ASHRAE Journal - April 2023 - 23

FEATURE
For example, did you know that a 19th century
American woman discovered that carbon dioxide (CO2)
caused the greenhouse effect?
Late last century, author Mary Creese placed a
one paragraph footnote in her book, Ladies in the
Laboratory? American and British Women in Science,
1800 - 1900, regarding amateur scientist Eunice Foote.
But it wasn't until 2011 that the wider world was to
learn that more importantly, Mrs. Eunice Newton
Foote-not male Irish physicist, John Tyndall-was
the fi rst to discover that CO2 and water vapor were
responsible for heating up our planet. A geologist
named Ray Sorenson was reviewing old journals in
2010 and rediscovered her long lost contribution to
climate science.1
In 1856, Foote's fi ndings were reported at the 10th
annual meeting of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS) with the conclusion
that the release of CO2 into the atmosphere could
cause excessive warming. At that time, women were
not allowed to speak at scientifi c conferences, so
Joseph Henry, the fi rst director of the Smithsonian
Institution, read her report to the conference
attendees.2,3,4 Her report was most likely accepted
because her husband, Elisha Foote, was an AAAS
member and was also presenting at the 1856 annual
meeting.
Foote's fi ndings were published in her paper
" Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun's Rays "
in the American Journal of Science and Arts.5 They were
also documented in a report in the Annual of Scientifi c
Discovery in 1857.6 It wasn't until 1859 that Tyndall
announced his discovery that CO2 and water vapor
could trap and hold heat. As explained in the report
of Foote's research at the AAAS annual meeting, " She
fi lled one cylinder with 'common' air and an identical
container with either carbon dioxide or water
vapor. Then she placed thermometers in each and
positioned them in sunlight. Soon, the temperatures
in the greenhouse gas cylinders soared above those
fi lled with common air. " 7
Applying the scientifi c method, which Foote had
been taught while at Rensselaer School (see sidebar
on page 24), she analyzed gases using control groups
to determine the sun's effect on them. Uniquely,
she was the fi rst person to make the connection that
CO2 and water vapor were what we have come to call
" greenhouse gases (GHG) " - that, when in sunlight,
both gases heated up to higher temperatures and
dissipated that heat more slowly than other gases.
Her conclusion was clearly stated: " An atmosphere of
that gas, " she noted, " would give to our earth a high
temperature. " 4
It is not clear if Tyndall was aware of Foote's
research when he did his own similar-granted,
more sophisticated-experiments. Tyndall, an
established and well-educated Irish scientist, did
not acknowledge Foote's research. Some sources
questioned whether he was aware of her research.
An academic research paper published in Notes
and Records of The Royal Society Journal of the History of
Science by Roland Jackson (a Tyndall biographer)
addressed this question directly. Jackson reviewed
Tyndall's correspondence and publications available
in both the United States and Europe at that time,
also recognizing that " simultaneous discovery " is
commonplace in science. Based on Jackson's research,
he concluded the following regarding why Foote's
research was not recognized at the time:
* Scientifi c communication was lacking in the mid1800s,
especially between continents.
* European scientists didn't recognize a mid-1800s
physics community in the United States, never mind
research performed by a woman, especially since she
was an amateur scientist lacking a university degree
and without formal research support.
* Moreover, scientifi c societies had just scratched
the surface in permitting women to become
members.8 (Recall that Foote's paper on her research
had to be read by a man when it was presented at the
AAAS conference.)
Academically, Foote succeeded in publishing two
of only 16 physics papers authored by American
and European women during the 19th century, with
both papers published prior to 1858.* Three patents
are attributed to Eunice Newton Foote in diverse
disciplines.
Today, Eunice Newton Foote is fi nally being
*This statistic was found by reviewing the total number of physics papers listed by Creese, who derived them from the London Royal
Society's Catalogue of Scientifi c Papers, 1800-1900.
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ASHRAE Journal - April 2023

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