Portrait of Ida Freund

Birthday profile

Ida Freund

Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (died 1914)

Born
April 15, 1863
Died
May 15, 1914
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1863

About Ida Freund

Ida Freund (5 April 1863 – 15 May 1914) was the first woman to be a university chemistry lecturer in the United Kingdom. She is known for her influence on science teaching, particularly the teaching of women and girls. She wrote two key chemistry textbooks and invented the idea of baking periodic table cupcakes, as well as inventing a gas measuring tube, which was named after her. == Biography == Ida Freund was born in the Austrian Empire. Following the death of her mother, she moved to live with her grandparents in Vienna. In 1881 her grandparents died, and she moved to England to live with her uncle and guardian, the violinist Ludwig Straus well known as a member of the Joachim Quartet and leader of the Hallé Orchestra (1875–88). She enrolled in Girton College, achieving a first class honours in the Natural Sciences Tripos course despite having previously had only school level English language skills. She went on to Cambridge Training College for Women as a chemistry lecturer, and one year later joined Newnham College, Cambridge, as a demonstrator. In 1890, she was promoted to staff lecturer in chemistry (1893–1912). This was the first appointment of a woman as a full lecturer in the subject in the UK. She was an associate at Newnham College and then a member of its council.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Ida Freund was born

Ida Freund was born in 1863. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1863

  • Best-selling bookLes Misérables by Victor Hugo (English translation)

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst organized baseball game with set rules
  • Top headlineEmancipation Proclamation frees enslaved people
  • Technology milestoneFirst subway opens in London
  • World population~1.43B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderAbraham Lincoln
  • U.S. population32.6M

1863 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ida Freund's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18632026
Population32.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

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