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Dr. Elizabeth Rebecca Laird

Sepia toned image of an older woman in white lab coat examining a small machine with vacuum tubes.
Dr. Laird in calf-length dress standing outside

Dr. Laird at Mount Holyoke, c. 1930

Older Dr. Laird next to bank of machines

Dr. Elizabeth R. Laird in the Physics lab at UWO, 1945

Copyright, University of Western Ontario, Physics Dept. archive, used with permission

Elizabeth Laird was born in Owen Sound, Ontario and grew up in London, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1896, with a BSc. in Physics. She was denied a PhD from U of T because of her gender. She obtained that degree in 1901 from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

She headed the Physics Department at Mt. Holyoke College for over 30 years. In 1927 she was awarded an honorary PhD from the University of Toronto. Better late than never!