Eunice Newton Foote. A Forgotten Scientist

On a summer day in 1856 in Albany, New York, the tenth annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science took place. Joseph Henry from the Smithsonian Institution read a scientific paper by Eunice Newton Foote to those gathered. The woman who discovered the mechanism of the greenhouse effect could not present her own research personally. Her discovery disappeared in the annals of history for over 150 years.

Home laboratory and breakthrough experiment

Eunice Newton Foote was born on July 17, 1819, into a family with progressive views. The pre-Civil War era was a time of great social and technological changes in the United States. The women’s rights movement was just gaining momentum, and access to scientific education remained severely limited for women.

In the mid-1850s, Foote conducted a series of experiments in home conditions. She prepared glass cylinders about 76 centimeters long, each equipped with a thermometer. She introduced different gases and mixtures into the cylinders. Moist air, dry air, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and hydrogen.

The scientist exposed the cylinders to sunlight and documented temperature changes. The cylinder filled with carbon dioxide heated up fastest and most intensely. Moreover, after being removed from the sunny location, it maintained a high temperature much longer than the other samples.

Foote noted that carbon dioxide reached a temperature of 52 degrees Celsius. She also observed that air humidity affected temperature variations. These simple observations led her to conclusions that were decades ahead of their time.

Theory that was ahead of its time

Based on experimental results, Eunice Foote formulated a bold theory about Earth’s climate. She wrote that an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide would give our planet a high temperature. If at some point in Earth’s history the air contained a larger proportion of this gas, the temperature must have been higher.

This theory was a clear statement of the mechanism of climate warming caused by increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Foote connected her laboratory observations with reflection on Earth’s geological past. Her reasoning was logical and based on empirical evidence.

The paper titled „Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays” was prepared for the AAAS conference in August 1856. For unclear reasons, Foote did not read her paper personally. Even the few women who were members of the association rarely presented their research publicly.

Joseph Henry from the prestigious Smithsonian Institution presented her work to the assembled scientists. It was he who received applause for the presentation, though Eunice Foote was the author of the discovery. Such practice was typical for an era when women scientists struggled with systemic limitations.

Publication and oblivion

In 1856, the American Journal of Science and Arts published the full text of Foote’s work under her own name. Interestingly, the article appeared immediately after a paper by her husband, Elisha. This was the first physics publication by an American woman in a scientific journal, excluding works on astronomy.

A year later, in 1857, her work appeared in the Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This was the first instance of an American woman’s work being published in this prestigious publication. Despite these achievements, Foote’s discovery did not receive proper attention in the scientific world.

Perhaps the fault lies in the fact that the author was a woman in times of deep scientific patriarchy. It is also possible that the discovery itself seemed too theoretical and distant from practical applications. Nineteenth-century science was just beginning to understand the complexity of atmospheric processes.

For over 150 years, the name Eunice Newton Foote was practically unknown to historians of science. Only in the 21st century did researchers rediscover her works and appreciate their groundbreaking character. The discovery of the greenhouse effect mechanism, which today we recognize as fundamental to understanding climate change, was made by a woman whose voice no one wanted to hear.

Inventor of many talents

Eunice Foote did not limit herself to atmospheric research. In 1860, she filed a patent for shoe and boot inserts made from a single piece of vulcanized rubber. They were designed to prevent footwear from squeaking. The patent was issued in her own name, which was unusual in those times.

In 1868, local press reported on her invention of skates without straps. In 1864, she developed a new type of cylindrical paper-making machine. The Daily Evening Star reported that the machine allowed for the production of better quality wrapping and printing paper at lower costs.

A company from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, using this machine reported savings of 157 dollars daily on raw materials. Converted to contemporary values, this is equivalent to about 2,720 dollars from 2021. Foote was thus not only a scientist but also a practical inventor with business acumen.

She died on September 30, 1888, without seeing recognition for her greatest scientific contribution. Her discovery of the greenhouse effect remained forgotten while later works by male scientists gained publicity and recognition.

Contemporary recognition of history’s debt

In 2022, the American Geophysical Union established the Eunice Newton Foote Medal for Earth-Life Science. The award is meant to honor outstanding achievements in scientific research. This is symbolic recognition 166 years after the publication of her groundbreaking work.

In 2025, the ichnotaxon Osspecus eunicefooteae was named in her honor. This is a fossilized worm burrow from the Cretaceous period found in Great Britain. The species name commemorates Foote’s contribution to Earth science.

The story of Eunice Newton Foote is a reminder of countless women whose scientific achievements were marginalized or completely forgotten. Her discovery of the greenhouse effect forms the foundation of contemporary climatology. If humanity had listened to her warning, it is possible that the climate crisis would not have reached its current scale.

Today, as the world struggles with the consequences of increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere, Foote’s 1856 discovery takes on dramatic relevance. The woman who could not speak at a scientific conference knew more about our planet’s future than most scientists of her time.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-woman-who-demonstrated-the-greenhouse-effect/
• https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/resources/eunice-newton
• https://www.yalescientific.org/2022/09/hidden-histories-eunice-newton-foote-the-woman-who-discovered-the-greenhouse-effect/
• https://cervest.earth/news/women-in-climate-science-what-did-eunice-foote-discover
• https://physicstoday.aip.org/news/eunice-newton-footes-nearly-forgotten-discovery