Marian Sarah Ogilvie Farquharson,
FLS,
FRMS (née Ridley, 2 July 1846 – 20 April 1912) was a British
naturalist and
women's rights activist. The first female Fellow of the
Royal Microscopical Society
The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the society gained its ...
(although not permitted to attend meetings), Farquharson is best remembered for her campaign of women rights to full fellowship of
learned societies
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...
.
Early and personal life
Marian Sarah Ridley was born on 2 July 1846 in
West Meon
West Meon is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, with a population of 749 people at the 2011 census.
Geography
It is north-west of East Meon, on the headwaters of the River Meon. Its closest town is Petersfield which is to the ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, England, the eldest daughter of
Reverend Nicholas James Ridley and Frances Joucriet (d. 1901). Educated at home, including lessons in music, she became interested in natural history.
In 1883, she married Robert Francis Ogilvie Farquharson from near
Alford, Aberdeenshire, where she moved to live with him on the Haughton estate. He died in May 1890 and she continued interests in both natural history and women's membership of learned societies.
Scientific activity
She joined the Epping Forest and Essex Naturalists' Field Club in 1881. That same year, her book ''A Pocket Guide to British Ferns'' was published.
After moving to Scotland, she joined the Alford Field Club and East of Scotland Union of Naturalists' Societies. Two articles by Farquharson about ferns and mosses were published in the Scottish Naturalist.
She also gave a presentation about them to the meeting of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science in Aberdeen in 1885.
In 1885, she was elected the first female Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society. Despite this, as a woman she was prohibited to attend any of its meetings or vote on Society's matters.
She was involved with the Congress of the International Council of Women, held in London in 1899, and contributed to the Biological Sciences section of the Congress.
Women's rights
![Linnean Society of London First Formal Admission of Women Fellows](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Linnean_Society_of_London_First_Formal_Admission_of_Women_Fellows.jpg)
After her husband's death in 1890, Farquharson began active campaigning for women's rights for full fellowship and participation of learned societies. She founded and was president of the Scottish Association for Promotion of Women's Public Work.
In 1900, Farquharson sent a letter petitioning the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
and the
Linnean Society of London
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 ...
that "duly qualified women should have the advantages of full fellowship in scientific and other learned societies". The Linnean Society initially refused to accept the petition with the excuse that it could only accept one through one of its fellows. After its former president
John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury
John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, 4th Baronet, (30 April 183428 May 1913), known as Sir John Lubbock, 4th Baronet from 1865 until 1900, was an English banker, Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath. Lubbock worked in his fa ...
resubmitted the petition on her behalf, the society eventually declined the proposal on the basis that it was doubtful its
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...
could be applied to women. A similar reply was also given by the Royal Society.
The following year, Farquharson petition of the Linnean Society intensified under it finally agreed for the petition to go before its fellows. In 1903, the Society decided to seek a supplementary charter from the King explicitly allowing women fellows. A ballot of fifteen women for fellowship finally took place in December 1904, where all but Farquharson were elected. Farquharson was not elected to the Society until 1908 when her nomination was resubmitted. However, as a result of her health, she never signed the Society's roll for admission thus was never formally admitted to the Linnean Society.
She died in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
on 20 April 1912.
Works
In addition to her early interest in ferns and mosses, she developed an interest in
desmids from 1883 onwards.
* ''A Pocket Guide to British Ferns'' (1881)
online
* ''Notes on mosses of the north of Scotland'' in Scottish Naturalist, vol. 8, 1885–1886, p. 381
online
* ''Ferns and mosses of the Alford district'' in Scottish Naturalist, vol. 10, 1889–1890, pp. 193–198
See also
*
Timeline of women in science
This is a timeline of women in science, spanning from ancient history up to the 21st century. While the timeline primarily focuses on women involved with natural sciences such as astronomy, biology, chemistry and physics, it also includes women f ...
References
;General
*
*
;Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farquharson, Marian
1846 births
1912 deaths
British naturalists
British women's rights activists
Fellows of the Linnean Society of London
Fellows of the Royal Microscopical Society
19th-century British women scientists
20th-century British women scientists