Elizabeth Fulhame’s biography is largely a mystery, but in 1794 she wrote a book on chemistry that was way ahead of its time.

Research:
Steinmark, Ida Emilie. “Elizabeth Fulhame: The Scientist the World Forgot.” Royal Society of Chemistry. 10/10/2017. https://edu.rsc.org/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-scientist-the-world-forgot/3008111.article
Shah, Irfan. “Rivers of Silver, Cities of Gold.” History Today. Volume 69 Issue 11 November 2019. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/rivers-silver-cities-gold
Lewes, Darby. “Fulhame, Elizabeth.” The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature. Wiley Online Library. 4/12/2012. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118300916.wberlf007
Booth, Catherine. “Elizabeth Fulhame: Chemist.” Minerva Scientifica. https://minervascientifica.co.uk/elizabeth-fulhame/
Mills, Virginia. “Worthy of Public Attention.” Royal Society. 7/4/2025. https://royalsociety.org/blog/2025/07/worthy-of-public-attention/
Jarvis, Claire. “Elizabeth Fulhame, a forgotten chemistry pioneer.” Physics Today. 6/17/2020. https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/elizabeth-fulhame-a-forgotten-chemistry-pioneer
Brazil, Rachel. “Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history.” Chemistry World. 6/6/2022. https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-18th-century-chemistry-pioneer-who-faded-from-history/4015638.article
Smith, Thomas P. “A Sketch of the Revolutions in Chemistry.” Philadelphia : Printed by Samuel H. Smith. 1798. https://archive.org/details/b32885726/
Linker, Jessica C. “The Pride of Science: Women and the Politics of Inclusion in 19th-Century Pennsylvania.” Pennsylvania Legacies , Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2015). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5215/pennlega.15.1.0006
Pancaldi, Giuliano. “On Hybrid Objects and their Trajectories: Beddoes, Davy and the Battery.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, 20 September 2009, Vol. 63, No.3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40647277
Davenport, Derek A. "Fulhame, Elizabeth [known as Mrs Fulhame] (fl. 1780–1794), chemist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39778
Palmer, Bill. “Elizabeth Fulhame: The Invisible Chemist.” Teaching Science. Volume 54, Number 4. December 2008.
Laidler, Keith J. “The Development of Theories of Catalysis.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 1986, Vol. 35, No. 4 (1986). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41133790
Davenport, Derek A. and Kathleen M. Ireland. “The Ingenious, Lively and Celebrated Mrs. Fulhame and the Dyer’s Hand.” Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. 1989.
The Gentleman's Magazine. Review of New Publications. “An Essay on Combustion …”. Vol. 65, Issue 6. June 1795.
Beddoes, Thomas. “Mrs. Fulhame’s Essay on Combustion, &c.” The Monthly Review. Vol. 20. July 1796. https://archive.org/details/sim_the-monthly-review_1796-07_20/page/303/
Anderson, R. G. W. "Black, Joseph (1728–1799), chemist and physician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2495
Cameron, Anne. “THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL REGISTRATION IN SCOTLAND.” Historical journal (Cambridge, England) vol. 50,2 (2007): 377-395. doi:10.1017/S0018246X07006115
McCloughlin, Thomas J.J. “Lost and found: The Nooth apparatus.” Endeavour. Volume 45, Issues 1–2. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2021.100763.
Lim, XiaoZhi. "The new breed of cutting-edge catalysts." Nature, vol. 537, no. 7619, 8 Sept. 2016. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org/10.1038/537156a. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026. Gale Document Number: GALE|A462784622
MacPherson, Hamish. "The mysterious case of Elizabeth Fulhame, a chemist and true pioneer of science." National [Glasgow, Scotland], 31 Jan. 2023. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735208005/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=896de822. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
Benjamin Count of Rumford. “An Inquiry concerning the Chemical Properties That Have Been Attributed to Light.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 1798.
Wheeler, T.S. “The life and work of William Higgins, chemist, 1763-1825, including reprints of ‘A comparative view of the phlogistic and antiphlogistic theories’ and ‘Observations on the atomic theory and electrical phenomena’.” New York, Pergamon Press. 1960.

