Margaret Eliza Maltby
Margaret Eliza Maltby | |
|---|---|
Margaret Eliza Maltby, circa 1908 | |
| Born | December 10, 1860 |
| Died | May 3, 1944 (aged 83) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Oberlin College, A.B. 1882, A.M. 1891 Massachusetts Institute of Technology B.S. 1891 |
| Known for | Measurement of high electrolytic resistances and of the conductivity of very dilute solutions. |
| Children | 1 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Wellesley College University of Göttingen Lake Erie College Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt Barnard College |
| Thesis | Methode zur Bestimmung grosser elektrolytischer Widerstände (1895) |
| Doctoral advisor | Walther Nernst |
| Other academic advisors | Friedrich Kohlrausch Arthur Webster |
Margaret Eliza Maltby (December 10, 1860 – May 3, 1944) was an American physicist notable for her measurement of high electrolytic resistances and the conductivity of very dilute solutions. Maltby was the first woman to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics from any German university.
She taught for over 30 years at Barnard College where she introduced one of the first courses on the physics of music. Maltby was active in the American Association of University Women where she was instrumental in helping female academics receive fellowships to study and conduct research, at a time when it was uncommon for women to be eligible for such fellowships.
Maltby had a child out of wedlock. Unusually for her time, she was able to continue her career in academia by keeping the birth a secret and later claiming the child publicly through adoption.