Born: 11 September 1875, United Kingdom
Died: 25 February 1978
Country most active: Switzerland
Also known as: NA
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Edith Ellen Humphrey was a notable British inorganic chemist. She conducted groundbreaking research in coordination chemistry at the University of Zurich under Alfred Werner. She’s renowned as the first British woman to earn a chemistry doctorate and as the chemist who first synthesized a chiral inorganic complex.
Edith Humphrey began her chemistry studies at the University of Zurich on October 17, 1898, joining Alfred Werner’s group in the challenging “Katakomben” (catacombs). She received an annual £60 grant from the London County Council but faced financial struggles in Switzerland. Recognizing her talent, Werner appointed her as his assistant – the first woman. Despite diligent work, her social experience was disappointing.
Humphrey was the first of Werner’s students to synthesize geometrically isomeric cobalt complexes, crucial to his coordination theory. One of these, cis-bis(ethylenediamine)dinitrocobalt(III) bromide, marked the first synthesis of a chiral octahedral cobalt complex.
Although her groundbreaking work wasn’t fully recognized, Humphrey’s status as a pioneering woman scientist is significant. Her 1901 doctoral thesis earned her the distinction of being the first British woman with a chemistry doctorate, although Zurich had already seen American chemist Rachel Holloway Lloyd achieve this in 1887.
Afterward, Humphrey refused to accept restrictions on her work and didn’t pursue research at Leipzig University. She returned to England and worked as a research chemist at Arthur Sanderson & Sons, a British fabrics and wallpaper manufacturer.
In 1904, Humphrey joined nineteen women chemists in petitioning the Chemical Society for women’s fellowship. It was realized in 1920 following the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919. On May 4, 1933, nearly three decades after signing the initial petition, Humphrey was elected a fellow of the society.