Bertha Lamme Feicht
| 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 from Ohio State |
| Spouse(s) | Russell S. Feicht |
| Children | Florence Feicht |
Bertha Lamme Feicht (December 16, 1869 – November 20, 1943) was an American engineer. In 1893, she became the first woman to receive a degree in engineering from the Ohio 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]
She was born Bertha Lamme on her family's farm in Bethel Township near Springfield, Ohio on December 16, 1869.[3] After graduating from Olive Branch High School in 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 in mechanical engineering with a specialty in electricity.[1][2][3] Her thesis was 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] She was then hired by Westinghouse[2] as its first female engineer.[4] She worked there until she married Russell S. Feicht, her supervisor and fellow Ohio State alumnus, on 14 December 1905.[2][3]
She had one child, Florence, born in 1910, who became a physicist for the U.S. Bureau of Mines.[2]
Bertha Lamme Feicht died in Pittsburgh on 20 November 1943[2] and was buried in Homewood Cemetery.
Her husband Russell died in April 1949.[4]
Some of her personal effects, including her slide rule, T-square, and diploma, are housed in the collections of the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.[2][3] The Westinghouse Educational Foundation, in conjunction with the Society of Women Engineers, created a scholarship named for her in 1973.[5]
References
- 1 2 "Twelve Days: Bertha Lamme was first female engineering grad". Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University. 18 December 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Smith, Breanna (1 March 2012). "Let's Learn From the Past: Bertha Lamme". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stafford, Tom (30 June 2013). "Female engineer not quite lost to history.". Springfield News-Sun. Springfield, Ohio.
- 1 2 "Westinghouse Official Dies in Retirement". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 23 April 1949.
- ↑ Hatch, Sybil (2006). Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers (Google Book). Reston, Virginia: American Society of Civil Engineers. p. 131. ISBN 0-7844-0841-6.