ASHRAE Journal - April 2023 - 24

FEATURE
MORE ABOUT
Eunice
Newton Foote
B
recognized and uplifted for her achievements. Two of these
recognitions include:
* The professional society of the American Geophysical
orn in 1819 into a Connecticut farming family, Foote has
been hailed by some sources as a " distant relative " of British
scientist Sir Isaac Newton.12 Perhaps in honor of her perceived
scientific heritage, her parents sent her to study for two years
at the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, N.Y., which included science
courses at the nearby Rensselaer School. The philosophy
of the Troy Seminary founder, Emma Hart Willard, was to
" provide young women with an education comparable to that
of college. " 13 Foote's science studies surprisingly included
hands-on laboratory work. This was at a time when colleges
rarely, if ever, admitted women for degree programs. It was
also a time when women had not yet achieved access to the
voting booth and other equalities, facts Foote acknowledged
and subsequently worked to change-but more about her suffrage
efforts later.
Foote indirectly benefited from a female mentor, Almira
Hart Lincoln Phelps. Phelps had authored scientific manuals
and was only the third woman to become a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (women
could become members, but apparently could not speak at
their conferences). Phelps had taught Foote's male science
teacher, Amos Eaton. Had Eaton not himself been mentored by
an outstanding female scientist, he may not have encouraged
his female students in science.14
Prior to Foote's declaration of her research findings regarding
greenhouse gases (GHG), she was a feminist and worked with
her neighbor, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the lead for the Women's
Rights Convention in July of 1848. Foote was the fifth woman
to sign the famed Seneca Falls " Declaration of Sentiments " at
the convention. The document called for equal rights for women
including the right to vote. (For more information about the
Seneca Falls Convention and the women's suffrage movement,
go here: https://tinyurl.com/2p8dn9hs.)
Her husband, Elisha Foote, was in full support of her efforts,
also signing this document. (Incidentally, Elisha Foote was a
patent attorney who studied law under Elizabeth Cady Stanton's
father.15) She also experienced motherhood, having given birth
to and raised two daughters. Eunice Foote died in 1888.12
24
ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg
A P R I L 2023
Union (AGU) created the Eunice Newton Foote Medal for
Earth-Life Science to annually honor " an exceptional senior
scientist for outstanding creative achievements in research at
the intersection of Earth and life sciences that substantially
advanced understanding of the past, present or future of key
facets of the Earth system, or of the prospects for life on worlds
beyond our own, or of the future of human well-being. " 10
* Goldsmiths University of London produced a short video
that is now available for viewing on Youtube. It is simply titled
" Eunice (2018). " 11
In summary, today we in ASHRAE who are involved in
addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation can
acknowledge and appreciate Eunice Newton Foote's significant
achievement in being the first person to recognize greenhouse
gases and their damaging effects to our environment.
References
1. History Extra. 2022. Out of the Cold: The Slow Beginnings of Climate
Change Science. " History Extra. https://www.historyextra.com/period/
modern/climate-change-science-history/
2. Darby, M. 2016. " Meet the Woman Who First Identified the Greenhouse
Effect. " Climate Change News. https://tinyurl.com/22x6uzxs
3. Dee, S. 2021. " This Woman was the First Scientist to Chart the Physics of
Climate Change-In 1856. " Fast Company. https://tinyurl.com/dxzc55ah
4. Thompson, C. 2019. " How 19th Century Scientists Predicted Global
Warming. " JStor Daily. https://tinyurl.com/43cc6vv3
5. Foote, E., 1856. " Circumstances affecting the heat of the sun's rays. "
American Journal of Science and Arts 22(66):382-383. https://tinyurl.com/
mv5az298
6. Wells, D., ed. 1857. Annual of Scientific Discovery, Or Year-book of Facts in Science
and Art for 1857. p. 159. https://tinyurl.com/4yme9u2k
7. Santora, T. 2019. " The Female Scientist Who Discovered the Basics
of Climate Science-and Was Forgotten By History. " Audobon.com.
https://tinyurl.com/mw329d77
8. Jackson, R. 2020. " Eunice Foote, John Tyndall and a question of priority. "
Notes and Records 74(1):105 - 118. http://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2018.0066
9. Creese, M., 1998. Ladies in the Laboratory? American and British Women in
Science, 1800-1900. pp. ix and 422-423. London: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
10. AGU. Undated. " Eunice Newton Foote Medal for Earth-Life Science. "
https://tinyurl.com/4jk6cwwa
11. Eunice (2018). 2018. Eric Garro. https://m.youtube.com/
watch?v=WxgAOKzOcBU
12. Shapiro, M. 2021. " Eunice Newton Foote's nearly forgotten discovery. "
Physics Today https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.6.4.20210823a
13. Brittanica. Undated. " Troy Female Seminary. " Britannica.com. https://
www.britannica.com/topic/Troy-Female-Seminary
14. Brahin, J. 2019. " Eunice Newton Foote (1819-1888), la climatóloga
que descubrió el abrigo del planeta Tierra en el sudor de los gases, salivó
igualdad y fue carbonizada por el efecto Tyndall (I). " Mujeres con Ciencia.
https://tinyurl.com/3j7vfr9e
15. Perlin, J. 2019. A " Foote-Note " on the Hidden History of Climate Science:
Why You Have Never Heard of Eunice Foote. " https://tinyurl.com/3d59m4xn
ASHRAE Journal - April 2023

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