1. Clara Cynthia Benson was a Canadian chemist, the sole female founder of the American Society for Biological Chemistry and one of the first two women to earn a Ph.
19 Facts About Clara Benson
1. 2.
Clara Benson later became one of U of T's first two female associate professors.
3.
Clara Benson played a large role in the development of U of T's women's athletics program.
4.
Clara Cynthia Benson was born in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada June 5,1875 to Thomas Moore Benson and Laura Abigail Fuller.
5.
Clara Benson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from U of T in 1899 and continued straight into PhD studies.
6.
Clara Benson earned her doctorate in 1903, making her one of the first two women to earn a Ph.
7.
Clara Benson objected to this program's goal of preparing women to be housewives and had even signed a petition organized by University College's Women's Alumnae Association in 1902 questioning the program's introduction.
8.
When food science was incorporated into U of T's medical curriculum in 1905, Clara Benson was promoted to lecturer in physiological chemistry, making her the first woman at U of T to achieve a rank above demonstrator.
9.
Clara Benson helped develop the school's food chemistry program and, in 1926, was promoted to full professor and head of the Department of Food Chemistry.
10.
Clara Benson was sole female founder of the American Society for Biological Chemistry when it formed in December, 1906.
11.
Clara Benson advocated for the development of women's athletics at the University of Toronto, co-chairing a committee on the matter and serving as the first president of the Women's Athletic Association from 1921 until her retirement.
12.
Clara Benson sat on a committee of female faculty members formed in 1928 to fight for the creation of a women's athletic facility.
13.
When U of T opened their first women's gymnasium in 1959, they named it the Clara Benson Building in her honor.
14.
Clara Benson served on the national board of the YWCA, chairing their Foreign Committee, and her work with the organization led her to sponsor two French World War II orphans after her retirement.
15.
Clara Benson enjoyed film-making, and videos she took while on some of her travels are housed at U of T's archives.
16.
Clara Benson was colleagues and friends with biochemist Maud Menten, who was trained by Archibald Macallum.
17.
Clara Benson never married nor had children, and after retiring in 1945, she returned to Port Hope where she died March 24,1964.
18.
Clara Benson was elected a fellow of the Canadian Institute of Chemistry in 1919, but was not allowed to attend their Annual Dinner in 1920 because she was a woman.
19.
Clara Benson was listed in the 1920s' American Men in Science.