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
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...
Suffragettes
The wonderful Spitalfields Life published a map on the East End Suffragette activities. Â And London Historians has a post 'Parliament and Votes for Women'.
Mary Macarthur
Suffragist and trades unionist. Born Mary Reid Macarthur in Glasgow. She was the general secretary of the Women's Trade Union League and was involved in the formation of the National Federation of ...
Lydia Becker
President of NUWSS prior to Millicent Fawcett and campaigned for voting rights of unmarried women and widows. Also an amateur scientist with interests in biology and astronomy. Best remembered for ...
Sylvia Pankhurst
Born in Manchester as Estelle Sylvia, daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst. Â Trained and initially worked as an artist. Worked with George Lansbury in the East End. 1924 Sylvia moved from the East End of...
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