Celebrating Hertha Ayrton and her legacy throughout 2026 and beyond. Scroll down for events happening soon!

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WHO WAS HERTHA AYRTON?

Read more about the British physicist, mathematician, inventor and social activist – who was so famous in 1910 that police refused to arrest her at a Suffrage march – on the Institution of Engineering and Technology website.

Watch a video by the Royal Society all about Hertha, which includes an interview with ‘Ayrton Fan Club’ member Patricia Fara.

EVENTS IN 2026

SEPTEMBER

Saturday 19th September — SOUTHAMPTON — Concert performance of the Hertha Ayrton musical at British Science Festival, 6pm, MAST Mayflower Studio 1 (book free tickets here)

Tuesday 22nd September — LINCOLN — Collaboration between University of Lincoln third year Musical Theatre students and the Mathematics Department, at the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

Monday 28th September — LONDON — Solo concert of songs from the Hertha Ayrton musical, performed at the Women Into Science and Engineering (WISE) Awards Ceremony at the IET (details here)

OCTOBER

Thursday 8th October — LONDON — Free event hosted by the IMA at Imperial College, Professor Ed Rochead’s will present “The Most Famous Person You’ve Never Heard Of: The Extraordinary Life Of Hertha Ayrton” (book your place here)

Friday 16th to Saturday 17th October — RYDE, ISLE OF WIGHT — “The Woman Who Tamed Lightning”, a one-person show about pioneering women, an extraordinary friendship and the summer on the Isle of Wight when everything felt possible. (tickets here)

Wednesday 21st October — BIRMINGHAM — Professor Ed Rochead will present ‘Mathematician, Engineer and Suffragette: The Extraordinary Life of Hertha Ayrton‘ (University Event)

Saturday 24th October — LONDON — Solo songs from the Hertha Ayrton Musical in “An Evening Of Unnecessary Detail” at Royal Institution (in-person and livestream tickets here)

NOVEMBER

Thursday 19th November – Recording of “Lost Women Of Science” podcast episode about Hertha Ayrton – Electrical Engineer Extraordinaire (free tickets available here).

Friday 27th November — RYDE, ISLE OF WIGHT — “The Woman Who Tamed Lightning”, a one-person show about pioneering women, an extraordinary friendship and the summer on the Isle of Wight when everything felt possible. (tickets here)

Monday 30th November — LONDON — On the anniversary of Hertha’s awarding of the Royal Society Hughes Medal, a performance of songs from the Hertha Ayrton musical as part of “An Evening Of Unnecessary Detail” in the Cambridge Theatre, West End (tickets here)

DECEMBER

Wednesday 2nd December — ONLINE — An online Wikithon, organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Imperial College and the University of Leeds. Join in to improve pages on the free encyclopedia about Hertha Ayrton and her Circle (register your interest here)

MORE ACTIVITIES

• Go direct to the source and read Hertha Ayrton’s notebooks, which have been digitised by the Science Museum here. There’s also a great article about Hertha here.
• Read about the Hertha Ayrton musical “The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade” in this BBC Online article.
• This year’s Women’s Engineering Society Caroline Haslett lecturer was Professor Ed Rochead, who used his platform to champion historic (and current) women in engineering – including Hertha Ayrton. Watch it online here.
• Enjoy a digital tour of this “Stuffed Academics” crochet diorama of Hertha Ayrton in her laboratory, created by researcher Sarah Houghton. Free amigurumi crochet pattern of Hertha coming soon…
• The Ayrton Fan Club have created this Google Map to log every place inspired by, or significant to, Hertha Ayrton – from Portsmouth Docks to the University of Edinburgh. It’s open source, so you can add your own!Science Made Simple in Cardiff have created a show for schools and festivals that features Hertha Ayrton alongside other brilliant women in STEM. Find out about the show here – and learn how to make an “air doughnut” that would make Hertha proud! For 2026, they are also branding their 3 outreach vans in honour of 3 women featured in their role model shows. The back doors will reach thousands of drivers to raise the profile of three unsung heroes of STEM and will be called Hertha (Ayrton), Delia (Derbyshire) and Cecilia (Payne-Gaposchkin)
• Explore Paul Hazelton’s sculpture of Hertha Ayrton on Margate Beach online, from his 2019 exhibition.
• If you attend a public event at the Royal Society, you may be able to see some of Hertha Ayrton’s correspondence and the (unsuccessful) nomination papers for her fellowship in the basement exhibition cabinets.
• The Ayrton Fan Club have created this Google Map to log every place inspired by, or significant to, Hertha Ayrton – from Portsmouth Docks to the University of Edinburgh. It’s open source, so you can add your own!
• Walk in Hertha’s footsteps to find the English Heritage blue plaque for Hertha Ayrton, outside her home in Paddington – or follow Dr Shini Somara on a walking tour of three women scientists in Central London with this video from English Heritage:

PAST EVENTS

28th April 1854 — Hertha Ayrton was born in Portsea, Hampshire, as Phoebe Sarah Marks.

10th March 2026 — ONLINE — Hertha Ayrton video documentary released by the Royal Society.

6th April 2026 — University of Edinburgh opened their new Engineering Forum teaching building, with a classroom named after Hertha Ayrton!

18th May 2026 — SALISBURY — ‘The most Famous Woman you’ve Never Heard of: The Extraordinary Life of Hertha Ayrton’, a talk by Prof. Edward Rochead at Laverstock Evening Women’s Institute.

10th May — LINCOLN — Student performance of the Hertha Ayrton musical by Musical Theatre students at University of Lincoln, 2pm and 7pm (see images here).

6th June — CHELTENHAM SCIENCE FESTIVAL — Free “Family Physics Singalong” workshop and concert performance of the musical, supported by Institute of Physics (IOP).

7th June — GREAT EXHIBITION ROAD FESTIVAL — Free concert performances of the musical at Imperial College London’s free family stage.

20th June — GAP FESTIVAL — Free “Family Physics Singalong” workshop, and concert performance of the musical at Goring Fire Station in Oxfordshire, supported by Institute of Physics (IOP).

26th July — LINCOLN — Free “Family Physics Singalong” workshop, and concert performance of the musical at Have A LAFFF, Lincoln Arts Centre, supported by Institute of Physics (IOP)

12th September — CAMBRIDGE — Solo songs from the Hertha Ayrton musical performed at the Whipple Museum as part of Open Cambridge.

“THE AYRTON FAN CLUB”

These event listings are collated and maintained by a group of Hertha Ayrton academics and enthusiasts. We aim to shine a light on every celebration of her life and legacy throughout 2026.

The Ayrton Fan Club are:

• Helen Arney, science comedian and co-writer The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade.
• Anne Barrett, University Archivist, Imperial College London.
• Liz Bruton, author of “The life and material culture of Hertha Marks Ayrton”, Science Museum Group Journal.
• Patricia Fara, Historian of Science and Emeritus Fellow, Clare College Cambridge, author of many books including A Lab Of One’s Own.
• Graeme Gooday, Professor of the History of Science and Technology, University of Leeds, project leader Electrifying Women and Herstories.
• Anne Locker, Library and Archives Manager, Institution of Engineering and Technology.
• Brian Mackenwells, science communicator and co-writer of The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade

To contribute your own event listings and resources to this page, please email hello@firebrigademusical.com.