Mary Corner (25 March 1899 – 4 November 1962), was a pharmacist, a worker in the British Cotton Industry and British Leather Manufacturers, Head of the Micro-analytical Section of the Chemical Research Laboratory, Vice-Chairman of the Microchemistry group and a founding member of the Microchemical Club.

Early life and education

Mary Corner was educated at Beulah House High School,

Balham Balham () is an List of areas of London, area in south-west London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, with small parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It has been settled since Saxon times and appears in t ...

, London. As a child, Corner had an "unfortunate accident" and "burdened with a severe disability, and she had, in addition, more than the usual share of suffering and trouble."

Career

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Mary worked in a pharmacy, entering

Battersea Polytechnic The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institutio ...

a forerunner of the University of Surrey, in 1922 and graduating in 1927. She obtained a position with the British Cotton Industry Research Association in Didsbury,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, in 1928, working initially in the

rayon Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose fiber, cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has t ...

department where she developed a fascination with microanalysis which resulted in a promotion to Head of the Microanalytical Section. Then, in 1945, she obtained a similar post with the British Leather Manufacturers' Research Association. Two years later, Corner was invited to become Head of the newly formed Microanalytical Section of the Chemical Research Laboratory (later the National Chemical Laboratory). In the 1930s, she became a founder member of the Microchemical Club (to be later joined by Isabel Hadfield). In 1953, she was elected an Ordinary Member of the Council for the Society of Public Analysts and Analytical Chemists.

Death

At the time of her death on 4 November 1962, she was Vice Chair of the Microchemistry Group of the Society for Analytical Chemistry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corner, Mary 1899 births 1962 deaths 20th-century British chemists Alumni of the University of Surrey British scientists with disabilities British women chemists Scientists from London