture sourc...
Helen Blackburn
Early campaigner for women’s rights, particularly the rights of workers. An editor of the Englishwoman's Review. Born County Kerry, Ireland.
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