Eva Ekeblad, née De la Gardie, having discovered how to make flour and alcohol out of potatoes, writes in 1746 to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on her discoveries.

Potatoes had been introduced into Sweden in 1658, but until now only cultivated in the greenhouses of the aristocracy.

Ekeblad's work turns potatoes into a staple food in Sweden; it also increases the supply of wheat, rye and barley available for making bread, since potatoes could be used instead to make alcohol.

This greatly improves the country's eating habits and reduces the frequency of famines.

She also discovers a method of bleaching cotton textile and yarn with soap in 1751, and of replacing, in 1752, the dangerous ingredients in cosmetics of the time by using potato flower; she is said to have advertised the plant by using its flowers as hair ornaments.

In 1748, Eva Ekeblad becomes the first woman elected to Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

There are no records of her ever having participated in the meetings of the Academy.

The Academy in 1751 comes to refer to her as an honorary rather than a full member, as the statutes confine membership to men.