Ethel Harriet Comyns-Lewer (, – ) was a British

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, periodical publisher and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. Her work '' Feathered World'' would lead her to be the first women editor, owner and/or publisher outside of the traditional 'Woman's' magazine sphere.

Life

Ethel Harriet Garrett was born on the 28 January 1861, in

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, India. The eldest child of Newson Dunnell Garrett, an Anglo-Indian officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, and Elizabeth Kate Louisa Jane. She was niece of both the suffragette

Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (née Garrett; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English politician, writer and feminist. She campaigned for women's suffrage by legal change and in 1897–1919 led Britain's largest women's rights associati ...

and the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, as well a cousin

Philippa Fawcett Philippa Garrett Fawcett (4 April 1868 – 10 June 1948) was an English mathematician and educationalist. She was the first woman to obtain the top score in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos exams. She taught at Newnham College, Cambridge, and at ...

, the first woman Senior Wrangler. In 1884, she was involved in the founding of the Ladies' Typewriting Office of Chancery Lane. This society, with links to the Society for the Employment of Women and Women's Printing Society, trained young women for careers in the new commercial world, as well as operating as a typewriting office for individual business. She married Alexander Comyns in 1887, taking the name Ethel Harriet Comyns, and together they had three children. Alexander would go on to found the ornithological publication the '' Feathered World'' but would die only eighteen months later. After his death she took over as editor of the paper raising its circulation to 12,000 - 20,000 weekly by 1892. She would go on to found more publications, which were chiefly popular publications on birds. At the time of her takeover she was the only woman editor, owner and publisher outside of the traditional 'Woman's' magazine space. She would remarry in 1896 to publisher and editor S. H. Lewer, taking the surname Comyns-Lewer, as did her three children. During the first world war her son, Alexander David, would be killed during

Battle of Messines Battle of Messines may refer to: *Battle of Messines (1914) *Battle of Messines (1917) The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of ...

in November 1914. Her two daughters Ethel Rachel and Olive Alexander, would eventually work as editors with her on ''Feathered World'', along with

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broadcaster A. P. Thompson. She retired from ''Feathered World'' in 1935 and travelled extensively with her husband during their retirement. She died on 8 February 1946.

Works

On top of her work on ''Feathered World'', Comyns-Lewer co-wrote several books with her husband on the topic of poultry. She also, with the geneticist Reginald C. Punnett, undertook genetic studies of poultry and collaborated with him on a bibliography that was published by ''Feathered World'' as part of Punnett's ''Notes on Old Poultry Books''.

References

{{Authority control English editors English ornithologists Women ornithologists English publishers (people)