Maude Dickinson (1868 or 1869 - 31 March 1933) was a member of the

Women's Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, pred ...

and a female scientist at the beginning of the 20th century who believed she had discovered organic

radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

crystals. She was proclaimed as "A High Priestess of Hygiene".

Early life

Maude Dickinson was born Mary Lock in 1868 or 1869. Her father was Peter Lock, gentleman of

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

. In 1885, she married John Oldridge Dicker, a solicitor and Freemason, of Camden Square, London. In 1890, Mary filed for divorce from Dicker on the grounds of adultery and desertion by him. However, the

decree nisi A decree nisi or rule nisi () is a court order that will come into force at a future date unless a particular condition is met. Unless the condition is met, the ruling becomes a decree absolute (rule absolute), and is binding. Typically, the con ...

is rescinded and the divorce files show that Dicker counter-petitioned against Mary stating that she was cohabiting as wife to a Mr Thomas Gordon Dickinson, in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, East Sussex.

Experiments

Dickinson reputedly discovered radioactive crystals whilst mixing antiseptic creams and conducted many experiments to explore the versatility of the crystals. These experiments and their findings were detailed in a publication called a "A New Activity?" written by Frank Hotblack in 1920. The uses ranged from boiler and waterpipe descaling to being added to bread as a yeast substitute to elongate freshness. Fifty-six loaves of yeastless bread, were sent to Prisoners of War in Germany in 1915, “This bread keeps so very fresh that the men are able to enjoy it even after three weeks journey” and a loaf was even sent to the Queen (Mary) and a letter of thanks was received by Maude Dickinson.

Career

Maude and Thomas Dickinson ran a company called Dongor Hygiene which manufactured antiseptic hygiene products reputed to contain radium crystals. The products included soaps, sprays and polishes. These were supplied to hospitals, cinemas and theatres. The company was awarded a Diploma and Silver Medal at the 17th International Congress of Medicine in 1913 and was reputed to be supplying products to over 500 organisations including the

Red Cross Society The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest group of non-governmental organizations working on humanitarian aid, is composed of the following bodies: *The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is an indep ...

Death

Maude Dickinson/Mary Dicker died on 31 March 1933 at 51 Marine Parade, Brighton, leaving £428 15s and 5d. The codicil to her will states to “my dear friend Hastings White lfred Georgeof

The Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

...and I bequeath to the said Hastings White, irrespective of his acceptance or rejection of such offices all tubes and contents, and crystals and scientific photographs in connection with my researches...together with the gold box with the ruby clasp containing such tubes and also my collection of scarabs should the British Museum be unwilling to accept the bequest thereof.” Alfred George Hastings White was librarian for the Royal Society.https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw193042/Alfred-George-Hastings-White?LinkID=mp121427&role=sit&rNo=0

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickinson, Maude 1933 deaths Women's Engineering Society 20th-century women inventors 20th-century British inventors British women inventors People from Brighton Year of birth uncertain