Kathleen Lonsdale Scientist

Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, DBE FRS (née Yardley, 28 January 1903 – 1 April 1971) was an Irish crystallographer, who finally proved that the benzene ring was flat by X-ray diffraction methods in 1929. She was the first to use Fourier spectral methods while solving the structure of hexachlorobenzene in 1931. During her career she attained a number of firsts for a woman scientist, including one of the first two women elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1945 (along with Marjory Stephenson), first woman tenured professor at University College London, first woman president of the International Union of Crystallography, and first woman president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Personal facts

Alias (AKA)	Yardley Kathleen
Birth date	January 28, 1903
Birth name	Kathleen Yardley
Birth place	Newbridge County Kildare , Ireland , County Kildare
Date of death	April 01, 1971
Place of death	England , London
Education	University College London Bedford College London
Known for	X-ray crystallography