Margaret Eliza Maltby

Margaret Eliza Maltby
A photograph of Margaret Eliza Maltby circa 1908. She has dark hair parted down the middle and pulled back in a bun. a white lacy blouse is buttoned all the way up to her throat and secured with a brooch. a dark semi-transparent jacket overlays the blouse.
Margaret Eliza Maltby, circa 1908
Born(1860-12-10)December 10, 1860
Bristolville, Ohio
DiedMay 3, 1944(1944-05-03) (aged 83)
New York City
NationalityAmerican
Alma materOberlin College, A.B. 1882, A.M. 1891

Massachusetts Institute of Technology B.S. 1891

University of Göttingen, Ph.D. 1895
Known forMeasurement of high electrolytic resistances and of the conductivity of very dilute solutions.
Children1[1]
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsWellesley College
University of Göttingen
Lake Erie College
Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt
Barnard College
ThesisMethode zur Bestimmung grosser elektrolytischer Widerstände (1895)
Doctoral advisorWalther Nernst
Other academic advisorsFriedrich Kohlrausch
Arthur Webster

Margaret Eliza Maltby (December 10, 1860 – May 3, 1944) was an American physicist notable for her measurement of high electrolytic resistances and the conductivity of very dilute solutions.[2] Maltby was the first woman to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,[3] and the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics from any German university.[4]

She taught for over 30 years at Barnard College where she introduced one of the first courses on the physics of music. Maltby was active in the American Association of University Women where she was instrumental in helping female academics receive fellowships to study and conduct research, at a time when it was uncommon for women to be eligible for such fellowships.[2]

Maltby had a child out of wedlock. Unusually for her time, she was able to continue her career in academia by keeping the birth a secret and later claiming the child publicly through adoption.[1]

  1. ^ a b Gill, Raymond (Spring–Summer 2016). "Genetics & Genealogy - Miss Maltby and Her Ward: Using DNA to Investigate a Family Mystery". American Ancestors. 17 (2): 49–52.
  2. ^ a b "Margaret Maltby 1860-1944". "Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics." CWP at UCLA. Retrieved 2016-05-28.
  3. ^ Spangenburg, Ray; Moser, Diane (2009). Modern Science, 1896-1945. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8160-6881-4.
  4. ^ "Margaret Eliza Maltby (1860-1944)". Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2017-03-22.