Ethel Mary Doidge (1887–1965) was a British born, South African mycologist and

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learning about bacteria, ...

. __NOTOC__ Doidge was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, England on 31 May 1887 and was educated in South Africa at

Epworth School Epworth School is a Christian School with a Methodist ethos, located on a campus in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Epworth is an independent school (and a member of the Independent Schools Association of South Af ...

in Pietermaritzburg and

Huguenot College The Huguenot College in Wellington, South Africa, is a private institute focused on training social and church service workers. Historical overview The Huguenot College has its origins in three educational institutions which previously existed ...

Wellington, Western Cape Wellington is a town in the Western Cape Winelands, a 45-minute drive from Cape Town, in South Africa with a population of approximately 62,000. Wellington's economy is centered on agriculture such as wine, table grapes, deciduous fruit, and a bra ...

. In 1908 she joined the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

Department of Agriculture as an assistant to Dr I.B. Pole Evans. In 1909 she was awarded a M.A. degree by the

University of the Cape of Good Hope The University of the Cape of Good Hope, renamed the University of South Africa in 1916, was created when the Molteno government passed Act 16 of 1873 in the Cape of Good Hope Parliament. Modelled on the University of London, it offered examinati ...

, and in 1914 she was awarded a D. Sc. degree; she was the first woman to obtain a doctorate in South Africa. Her thesis was entitled ''A bacterial disease of mango, Bacillus mangiferae n. sp.''. This disease was previously unknown outside South Africa and caused considerable loss to mango growers there for some years. In 1912 she was elected a

Fellow of the Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

(F.L.S). She was appointed assistant chief of the Division of Botany and Plant Pathology in 1919 and became principal plant pathologist in 1929, a position she held until her retirement in 1942. Her services were retained for a further four years, during which time she completed her work on ''The South African fungi and lichens''. Through her knowledge of bacteriology and

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogen ...

, she managed to solve problems of importance to agriculture. Doidge was appointed a member of the first council of the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

. She was a founding member of the

South African Biological Society South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

and in 1922 was given the Society's major award, the Senior Captain Scott Memorial Medal, for her research on South African plant pathology.

Publications

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Notes and references

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External links

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A Google Books bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doidge, Ethel Mary 1887 births 1965 deaths 20th-century South African botanists South African women botanists South African mycologists South African naturalists 20th-century South African women scientists 20th-century naturalists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London British emigrants to the Colony of Natal

Publications

See also

Notes and references

Further reading

External links