When she entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1871, she was the first woman admitted to a scientific school in the United States and became MIT’s first female graduate. As a trailblazing chemist, Richards was the nation’s first professor of sanitary engineering and established the Woman’s Laboratory at MIT to provide access to scientific education for women. Her landmark 1872 water study at Jamaica Pond, uncovered contamination and greatly influenced Boston’s sanitation systems with improvements so substantial that they helped reduce the city’s death rate by 1880. Over the span of her career as a professional chemist, Richards advanced the processes for testing water and food for safe consumption. She served as the founding president of the American Home Economics Society, which revolutionized the function of science in households by popularizing new standards for cleaning and cooking.
The Women’s Foundation of Massachusetts is the sponsorship of site marker
