Ida Hyde at Heidelberg University, 1896.

March is Women’s History Month, a time when women who have challenged—and continue to challenge—traditional roles are celebrated. This month, the I Spy Physiology blog will introduce you to several female physiologists, starting with the first female member of APS, Ida Henrietta Hyde.

Ida Henrietta Hyde was born in 1857 in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of German immigrants. She went to public school and took jobs as a dressmaker and milliner (a person who designs or sells women’s hats) to help support her family. After reading a book about natural science, she became fascinated with biology. This newfound interest in life sciences inspired her to save as much of her salary as possible so that she could go to college someday.

In 1882, Hyde started classes at the University of Illinois at Champaign but was soon forced to withdraw to help care for her sickly brother. During that time, she taught elementary school in Chicago, where she was instrumental in introducing a science curriculum to the Chicago public school system.

By the late 1880s, Hyde was able to return to college and went on to earn a degree in biological sciences from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. She worked in research at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole in Massachusetts before traveling to Europe on a fellowship to pursue a PhD—something women were rarely able to do. Hyde’s early work centered on the neurophysiology of vertebrates and invertebrates, but she also conducted research in cardiology. Her article “The Effect of Distention of the Ventricle on the Flow of Blood through the Walls of the Heart” was published in the first issue of the American Journal of Physiology in 1898.

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By 1902, Hyde was back in the U.S. and had become an associate professor of physiology at the University of Kansas. She eventually became head of the department and was nominated for APS membership in 1902. She was the only female member of APS until 1913. Today, APS is proud to count more than 3,100 women as members.

APS membership was just one of Hyde’s many accomplishments as a scientist and physiologist. Her landmark achievements paved the way for many more women who follow in her footsteps.

– Erica Roth