Mary Elvira Weeks
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Mary Elvira Weeks (April 10, 1892 – June 20, 1975) was an American chemist and historian of science. Weeks was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
and the first woman to be a faculty member there. Her book ''Discovery of the Elements'' is considered the "first connected narrative of how scientists unraveled the mysteries of matter" and a "classic of chemistry". It went through seven editions and was published in multiple languages. Weeks also published ''A History of the American Chemical Society'' (1952) with Charles Albert Browne, completing it after his death in 1947.


Education and career

In 1913 Weeks earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Ripon College where she worked with Albert F. Gilman. In 1914 she received a master's degree from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
where she worked with Joseph Howard Mathews. For seven years (1914–1921), Weeks worked as a high school teacher and chemical technician. In 1921, she took a job as a college instructor, teaching quantitative analysis at the University of Kansas while continuing to study. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Kansas in 1927, writing a thesis on ''the role of hydrogen ion concentration in the precipitation of calcium and magnesium''. Once she had her Ph.D. Weeks became an assistant professor and in 1937, an associate professor. She remained in Kansas for 22 years, carrying a heavy teaching load and doing a limited amount of laboratory research. Her research tended to be in the areas of physical and analytic chemistry. While in Kansas, she began researching and writing about the history of chemistry, and published ''Discovery of the Elements'' (1933). In 1944, Weeks left Kansas to become a research librarian at the Kresge-Hooker Science Library of
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
in
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. There she became head of the translation department. Weeks retired from Wayne State in 1954 and continued to live in Detroit. Weeks continued to be active as a translator and as an editor after her retirement, working with the ''Record of Chemical Progress'' (?-1971) and '' Chymia'' (1956-1967). Weeks was a member of the
American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
, the American Association for Advancement of Science, the
History of Science Society The History of Science Society (HSS) is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton, David Eugene Smith, and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publi ...
, the
Special Libraries Association The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions. History The S ...
, the Swedish History of Science Society,
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
, and
Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
.


''Discovery of the Elements''

Because her interests leaned to the humanities, Weeks was drawn to the history of chemistry. Initially, she wrote about the elements as a hobby. From 1932-1933, while at the University of Kansas, Weeks wrote a series of 21 articles on the discovery of the elements for the ''
Journal of Chemical Education The ''Journal of Chemical Education'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal available in both print and electronic versions. It is published by the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society The American Chemical So ...
''. Due to demand for reprints, the articles were collected and published in book form in 1933. ''Discovery of the Elements'' went through multiple editions. Both book and the earlier articles were liberally illustrated with pictures of chemists from the collection of Frank B. Dains, an older Kansas colleague of Weeks. By 1968, ''Discovery of the Elements'' had appeared in seven editions, and had been updated to include the 94 elements that were discovered between 1524 and 1964. Editions included a wartime release in limited numbers due to restrictions on use of paper. The book had been translated into multiple languages. Weeks, who spoke French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, and Russian, focused on translation for much of her time at Wayne State University. The seventh edition was identified as a "classic of chemistry". It was hailed as "a new edition of an old favorite", a "definitive and unique work" whose "value is well established and recognized by all". Revised by Weeks and Henry M. Leicester, it contained 2,688 references and 373 illustrations. Her work was one of the inspirations for ''The Lost Elements: The Periodic Table's Shadow Side'' (2015).


''A History of the American Chemical Society''

In 1946 or 1947, Weeks began collaborating with Charles A. Browne on a retrospective history of the
American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
. Browne was responsible for the structure of the project and the first nine chapters. After Browne's death in 1947, Weeks brought the project to completion, and ''A History of the American Chemical Society—Seventy-five Eventful Years'' was published in 1952. It was welcomed as avoiding the pitfalls common to commissioned histories.


Recognition

In 1967, Weeks won the
Dexter Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry The HIST Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry (2013-present) is given by the Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The award was originally known as the Dexter Award (1956-2001) and th ...
from the
American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
.


References


External links

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Portrait
of Mary Elvira Weeks in ''A Quarter Century of Dexter Awards''
Portrait
of Mary Elvira Weeks with coworkers at Kresge-Hooker Scientific Library in Wayne University's Old Main, Detroit, Michigan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Weeks, Mary Elvira 1892 births 1975 deaths University of Kansas faculty Wayne State University faculty Scientists from Detroit Historians of chemistry University of Kansas alumni 20th-century American historians 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American chemists American historians of science American women historians Historians from Michigan