Cicely Kate Bertram, JP (née Ricardo; 8 July 1912 – 6 July 1999) was a British academic specialising in East African and Palestinian fisheries, and working with her husband

Colin Bertram Dr George Colin Lawder Bertram, generally known as Colin Bertram, (27 November 1911 – 2001) was a British zoologist. He was born the son of Frank Bertram (later the deputy director of Civil Aviation) and was educated at Berkhamsted and at St Jo ...

on sirenea. Part of the 1930s "Cambridge school" of biologists, she contributed to two seminal reports on freshwater fish in eastern Africa.

Early life and education

Bertram was born in London to

Sir Harry Ricardo Sir Harry Ralph Ricardo (26 January 1885 – 18 May 1974) was an English engineer who was one of the foremost engine designers and researchers in the early years of the development of the internal combustion engine. Among his many other works, ...

and Beatrice Hale in 1912. She attended

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

. In 1939, she married

, British marine zoologist, with whom she had four sons.

Career

After the second world war, Bertram returned to Cambridge, where she taught at Newnham College and Girton College, which, at the time, were the only colleges which admitted women to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. While at the university, she was a member of the "Dining Group", who helped establish New Hall (now Murray Edwards College) in 1954, a college for women whose careers and education had been interrupted by family responsibilities.

Lucy Cavendish College

In 1965, Lucy Cavendish College was founded; Bertram became the first Tutor and Secretary to the Governing body. In 1970, Bertram became the second ever President of Lucy Cavendish College,

, a position she held until her retirement in 1979. She was an honorary fellow of the college from 1982-1999. Later in life, Bertram suffered Alzheimer's, and died in Graffham, Sussex 6 July 1999. The Kate Bertram Prize is awarded at

Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Lucy Cavendish College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college is named in honour of Lucy Cavendish (1841–1925), who campaigned for the reform of women's education. Hist ...

, to students receiving First Class results in non-tripos examinations. Bertram also had an extensive fieldwork career with her husband, travelling to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Belize and the

Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

to study manatees and dugongs. From 1962 to 1977, they published almost two dozen scientific articles and books, including in ''Nature'', on the ecology, economic uses, and conservation of sirenians. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

/SSC Sirenia Specialist Group was created largely as a result of their data collection on sirenia distribution and status. Bertram served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

eastern England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...

, for twenty years.

Publications

* Ricardo, C.K. n.d. (1939). ''Report on the Fish and Fisheries of Lake Rukwa in Tanganyika Territory and the Bangweulu Region in Northern Rhodesia.'' London: Crown Agents for the Colonies. * Bertram, C.K., Borley, H.J.H. & Trewavas, E. (1942). ''Report on the Fish and Fisheries of Lake Nyasa.'' London: Crown Agents for the Colonies. Known as the ''1939 Survey''. * C. Kate Bertram (1989). ''Lucy Cavendish College: A history of the early years''. * Bertram, C. Kate & Janet Trant (1991). Ion Trant. (Ed). ''Letters from the Swamps''. Graffham, Sussex: Dr C.K. Bertram. *C.K. Ricardo Bertram (1944). "Abridged Report on The Fish and Fishery of Lake Tiberias" Haifa: Palestine Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

References

*Peter N B Jackson
"Obituary: Kate Bertram"
''Ichthos'' 62, December 1999. ISSN 1011-7490. Retrieved 9 May 2006.

''Sirenews'' 33, April 2000. Retrieved 9 May 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertram, Kate 1912 births 1999 deaths 20th-century British biologists Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge British women biologists Presidents of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge British women non-fiction writers