Minerva Scientifica Birthday Celebration: Hertha Ayrton
28th April 2021
Hertha Ayrton
Physicist, Engineer and Inventor
BORN 28th April 1854, Portsmouth
Portrait of Hertha Ayrton by Helena Arsène Darmesteter
Hertha Ayrton (1854-1923) A close friend of Marie Skłodowska Curie, Cambridge-educated physicist Hertha Ayrton won a prestigious Royal Society medal but was denied Fellowship because she was married.
The Hertha Ayrton Song by Stroud Green Primary School Year 4 (2019)
(click the blue button above to listen)
If you don’t know who Hertha Ayrton is then this song is just what you need! The children divided into groups and wrote a verse each. Group 1 concentrated on physics and Ayrton’s work on the electric arc, another wrote about her, and her daughter Barbara’s involvement with the suffrage movement. The third group discovered she had many important friends – including Marie Curie – and the final group wrote about her Flapper Fan which directed gas away from the trenches in World War 1.
It is performed by the composers with Herbie Clarke on guitar, and science historian Dr Patricia Fara, and was recorded at the school as part of a Minerva Scientifica project “Echoes from London” in June 2019, part of the Stroud Green Festival.
Find out more about Hertha Ayrton and download the words of the song on her Minerva Scientifica Page https://minervascientifica.co.uk/hertha-ayrton/
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Created by electric voice theatre, Minerva Scientifica is a project that brings together professional performers with community musicians and school children. Together, we raise awareness of the rich heritage and deep connections between music and science, and inspire the next generation of future scientists.
