Clara Benson

Clara Cynthia Benson (1875–1964) was a Canadian chemist, the sole female founder of the American Society for Biological Chemistry (now the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)) and one of the first two women to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (U of T) (the other being philosophy student Emma Baker). She later became one of U of T's first two female associate professors. Trained in physical chemistry, she switched focus to biochemistry when lack of job opportunities for female chemists led her to take a position teaching food chemistry as part of U of T's Domestic Science program. She also played a large role in the development of U of T's women's athletics program.

Her family's social position placed Benson within a well-established environment. Through her father's first marriage, the household was connected to John McCaul, a former president of University College.

Benson grew up in Port Hope and attended school locally, including Port Hope High School.

Career and research Benson's early research was in the field of physical chemistry, with an emphasis on reaction rates of inorganic salt solutions. Her 1902 article "The Rate of Oxidation of Ferrous Salts by Chromic Acid" may make her the second female author (after Marie Curie) to publish in the Journal of Physical Chemistry (JPC).

As a woman, she had difficulty finding a job as a physical chemist after graduating, so she took a position as a demonstrator in food science at U of T's new Lillian Massey School of Domestic Science. At the time, however, food chemistry was one of the chemistry sub-fields with better professional opportunities for women.

This position involved switching from U of T's Chemistry Department to their Physiology (Physiological Chemistry) Department, where she was mentored by the "Father of the Medical School at Toronto," A.B. Macallum. At the request of Canada's Ministry of Marine and Fisheries, which was trying to build consumer demand for fish, she organized a group of food scientists from Canadian universities to work to improve fish preparation methods. When U of T opened their first women's gymnasium in 1959, they named it the Benson Building in her honor.

Benson served on the national board of the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association), chairing their Foreign Committee,

Institutional commemoration

1950: Alumnae of the University of Toronto’s Household Science program created a fellowship in her honour and commissioned a portrait of Benson by Yousuf Karsh for display in the Household Science building. 1959: The University of Toronto named the Benson Building, a women’s athletics facility, in her honour.

Legacy and named honours

1992: The Canadian Society of Chemistry established the Clara Benson Award, given each year to a woman chemist working in Canada. 2003: The University of Toronto marked the 100th anniversary of her PhD with a day of events, including a reenactment of her thesis defence.

Selected publications