Elizabeth Fulhame&rsquo;s biography is largely a mystery, but in 1794 she wrote a book on chemistry that was way ahead of its time.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Steinmark, Ida Emilie. &ldquo;Elizabeth Fulhame: The Scientist the World Forgot.&rdquo; Royal Society of Chemistry. 10/10/2017. https://edu.rsc.org/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-scientist-the-world-forgot/3008111.article</li>
<li>Shah, Irfan. &ldquo;Rivers of Silver, Cities of Gold.&rdquo; History Today. Volume 69 Issue 11 November 2019. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/rivers-silver-cities-gold</li>
<li>Lewes, Darby. &ldquo;Fulhame, Elizabeth.&rdquo; The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature. Wiley Online Library. 4/12/2012. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118300916.wberlf007</li>
<li>Booth, Catherine. &ldquo;Elizabeth Fulhame: Chemist.&rdquo; Minerva Scientifica. https://minervascientifica.co.uk/elizabeth-fulhame/</li>
<li>Mills, Virginia. &ldquo;Worthy of Public Attention.&rdquo; Royal Society. 7/4/2025. https://royalsociety.org/blog/2025/07/worthy-of-public-attention/</li>
<li>Jarvis, Claire. &ldquo;Elizabeth Fulhame, a forgotten chemistry pioneer.&rdquo; Physics Today. 6/17/2020. https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/elizabeth-fulhame-a-forgotten-chemistry-pioneer</li>
<li>Brazil, Rachel. &ldquo;Elizabeth Fulhame, the 18th century chemistry pioneer who faded from history.&rdquo; Chemistry World. 6/6/2022. https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/elizabeth-fulhame-the-18th-century-chemistry-pioneer-who-faded-from-history/4015638.article</li>
<li>Smith, Thomas P. &ldquo;A Sketch of the Revolutions in Chemistry.&rdquo; Philadelphia : Printed by Samuel H. Smith. 1798. https://archive.org/details/b32885726/</li>
<li>Linker, Jessica C. &ldquo;The Pride of Science: Women and the Politics of Inclusion in 19th-Century Pennsylvania.&rdquo; Pennsylvania Legacies , Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring 2015). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5215/pennlega.15.1.0006</li>
<li>Pancaldi, Giuliano. &ldquo;On Hybrid Objects and their Trajectories: Beddoes, Davy and the Battery.&rdquo; Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, 20 September 2009, Vol. 63, No.3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40647277</li>
<li>Davenport, Derek A. "Fulhame, Elizabeth [known as Mrs Fulhame] (fl. 1780&ndash;1794), chemist." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39778</li>
<li>Palmer, Bill. &ldquo;Elizabeth Fulhame: The Invisible Chemist.&rdquo; Teaching Science. Volume 54, Number 4. December 2008.</li>
<li>Laidler, Keith J. &ldquo;The Development of Theories of Catalysis.&rdquo; Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 1986, Vol. 35, No. 4 (1986). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41133790</li>
<li>Davenport, Derek A. and Kathleen M. Ireland. &ldquo;The Ingenious, Lively and Celebrated Mrs. Fulhame and the Dyer&rsquo;s Hand.&rdquo; Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. 1989.</li>
<li>The Gentleman's Magazine. Review of New Publications. &ldquo;An Essay on Combustion &hellip;&rdquo;. Vol. 65, Issue 6. June 1795.</li>
<li>Beddoes, Thomas. &ldquo;Mrs. Fulhame&rsquo;s Essay on Combustion, &amp;c.&rdquo; The Monthly Review. Vol. 20. July 1796. https://archive.org/details/sim_the-monthly-review_1796-07_20/page/303/</li>
<li>Anderson, R. G. W. "Black, Joseph (1728&ndash;1799), chemist and physician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Mar. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2495</li>
<li>Cameron, Anne. &ldquo;THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL REGISTRATION IN SCOTLAND.&rdquo; Historical journal (Cambridge, England) vol. 50,2 (2007): 377-395. doi:10.1017/S0018246X07006115</li>
<li>McCloughlin, Thomas J.J. &ldquo;Lost and found: The Nooth apparatus.&rdquo; Endeavour. Volume 45, Issues 1&ndash;2. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2021.100763.</li>
<li>Lim, XiaoZhi. "The new breed of cutting-edge catalysts." Nature, vol. 537, no. 7619, 8 Sept. 2016. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org/10.1038/537156a. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026. Gale Document Number: GALE|A462784622</li>
<li>MacPherson, Hamish. "The mysterious case of Elizabeth Fulhame, a chemist and true pioneer of science." National [Glasgow, Scotland], 31 Jan. 2023. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735208005/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&amp;sid=bookmark-GPS&amp;xid=896de822. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.</li>
<li>Benjamin Count of Rumford. &ldquo;An Inquiry concerning the Chemical Properties That Have Been Attributed to Light.&rdquo; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 1798.</li>
<li>Wheeler, T.S. &ldquo;The life and work of William Higgins, chemist, 1763-1825, including reprints of &lsquo;A comparative view of the phlogistic and antiphlogistic theories&rsquo; and &lsquo;Observations on the atomic theory and electrical phenomena&rsquo;.&rdquo; New York, Pergamon Press. 1960.</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Elizabeth Fulhame’s biography is largely a mystery, but in 1794 she wrote a book on chemistry that was way ahead of its time.

Elizabeth Fulhame’s Colorful Chemistry

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