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In 1884, Ellen Swallow
Richards became an instructor
of “sanitary chemistry.” For 2
years, she and Professor Thomas
M. Drown studied the state’s
water supply. They suspected
that something in the water was
making people sick. Richards
worked to find a way to test
the
water quality
. Water was
collected from every river and
lake in Massachusetts once a month. Richards analyzed most of the
40,000 samples herself. When the survey was done, Massachusetts had
the first standards for water purity. Professor Drown wrote that this was
“mainly due to Mrs. Richards’s great zeal and vigilance.” From then on,
Richards taught others how to analyze air, water, and sewage.
Ellen Swallow Richards started the Women’s Laboratory at MIT
in 1876. She wanted other women to study science. When the
Women’s Laboratory closed in 1883, Richards was thrilled. Through
her efforts, women were no longer “special” at MIT. They were
regular students, equal to men.
Ellen Richards
with female
students in
1888
Richards collecting water samples
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