Alice Blanche Balfour (20 October 1850 – 12 June 1936) was a Scottish entomologist, naturalist, scientific illustrator and one of the earliest pioneers in the science of genetics. Her extensive collection of Scottish moths is now in the care of

National Museums Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, ...

Life

Balfour was born on 20 October 1850 at

Whittingehame House Whittingehame is a parish with a small village in East Lothian, Scotland, about halfway between Haddington and Dunbar, and near East Linton. The area is on the slopes of the Lammermuir Hills. Whittingehame Tower dates from the 15th century a ...

in East Lothian, the daughter of Lady Blanche Gascoyne-Cecil (1825–1872) and

James Maitland Balfour James Maitland Balfour (5 January 1820 – 23 February 1856) was a Scottish land-owner and businessman. He made a fortune in the 19th-century railway boom, and inherited a significant portion of his father's great wealth. He was a Conservative ...

. She lived much of her adult life in London with her brother

Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the L ...

who was

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

from 1902 to 1905. Her brother

Francis Maitland Balfour Francis (Frank) Maitland Balfour, known as F. M. Balfour, (10 November 1851 – 19 July 1882) was a British biologist. He lost his life while attempting the ascent of Mont Blanc. He was regarded by his colleagues as one of the greatest biologists ...

was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

at the age of 27 for his work on

embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, '' -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...

. She developed a lifelong interest in

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

and later developed an interest in genetics and in particular the way that the patterns in

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...

skins were inherited. She had a lengthy correspondence with

James Cossar Ewart James Cossar Ewart FRS FRSE (26 November 1851 – 31 December 1933) was a Scottish zoologist. He performed breeding experiments with horses and zebras which disproved earlier theories of heredity. Life Ewart was born in Penicuik, Midlo ...

Professor of Zoology at

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

who himself had a professional interest in the development of the

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

. The correspondence relates to the possibility of cross-breeding zebra with horses to reduce the impact of

tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies), are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glo ...

on horses in Africa. In 1895 she published the book ''Twelve Hundred miles in a Waggon'' which describes a trip taken by herself, H. W. Fitzwilliam,

Albert Grey Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey, (28 November 185129 August 1917) was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada 1904–1911, the ninth since Canadian Confederation. He was a radical Liberal aristocrat and a ...

and his wife, and Albert Grey's cousin George Grey. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London on 7 June 1916. Balfour died on 12 June 1936 at Wittingehame House. In 1936, her collection of over 10,000 moths, along with her catalogues and notebooks, was donated to

. It is being used today, to study how the distribution of moths in Scotland have changed over time. Alice's contributions to entomology were celebrated during Women's History month 2023, in an article in

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

magazine

References

1850 births 1936 deaths

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

Scottish geneticists Scottish entomologists British women geneticists Women entomologists 19th-century Scottish women scientists 20th-century British women scientists People from Dunbar Scottish travel writers British women travel writers Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society {{Scotland-biologist-stub