Woman of the Century/Ellen Henrietta Richards

RICHARDS, Mrs. Ellen Henrietta, educator and chemist, born in Dunstable, Mass., 3rd December, 1842. She received a thorough education and was graduated from Vassar College in 1870. She then took a scientific course in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, where she was graduated in 1875. She remained in that institution as resident graduate, and in 1875 she became the wife of Professor Robert Hallowell Richards, the metallurgist. In 1878 she was elected instructor in chemistry and mineralogy in the woman's laboratory of the institute. In 1885 she was made instructor in sanitary chemistry. She has done a great deal of original work in the latter branch, her researches covering the field thoroughly. She has done much to develop the love of scientific studies among women. Her chosen field is the application of chemical knowledge and principles to the conduct of the home, and she is the pioneer in teaching that subject to the women of the United States. She is the first woman to be elected a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. She is a member of many scientific associations. Among her published works are: "Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning" (Boston, 1882), "Food Materials and Their Adulterations" (1885), and "First Lessons in Minerals" (1880). In 1887 she, with Marion Talbot, edited "Home Sanitation." She is a profound student and a clear thinker, and her work is without equal in its line.