Bertha Lamme Feicht(December 16, 1869 – November 20, 1943) was an Americanengineer.In 1893, she became the first woman to receive a degree in engineering from theOhio State University.[1]She is considered to be the first American woman to graduate in a main discipline of engineering other than civil engineering.[2]
Bertha Lamme Feicht | |
|---|---|
 Bertha Lamme Feicht in 1892 | |
| Born | Bertha Lamme December 16, 1869 Bethel Township, Clark County, Ohio,United States |
| Died | November 20, 1943(aged 73) Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,United States |
| Education | Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering,Ohio State University |
| Occupation | Electrical engineer |
| Years active | 1893–1905 |
| Employer | Westinghouse |
| Known for | First woman to receive a degree in engineering fromOhio State |
| Spouse | Russell S. Feicht |
| Children | Florence Feicht |
Early life and education
editShe was bornBertha Lammeon her family's farm inBethel TownshipnearSpringfield, Ohioon December 16, 1869.[3]
After graduating fromOlive Branch High Schoolin 1889,[3]she followed in her brother,Benjamin G. Lamme's footsteps and enrolled at Ohio State that fall.[2]
She graduated in 1893 with a degree inmechanical engineeringwith a specialty in electricity.[1][2][3]Herthesiswas titled "An Analysis of Tests of a Westinghouse Railway Generator."[2]The student newspaper reported that there was an outbreak of spontaneous applause when she received her degree.[3]
Career
editShe was then hired byWestinghouse[2]as its first female engineer.[4]She worked there until she married Russell S. Feicht, her supervisor and fellow Ohio State alumnus, on December 14, 1905.[2][3]
Personal life
editShe had one child, Florence, born in 1910, who became a physicist for the U.S. Bureau of Mines.[2]
Bertha Lamme Feicht died inPittsburghon November 20, 1943[2]and was buried inHomewood Cemetery.[5]
Her husband Russell died in April 1949.[4]
Legacy
edit
Some of her personal effects, including herslide rule,T-square,and diploma, are housed in the collections of theHeinz History Centerin Pittsburgh.[2][3]
The Westinghouse Educational Foundation, in conjunction with theSociety of Women Engineers,created a scholarship named for her in 1973.[6]
References
edit- ^ab"Twelve Days: Bertha Lamme was first female engineering grad".Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University. December 18, 2013.
- ^abcdefghiSmith, Breanna (March 1, 2012)."Let's Learn From the Past: Bertha Lamme".Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^abcdefStafford, Tom (June 30, 2013)."Female engineer not quite lost to history".Springfield News-Sun.Springfield, Ohio.
- ^ab"Westinghouse Official Dies in Retirement".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. April 23, 1949.
- ^"7 Legendary Women in Pittsburgh History".Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Beautiful. September 17, 2019.
- ^Hatch, Sybil (2006).Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers(Google Books).Reston, Virginia: American Society of Civil Engineers. p.131.ISBN0-7844-0841-6.
Further reading
edit- Layne, Margaret E., ed. (2009).Women in engineering.Reston, Va.: ASCE Press.ISBN9780784472354.OCLC782925070.