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
Bedford College for Women, University of London
Founded by Elizabeth Jesser Reid as the Ladies College, the first higher education college for women. In 1900 it became part of the University of London and in 1913 moved to larger purpose built p...
Priscilla Wakefield
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Person, Children, Gender Issues, Race Issues, Social Welfare
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 ...
Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington
Irish nationalist and suffragist. Founder of the Irish Women’s Franchise League. Along with her husband Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Margaret Cousins and James Cousins, she founded the Irish Women'...
Mary Seacole Trust
From the Trust's website: "We want British society to become fairer, more inclusive and more harmonious. We believe that overcoming exclusion and increasing participation by promoting equality of b...
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