Hertha Marks Ayrton (1854-1923), British engineer, mathematician, physicist and inventor. She studied mathematics at Girton College, Cambridge, and then physics and electrical engineering at Finsbury Technical College, London. The results of her research into the physics relating to electric arcs, the formation of sand ripples, oscillations of water etc. led to the recognition of her achievements in original discoveries in the physical sciences. She was the first woman to gain membership of the Institute of Electrical Engineers and the first woman proposed for fellowship of the Royal Society. Between 1883 and 1923 she registered 26 patents. A suffragette, she was strongly committed to female suffrage and presided over the science section of the 1899 International Congress of Women. She was also a close friend and supporter of Marie Curie.