Bertha Lamme Feicht

Bertha Lamme Feicht
Portrait of Bertha Lamme Feicht
Bertha Lamme Feicht in 1892
Born
Bertha Lamme

(1869-12-16)December 16, 1869
DiedNovember 20, 1943(1943-11-20) (aged 73)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
EducationBachelor of Mechanical Engineering, Ohio State University
OccupationElectrical engineer
Years active1893โ€“1905
EmployerWestinghouse
Known forFirst woman to receive a degree in engineering from Ohio State
Spouse(s)Russell S. Feicht
ChildrenFlorence Feicht

Bertha Lamme Feicht (December 16, 1869 โ€“ 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]

Bertha Lamme Feicht's diploma from Ohio State

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 December 14, 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 November 20, 1943[2] and was buried in Homewood Cemetery.

Her husband Russell died in April 1949.[4]

1892 Bertha Lamme at drawing table with compass

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. ^ a b "Twelve Days: Bertha Lamme was first female engineering grad". Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University. December 18, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith, Breanna (March 1, 2012). "Let's Learn From the Past: Bertha Lamme". Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Stafford, Tom (June 30, 2013). "Female engineer not quite lost to history". Springfield News-Sun. Springfield, Ohio.
  4. ^ a b "Westinghouse Official Dies in Retirement". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. April 23, 1949.
  5. ^ 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.

Further reading


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