When Ida Keller began her scientific career, this path was not yet quite straight and accessible to women. Even the University of Pennsylvania, where the talented girl studied, did not present her with a diploma since women did not have access to academic degrees at the time. Still, Ida was the first woman to complete a biology course, who later became a teacher and scientist. Learn more at philadelphia1.one.
Read more about the American woman who studied plant physiology and taught in Philadelphia further in the article.
Ida’s younger years
The Keller family welcomed a daughter they named Ida on June 11, 1866, in Darmstadt, Germany. Her parents, William Charles Christian Keller and Maria Augusta Cramer, were immigrants. They traveled to Europe to visit their home country. It was there that their daughter was born. Following this joyful event, the couple soon returned to Philadelphia.
Ida grew up in this city. Her father worked as a doctor. Ida attended the Philadelphia High School for Girls, from which she graduated in 1884. Even while attending school, she showed an interest in natural sciences and a desire to pursue an academic career. This was not a common choice at the time, but it wasn’t impossible either.
With the support of her parents, Ida received an education:
- from 1884 to 1886, she attended a biology course at the University of Pennsylvania and became the first woman to successfully complete it, earning a certificate of knowledge of biology (at the time, the University of Pennsylvania did not award diplomas to women)
- she then started working as an assistant at Bryn Mawr College
- a year later, Ida traveled to Europe, enrolling at the University of Leipzig, where she studied chemistry with Friedrich Stohmann and plant physiology with Wilhelm Pfeffer
- under the guidance of botanist Arnold Dodel-Port, she completed her doctoral work at the University of Zurich, successfully defending it in 1890 and earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Ida’s brother, Harry Keller, who received a chemical education, also became a teacher.
Ida Keller’s career: education and science
After defending her dissertation, Ida returned to Philadelphia, specifically Bryn Mawr. At this college, she became a botany teacher and served in this position for two years.
In 1893, she was invited to teach chemistry at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, where Ida herself earned her secondary education. In 1898, she was appointed head of the chemistry and biology departments. Over the next three decades, Ida Keller combined teaching and administrative work. She worked at this institution until 1930, after which she retired.
In 1895, Ida was appointed vice president of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools. When the Botanical Club of the Higher Schools of Philadelphia was founded, it was Ida Keller who was invited to lead it. She held this position from 1911 to 1912.
It is worth noting that, in addition to active teaching, the woman did not abandon science and continued to conduct research. In those years, men were still skeptical of female scientists, but this has changed over time thanks to those of them who kept going and established an academic career.
As for Ida’s scientific interests, they focused on plant morphology and the development of novel effective fertilizers. She authored scholarly papers that were well-known at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. In 1905, with another botanist, Brown, Keller co-wrote and jointly published a book on Philadelphia’s flora . In addition, she authored numerous high school lab manuals and publications on native insects.
In 1890, Ida was elected to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Two years later, the scientist joined the Philadelphia Botanical Club. She was the first female member and, for many years, the sole female representative among male botanists. Furthermore, in 1900, she was elected vice president of this club.
Ida was a member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Eugenics Society. It is worth noting that at the time, women were frequently excluded from such professional groups, as well as their candidacy was not even considered for admission. Ida Keller was an exception in this regard. She was also accepted into the American Society of Naturalists. Male colleagues recognized the significance of her work, the sharpness of her mind and the accuracy and balance of her scientific reasoning.
Final years
Ida Keller dedicated her life to defending women’s rights by pursuing an academic career, being a teacher and scientist. In addition, she actively participated in the fight for women’s suffrage. She served as vice president of a relevant local organization.
Ida believed that women should have equal rights as men. She was aware of the challenges that women face on their path to realization and sought to assist them in overcoming them based on her own experiences.
The scientist and teacher died at the age of 66 in her summer house in Aquetong, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This occurred on September 10, 1932. She was laid to rest in Philadelphia.