This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Helen Andrews. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Born: 5 August 1862, Ireland
Died: 5 December 1904
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: NA
Lucy Everest Boole (1862–1905), chemist, was born 5 August 1862 in Cork. Educated at the school attached to Queen’s College, London, she never attended university but studied chemistry to become a dispenser in a pharmacy. She was appointed demonstrator (1891) and lecturer in chemistry (1893–1904) at the London School of Medicine for Women, where she was appreciated as a dedicated teacher. She collaborated and published jointly with Sir W. R. Dunstan (1861–1949), FRS. Her research centred on croton oil and other substances, and she became the first woman to be elected fellow of the Institute of Chemistry (1894). Despite suffering ill-health for many years, she continued her work, which was her sole interest; she never married, and lived with her mother at 16 Ladbroke Rd, Notting Hill, London. She died in December 1905.