Ida Smedley Maclean (born Ida Smedley 14 June 1877, died 2 March 1944) was an English

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and the first woman admitted to the

London Chemical Society London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

Early life and education

Ida was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

to William Smedley, a businessman, and Annie Elizabeth Duckworth. She was taught by her mother at home until the age of nine and lived in "a cultured and progressive home". She was educated at

King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham King Edward VI High School for Girls ''(KEHS)'' () is an independent secondary school in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It was founded in 1883. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham and occupies the same ...

from 1886 to 1896, when she won a scholarship and began her studies at

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

. In the university's

Natural Sciences Tripos The Natural Sciences Tripos (NST) is the framework within which most of the science at the University of Cambridge is taught. The tripos includes a wide range of Natural Sciences from physics, astronomy, and geoscience, to chemistry and biology, ...

she got a first class in part one and a second class in part two, studying chemistry and physiology. After a two-year break, holding a Bathurst scholarship, in 1901 she undertook postgraduate research at the

Central Technical College The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

in London and later at the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

'
Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory
The

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

awarded her a

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

in 1905.

Academic career

In 1906 Maclean became an assistant lecturer in at the chemistry department of

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, the department's first female staff member. She taught there until 1910, as well as acting as a demonstrator in the women students' laboratories and researching the optical properties of

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...

s. In 1910, supported by one of the first Beit fellowships, she began her work in biochemistry at the

Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, informally known as the Lister Institute, was established as a research institute (the British Institute of Preventive Medicine) in 1891, with bacteriologist Marc Armand Ruffer as its first director, us ...

, receiving the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...

's Ellen Richards prize for her research. She married Hugh Maclean, a co-worker at the Lister Institute, on 28 March 1913; the couple had a son and a daughter. During World War I she worked at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

in areas such as gas warfare and the large-scale production of

acetone Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour. Acetone is miscib ...

by fermentation. Between 1920 and 1941 Maclean published in the ''

Biochemical Journal The ''Biochemical Journal'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal which covers all aspects of biochemistry, as well as cell and molecular biology. It is published by Portland Press and was established in 1906. History The journal was established i ...

'' approximately thirty papers, many in collaboration, on her particular interests, namely the role of

fatty acid In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, fr ...

s in animals and the synthesis of fats from carbohydrates. In 1927 she co-authored with Hugh the second edition of his book ''The Lipins''. She came to be regarded as an authority on biochemistry, and her 1943 monograph ''The Metabolism of Fat'' was the first published of Methuen's series ''Monographs on Biochemical Subjects''.

Women's rights

Maclean worked hard to improve the status of women in universities and was among the founders of the

British Federation of University Women The British Federation of Women Graduates (BFWG) was founded in 1907 as the British Federation of University Women (BFUW) to "afford a means of communication and of united action in matters affecting the interest of women". It was renamed the Brit ...

in 1907. Having been made a fellow of the

Royal Institute of Chemistry The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation. Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland (ICGBI), its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its aim ...

in 1918, in 1920 she became the first woman to be formally admitted to the

. From 1931 to 1934 she was on the council of the London Chemical Society and from 1929 to 1935 she was president of the British Federation of University Women, which later named a research fellowship for women after her. From 1941 to 1944 she was on the women's appointments board of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Death

She died on 2 March 1944 at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...

in London. Her body was cremated.

References

External links