author
active 1780-1810 Mrs. (Elizabeth) Fulhame
A little-known pioneer of chemistry, this 18th-century scientist explored how metals could be deposited on cloth and published ideas that later generations recognized as early catalysis and photoreduction. Her life is still largely a mystery, which only makes her surviving work more striking.
1 Audiobook
An essay on combustion, with a view to a new art of dying and painting : Wherein the phlogistic and antiphlogistic hypotheses are proven erroneous
by active 1780-1810 Mrs. (Elizabeth) Fulhame
About the author
Very little is known for certain about Elizabeth Fulhame beyond her published work, and she is often identified simply as Mrs. Fulhame. She was active in the late 18th century and is linked with Britain, with sources noting her as an early chemist whose biography remains fragmentary.
Her reputation rests on her 1794 book, An Essay on Combustion, with a View to a New Art of Dying and Painting. In it, she investigated chemical processes for depositing metals such as gold and silver onto cloth, and her experiments led her to describe ideas that are now seen as an early account of catalysis. She also reported light-driven chemical changes, which later readers have connected with photoreduction.
What makes her especially memorable is how original her work appears in hindsight. Modern historians of science have highlighted her as an important, long-overlooked figure in chemistry, even though so few personal details about her survive.