The First Alchemist

Maria the Jewess (also known as Maria Hebraea or Mary the Prophetess), lived in Alexandria between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. She is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential figures in the history of alchemy. She is credited with inventing several foundational laboratory devices, most famously the bain-marie, a gentle heating method still used today in both science and cooking. Hence why we like her so much. Her work focused on precise temperature control, allowing delicate substances to be heated without burning or destruction, which was a revolutionary idea at the time.

This woman is regarded to be the first actual alchemist by most historians and also a major founder of alchemy. Also also, she is believed to be the first non-mythical Jewish woman to write and publish works under her own name. Although her original writings are lost, her innovations were widely cited by later Greek, Arabic, and medieval European alchemists, securing her legacy as a pioneering foremother of chemistry and experimental science.