She conducted an experiment in 1856 that shaped the understanding of climate change today.
Google on Monday paid tribute to Eunice Newton Foote, an American scientist and women's rights activist who was the first to identify the greenhouse effect and its impact on global warming. Celebrating her legacy, Google created an interactive doodle with 11 slides, explaining the concept of the greenhouse effect through her achievements.
Born in Connecticut in 1819, Ms Foote attended a school called Troy Female Seminary that used to encourage students to attend science classes and participate in chemistry labs for experiments. Since then, science has become her lifelong passion.
At a time when women were widely shunned from the scientific community, she conducted an experiment in 1856 that shaped the understanding of climate change today. After placing mercury thermometers in glass cylinders, she discovered that the cylinder containing carbon dioxide experienced the most significant heating effect in the sun. As a result, Ms. Foote was ultimately the first scientist to make the connection between rising carbon dioxide levels and the warming of the atmosphere.
After Ms. Foote published her findings, she produced her second study on atmospheric static electricity. She published two U.S. physics studies, the first by a woman. Those discussions led to further experiments that uncovered what is known as the greenhouse effect.
Today, scientists all over the world are advancing climate science thanks to the foundation that she laid.
Not only that, she also dedicated time to campaigning for women's rights. In 1848, Ms Foote attended the first Woman's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls. She was the fifth signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments—a document that demanded equality for women in social and legal status.
Ms.Foote's achievements went virtually unrecognised for over a century following her death in 1888.