MacLean, Ida Smedley (1877–1944)
MacLean, Ida Smedley (1877–1944)
English biochemist. Born Ida Smedley, June 14, 1877, in Birmingham, England; died Mar 2, 1944; studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, on a Gilchrist Scholarship, 1896–99; m. Dr. Hugh Maclean (University of London medical professor), Mar 28, 1913.
The 1st woman staff member of Manchester University chemistry department, was also the 1st woman formally admitted to London Chemical Society (1920), after rallying for women to be permitted to join; researched optical properties of organic compounds while working as an assistant lecturer and demonstrator at Victoria College, Manchester University (1906–10); was a fellow at Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine Research (1910–14); served as a founding member (1907) and as president (1929–35) of British Federation of University Women; studied the functions of fatty acids in animals and fat synthesis in carbohydrates. Received American Association of University Women's Ellen Richards Prize (1915).