Ettie Stewart Steele

Ettie Stewart Steele

Ettie Stewart Steele was a chemist born on October 5th, 1890, in Dunfermline. She matriculated at the University of St Andrews in 1908, where she received an M.A. in 1912, a BSc in 1914 and then a PhD in 1919.

She was the first female candidate to submit a thesis for her PhD in 1919, graduating with Dr Grace Cumming Leitch as the first female PhD holders from the University of St Andrews in 1920. Her thesis was called The Structure of Mannitol, which was completed under the supervision of Dr James Irvine, a well-renowned chemist and the principal of the University of St Andrews from 1921 until his death in 1952.

After getting her PhD, Stewart Steele became the first female lecturer in Chemistry in 1920. The School of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews named a reading room after Dr. Steele, which is currently located in the Purdie Building in North Haugh.

pioneeringwomenwalkingtourmap

1890

amm60

Site

370

current,56.342130317992755,-2.7934214474407786;

TEXT

707

1983

PIN5