June Fullmer (née Zimmerman; December 12, 1920 – January 31, 2000) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Biography

June Zimmerman was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

on December 12, 1920. She was educated at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and gained her PhD in physical chemistry in 1948 from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

. She did postdoctoral work at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(1949–50) under Sir Cyril Hinshelwood, then became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at

Chatham College Chatham University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally founded as a women's college, it began enrolling men in undergraduate programs in 2015. It enrolls about 2,110 students, including 1,002 undergraduate students an ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

(1950–53), served as a research associate at

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

(1954–55), and Associate Professor and Head of the Chemistry Department (1955–64) at

Newcomb College H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. ...

, the women's college of

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. After a short stint at

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

, in 1966, she joined the Department of History at The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, where she taught history of science as an associate and then full professor, retiring in 1984. In 1953, she married Paul Fullmer, who died on January 6, 2000, predeceasing her by only several weeks. Professor Fullmer held grants from the National Science Foundation and fellowships from 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 ...

, the

American Council of Learned Societies American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, and the Guggenheim Foundation. She was active in various history of science organizations and became Chairman of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

's Division of

History of Chemistry The history of chemistry represents a time span from ancient history to the present. By 1000 BC, civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry. Examples include the discovery of fire, e ...

in 1971. Her publications, ranging from technical articles in chemistry journals, to biography, to essays on science and poetry, were polymathic in scope. Fullmer was the author of ''Sir Humphry Davy's Published Works'', published in 1969-70 by Harvard University Press and Oxford University Press. At the time of her death, which occurred on January 31, 2000, she was completing her multi-volume biography of Sir Humphry Davy, being published by the American Philosophical Society. Page proofs for the first volume, ''Young Humphry Davy: The Making of an Experimental Chemist'', arrived just after she died.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fullmer, June Zimmerman 1920 births 2000 deaths American expatriates in the United Kingdom American historians American women historians Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni Carnegie Mellon University people Tulane University faculty Ohio Wesleyan University faculty Ohio State University faculty