Maude Dickinson facts for kids

Maude Dickinson (born around 1868 or 1869 – died March 31, 1933) was a clever inventor and scientist. She lived at the start of the 20th century. Maude was a member of the Women's Engineering Society, a group for women in engineering. She believed she had found special crystals that were like radium. People even called her "A High Priestess of Hygiene" because of her work with cleaning products.

Maude's Early Life

Maude Dickinson was born as Mary Lock. This was either in 1868 or 1869. Her father, Peter Lock, was a gentleman from Fareham. In 1885, she married John Oldridge Dicker. He was a lawyer in London.

Later, Mary started a new life in Brighton. She began using the name Maude Dickinson.

Amazing Experiments

Maude Dickinson said she found special crystals. She discovered them while mixing antiseptic creams. Antiseptic creams help stop germs. She did many experiments to see what these crystals could do.

Her findings were written in a book. It was called "A New Activity?" and came out in 1920. The crystals had many uses. They could clean boilers and water pipes. They could even be added to bread! Maude thought they could make bread stay fresh longer.

In 1915, fifty-six loaves of this special bread were sent to soldiers. These soldiers were prisoners of war in Germany. The bread stayed fresh for three weeks. Maude even sent a loaf to Queen Mary. The Queen sent a thank you letter back to Maude.

Her Company and Products

Maude and Thomas Dickinson ran a company. It was called Dongor Hygiene. This company made cleaning products. These products were said to have Maude's special radium-like crystals.

They sold soaps, sprays, and polishes. Hospitals, cinemas, and theaters used their products. In 1913, the company won an award. They received a Diploma and a Silver Medal. This was at a big international meeting about medicine. Dongor Hygiene was supplying products to over 500 places. This included the Red Cross Society.

Maude's Final Years

Maude Dickinson, also known as Mary Dicker, passed away. She died on March 31, 1933. She was living in Brighton at the time.

In her will, she left some special items. She gave them to her friend, Alfred George Hastings White. He was a librarian for The Royal Society. These items included tubes, crystals, and scientific photos. They were all linked to her research. She also left him a gold box with a ruby clasp. This box held some of her tubes. Maude also had a collection of ancient Egyptian scarabs. She hoped the British Museum would accept them.