1. Rita Harriet Harradence was born in Bexley, New South Wales, on 16 September 1915, the daughter of Walter Charles Harradence and his wife Ethel Harriet Todd.
10 Facts About Rita Harradence
1. 2.
Rita Harradence's father was a carpenter and her mother was a seamstress in a department store.
3.
Rita Harradence attended St George Girls High School, an academically selective school for girls, where she excelled, particularly in mathematics.
4.
Rita Harradence received first class honours in mathematics, and A's in English, French, Latin and mechanics, making her one of the top students in the state.
5.
Rita Harradence had broken a Claisen flask and Cornforth, with his expertise of glassblowing and the use of a blowpipe, mended the break.
6.
Rita Harradence briefly left work after having her second child in 1946, but returned to work, initially part-time, in 1947.
7.
Cornforth was knighted on 10 February 1977, and Rita Harradence became Lady Cornforth, but received little recognition for her own work.
8.
Rita Harradence was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sussex, and the Australian National University established the Rita Cornforth Fellowships for women researchers in chemistry in 1996.
9.
Rita Harradence died on 6 November 2012, after a long illness, at her home in Sussex, with her family around her, and was buried in Clayton Wood Natural Burial Ground.
10.
Rita Harradence was survived by her husband, three children, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.