Hertha Ayrton and the Electric Arc | The Royal Society
•March 11, 2026
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Why It Matters
Ayrton’s breakthroughs in electric arc physics laid groundwork for today’s reliable power and communications, while her defiance of gender discrimination set a precedent that still shapes the push for equity in science and engineering.
Key Takeaways
- •Hertha Ayrton pioneered electric arc research, solving hissing phenomenon.
- •First woman nominated for Royal Society Fellowship, faced gender barriers.
- •Experimental approach merged physics, mathematics, and practical engineering.
- •Active suffragette, sheltered Emmeline Pankhurst, linking science and activism.
- •Received Hughes Medal 1906, cementing legacy despite institutional resistance.
Summary
The Royal Society’s short film spotlights Hertha Ayrton, a Victorian‑era inventor, physicist and suffragette who broke gender barriers in electrical engineering. Born in 1854 to a modest watch‑maker family, Ayrton rose from early hardship to become the first woman ever nominated for Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1902, a distinction that would remain contested for years.
At Finsbury Technical College Ayrton immersed herself in hands‑on experiments on the electric arc, a technology that powered street lamps, searchlights and early cinema. Her landmark 1901 paper, ‘The Mechanism of the Electric Arc,’ identified the hissing sound as the reaction between oxygen and carbon electrodes, a discovery that eliminated dangerous flicker and paved the way for more reliable illumination. The work earned her the Hughes Medal in 1906, despite the Society’s refusal to admit her as a Fellow.
Contemporaries praised her brilliance; William Ayrton called her a ‘genius,’ while Marie Curie, denied a platform at the Royal Institution, found an ally in Ayrton, who publicly condemned the sexism that silenced Curie. Ayrton’s activism extended beyond the lab—she sheltered Emmeline Pankhurst, marched in the 1910 Battle of Downing Street, and risked her reputation to support hunger‑striking suffragettes.
Ayrton’s story illustrates how scientific insight and social advocacy can intersect, offering a template for today’s engineers seeking impact beyond the bench. Her contributions to electric lighting underpin modern communications infrastructure, and her perseverance against institutional bias continues to inspire efforts to diversify STEM fields worldwide.
Original Description
Claudia Hammond meets up with Dame Polina Bayvel FRS to explore the phenomenal story of Hertha Ayrton, an electrical engineer, inventor and suffragette who helped shape the technological age.
#history #science #electricity #suffragette #feminism #ww1
Featuring Dr Patricia Fara
Find more about the Royal Society's work supporting and celebrating Women in STEM https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/women-in-stem/
Directed by Peter Mann, produced by Spirited Pictures.
Thanks to the kind participation of the Institute for Engineering and Technology and University College London Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
Special thanks to: Anne Locker, Anne Barrett, Professor Graeme Gooday, Keith Moore
Archive:
with permission from the Mistress and Fellows, Girton College, Cambridge
The Royal Society
The London Museum
Imperial War Museum
The Magnus Family
The Institute of Engineering and Technology
The International Union of Crystallography
“Photograph by Lotte Meitner-Graf (1898-1973) ©The Lotte Meitner-Graf Archive”
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