Janet Thomson also known as Janet Wendy Thomson (born 1942) is a British

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and the first British woman scientist to complete field research in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. Thomson Summit and Thomson Glacier are named in her honor. She was a 2001 recipient of the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

Fuchs Medal The Fuchs Medal is a medal awarded by The British Antarctic Survey for "''Outstanding devotion to the British Antarctic Survey's interests, beyond the call of normal duty, by men or women who are or were members of the Survey, or closely connected ...

, and in 2003, she was the recipient of the

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

Biography

Janet Wendy Thomson was born in 1942 in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England. She attended Bedford College and later the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Thomson began working for the

(BAS) in 1964, but was barred from participating in actual trips to

because policy forbade women, because of the hardship it would impose. For eighteen years, Thomson pressed to have the restriction lifted. Not making headway with the British team, Thomson joined an American expedition in 1976, becoming the first British woman to conduct fieldwork in the Antarctic. In 1983, Thomson became the first British woman scientist working inside the

Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. S ...

on a British team, when the BAS finally lifted their gender barrier. Peter D. Rowley who led the

United States Antarctic Research Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...

geological survey during the 1984 to 1985 season, suggested that Thomson Summit, a peak in the

Behrendt Mountains The Behrendt Mountains () is a group of mountains, 32 km (20 mi) long, aligned in the form of a horseshoe with the opening to the southwest, standing 11 km (7 mi) SW of Merrick Mountains at the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. Discovered ...

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...

, be named in Thomson's honor in 1986. Thomson Glacier, is also named for her. Thomson served as head of the Mapping and Geographical Information Center (MAGIC) prior to her 2003 retirement. She then worked on a

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historic ...

of Antarctica with the Committee on Antarctic Research Digital Topographic Database. In 2003, she was awarded the

for her outstanding service to polar research. Thomson and other noted British scientists were interviewed in an oral history project for the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

in 2013.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

British Library oral history interviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Janet 1942 births Living people People from Staffordshire Alumni of Bedford College, London Alumni of the University of London British women scientists British Antarctic scientists English geologists Recipients of the Polar Medal Women Antarctic scientists British women geologists