Celebrating Hertha Ayrton and her legacy throughout 2026 and beyond.
Email hello@firebrigademusical.com to contribute your own events and activities to this page.
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
MAY
Sunday 10th May — LINCOLN — Student performance of the Hertha Ayrton musical by Musical Theatre students at University of Lincoln, 2pm and 7pm (tickets).
Monday 18th May — 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.
JUNE
Saturday 6th June — CHELTENHAM SCIENCE FESTIVAL — Free concert performance of the Hertha Ayrton musical at 12.30pm and free family singing workshop at 10am (details here – just turn up!)
Sunday 7th June — LONDON — Free concert performances of the Hertha Ayrton musical, 2.15pm and 4.30pm at Great Exhibition Road Festival, South Kensington (details & registration here).
Wednesday 10th June — LONDON — Wikipedia Edit-a-thon hosted by The Institution of Engineering and Technology and Imperial College London, focussing on Hertha Ayrton, her circle and their influence. 11am-3pm, contact archives@theiet.org to find out more about taking part.
Saturday 20th June — OXFORDSHIRE GAP FESTIVAL — Concert performance of the Hertha Ayrton musical, 5.15pm at Goring Fire Station (tickets here) and free family singing workshops at 10am and 12 noon (book here).
JULY
Sunday 26th July — LINCOLN “HAVE A LAFFF” — Free concert performance of the Hertha Ayrton musical at 2pm (details here – just turn up!) and free family singing workshops at 9.30am and 11am (book here).
MORE ACTIVITIES
- 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!
- Read about the Hertha Ayrton musical “The Cambridge First All-Ladies Fire Brigade” in this BBC Online article.
- 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…
- 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 it 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
“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.