June Fullmer (née Zimmerman; December 12, 1920 – January 31, 2000) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Biography

June Zimmerman was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

on December 12, 1920. She was educated at the

Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

, and gained her PhD in physical chemistry in 1948 from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

. She did postdoctoral work at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

(1949–50) under Sir

Cyril Hinshelwood Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood (19 June 1897 – 9 October 1967) was a British physical chemist and expert in chemical kinetics. His work in reaction mechanisms earned the 1956 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Education Born in London, his parents w ...

, then became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Chatham College in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

(1950–53), served as a research associate at

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

(1954–55), and Associate Professor and Head of the Chemistry Department (1955–64) at

Newcomb College H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University, located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. Newcomb was the ...

, the women's college of

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. After a short stint at

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (abbrevriated OWU) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley, Centra ...

, in 1966, she joined the Department of History at The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, where she taught history of science as an associate and then full professor, retiring in 1984. In 1953, she married Paul Fullmer, who died on January 6, 2000, predeceasing her by only several weeks. Professor Fullmer held grants from the National Science Foundation and fellowships from the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

, the

American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...

, and the Guggenheim Foundation. She was active in various history of science organizations and became Chairman 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 ...

's Division of

History of Chemistry The history of chemistry represents a time span from ancient history to the present. By 1000 BC, civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry. Examples include the discovery of fire, ex ...

in 1971. Her publications, ranging from technical articles in

chemistry journals This is a list of scientific journals in chemistry and its various subfields. For journals mainly about materials science, see List of materials science journals. A B * '' Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry'' * '' Biochemical Journal'' * ...

, to biography, to essays on science and poetry, were polymathic in scope. Fullmer was the author of ''Sir Humphry Davy's Published Works'', published in 1969-70 by Harvard University Press and Oxford University Press. At the time of her death, which occurred on January 31, 2000, she was completing her multi-volume biography of Sir Humphry Davy, being published by the American Philosophical Society. Page proofs for the first volume, ''Young Humphry Davy: The Making of an Experimental Chemist'', arrived just after she died.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fullmer, June Zimmerman 1920 births 2000 deaths American expatriates in England American historians American women historians Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni Carnegie Mellon University people Tulane University faculty Ohio Wesleyan University faculty Ohio State University faculty