Agnes Marion Moodie (6 October 1881 - 1969) was a Scottish chemist and the first female chemistry graduate from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Early life

Agnes Marion Moodie was born in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

on 6 October 1881, one of at least two children born to Robert Moodie, a founder of the

Edinburgh Mathematical Society The Edinburgh Mathematical Society is a mathematical society for academics in Scotland. History The Society was founded in 1883 by a group of Edinburgh school teachers and academics, on the initiative of Alexander Yule Fraser FRSE and Andrew Je ...

, who taught mathematics and physical science at

Arbroath High School Arbroath High School is a six-year, all-through comprehensive school situated on the west side of Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. It moved into its present building in 1985. Accommodation The new building was opened in 1985 to serve the west side ...

, and Mary Lithgow Mackintosh, daughter of Donald Mackintosh, a schoolmaster from

Shotts Shotts is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow () and Edinburgh (). The village has a population of about 8,840. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertram de ...

, Lanarkshire. Agnes had a younger brother William Moodie born on 15 March 1886.

Academic career

Moodie and her brother both studied at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

where Agnes was the first female student of chemistry. Moodie gained an MA in 1902, a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1903, and graduated in 1904 with first class honours in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. After graduating, she remained at the University of St Andrews, where she undertook research with James Irvine. Moodie and Irvine co-authored a number of papers on alkylated sugars between 1905 and 1908. In 1905 Moodie was awarded a Berry Scholarship in Science, and in 1807 she received a Carnegie Scholarship. Moodie also campaigned for women to be admitted as fellows of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

Later life

After leaving the University of St Andrews, Moodie worked for the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

until her retirement in 1946. Following her retirement, Moodie took up residence in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

, where she remained until her death in 1969.

References

{{Authority control Women chemists Alumni of the University of St Andrews Scottish scientists Scottish chemists 1881 births 1969 deaths