Hertha Ayrton

Hertha Ayrton was a pioneering British engineer who made major breakthroughs in the analysis of electric arcs, which were heavily used for street lighting in the late 19th century. She invented the Ayrton fan, a specialized flapper fan used to clear poison gas from the trenches during World War I. Her work also laid the foundation for the study of ripple formations in sand and water.

No, despite her immense contributions, the Royal Society of London refused to allow her to present her own papers because she was a woman. Her initial paper on electric arcs had to be read on her behalf by a male colleague, John Perry, in 1899. It wasn't later in her career that she could finally address scientific societies directly.

The Ayrton fan was a large, mechanical canvas fan designed to disperse toxic chlorine and phosgene gas from the trenches during World War I. Ayrton developed the fan after witnessing the devastating effects of the German gas attacks in 1915. Although over 100,000 were produced, military leaders were reluctant to use them widely in combat.

Yes, in 1899, she became the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Hughes Medal from the Royal Society for her work on electric arcs and ripple marks. However, she was repeatedly denied the right to become a Fellow of the Royal Society purely due to her gender. She was also a vocal suffragette and actively supported the women's rights movement.