Caroline Pellew (born 1882) was a British

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

who made significant contributions to knowledge of the

laws of inheritance Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularize ...

in various organisms including

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

Education

Pellew was awarded the first minor

studentship A studentship is a type of academic scholarship. United States In the US a ''studentship'' is similar to a scholarship but involves summer work on a research project. The amount paid to the recipient is normally tax-free, but the recipient is ...

at the

John Innes Centre The John Innes Centre (JIC), located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, is an independent centre for research and training in plant and microbial science founded in 1910. It is a registered charity (No 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and B ...

in 1910. She was a Horticultural Associate of University College Reading and completed a two-year diploma course in

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. While at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

she worked with the

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

professor,

Frederick Keeble Sir Frederick William Keeble, CBE, FRS (2 March 1870 – 19 October 1952) was a British biologist, academic, and scientific adviser, who specialised in botany. He was Sherardian Professor of Botany at the University of Oxford from 1920 to 1927 a ...

, to investigate the genetics in the chemistry of

flower colour Biological pigments, also known simply as pigments or biochromes, are substances produced by living organisms that have a color resulting from selective Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), color absorption. Biological pigments include plant ...

Research and Writing

Pellew conducted much of her significant work on the "rogue" phenomenon in peas with

William Bateson William Bateson (8 August 1861 – 8 February 1926) was an English biologist who was the first person to use the term genetics to describe the study of heredity, and the chief populariser of the ideas of Gregor Mendel following their rediscove ...

and became known as "Professor Bateson's right-hand man", or alternatively his "lieutenant, secretary, mentor and foil". She headed the researchers at Merton after Bateson's death, including fellow female

s; Dorothea de Winton, Dorothy Caley, Alice Gairdner, Irma Anderson-Kotto and Aslaug Sverdrup. By 1929, Pellew had proved her passion for genetics and was given the title of ‘geneticist’ and meticulously worked with peas for over 20 years. In 1941, Pellew was forced to take "voluntary

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

" due to John Innes experiencing a reduction in income because of the war. Pellew wrote many papers on ''

Pisum ''Pisum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to southwest Asia and northeast Africa. It contains one to five species, depending on taxonomic interpretation; the International Legume Database (ILDIS) accepts three speci ...

'' (peas) and ''

Primula ''Primula'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. They include the primrose ('' P. vulgaris''), a familiar wildflower of banks and verges. Other common species are '' P. auricula'' (auricula), '' P. veris'' (cow ...

'' (Primrose) and in 1931 published a book called ''Genetical and Cytological Studies on the Relations Between Asiatic and European Varieties of Pisum Sativum''. In 1946, she wrote to

J. B. S. Haldane John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (; 5 November 18921 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-Indian scientist who worked in physiology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and mathematics. With innovative use of statistics in biolog ...

to belatedly congratulate him on his marriage, explaining that her letter was late because she was "sacrificing letter writing to peas."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pellew, Caroline 20th-century British botanists 1882 births 1963 deaths British women scientists