Sophie Charlotte Ducker (née von Klemperer) (9 April 1909 – 20 May 2004) was a German-born Australian

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. She was awarded the

Mueller Medal The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British A ...

in 1996.

Early life and education

Sophie Charlotte von Klemperer was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 9 April 1909. She was the daughter of Victor von Klemperer, a Jewish German who converted to Christianity upon marriage, and his wife Sophie von Klemperer (née Reichenheim). Sophie grew up in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

and later studied at

the Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to p ...

in England. She began the study of botany at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

and the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany wit ...

. She stopped her studies in 1931 when she married Dr Johann Friedrich Ducker, known as Friedrich. The couple’s only son, Klaus Heinrich Ducker, was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

on 22 September 1933. Sophie also had a stepson, Hanfried Ducker, from her husband’s previous marriage. The family faced persecution under the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

due to Sophie’s Jewish heritage and their anti-Nazi sentiments. Friedrich Ducker was forced to resign from his employment after he refused to divorce his wife. The family left Germany at the outbreak of hostilities and moved to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Iran. They were unable to bring Hanfried as his passport was seized by Nazi Authorities within days of the families’ departure. On 17 September 1941, Friedrich Ducker was arrested by the British Military Authorities and interred as an enemy alien. Sophie petitioned to accompany her husband with their young son and was also arrested. The family were later brought to Australia where they were interred at Tatura. The family faced much persecution at the hands of the other German internees for their anti-Nazi sentiments. Cruel tricks were played on them and they were prevented from attending film nights. Young Klaus was so badly affected by the ill treatment that he was released from internment and sent to boarding school in Melbourne. On 3 February 1944, Sophie gave birth to a stillborn daughter, Catherine Sophie Ducker, at Waranga Hospital in Goulburn. The baby was buried at Tatura Cemetery the following day and later moved to Tatura (German) Military Cemetery. After recovering from the birth, Sophie returned to the camp where circumstances continued to deteriorate. The couple eventually successfully petitioned for their release and remained living in Australia.

Career

Sophie worked as a research assistant for

Ethel Irene McLennan Ethel Irene McLennan (15 March 1891 – 12 June 1983) was an Australian botanist, mycologist and educator. Personal life and early career The daughter of George McLennan and Eleanor Tucker, she was born in Williamstown, Victoria and was edu ...

of the botany school at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. She completed a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

there in 1952. In 1957, she became a botany lecturer at the university and, in 1961, a senior lecturer. She specialized in

marine botany Marine botany is the study of flowering vascular plant species and marine algae that live in shallow seawater of the open ocean and the littoral zone, along shorelines of the intertidal zone and coastal wetlands, even in low-salinity brackish wat ...

, especially

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

. Her eldest husband Friedrich died in Melbourne in 1972. Sophie retired in 1974 but continued to conduct research, present papers and lecture. After her retirement, Sophie collaborated with Professor Bruce Knox at the University of Melbourne on

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

, particularly that of

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...

es. Sophie received a

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

from the University of Melbourne in 1978. She also published biographies of early Australian botanists. Sophie was a founding member of the Australasian Society for Phycology and Aquatic Botany.

Awards

In 1993, Sophie was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the

. She received the

Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British As ...

's Mueller Medal in 1996. She was appointed

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours for "service to recording the history of botany in Australia, to education and to science, particularly in the field of marine botany".

Death

Sophie died at her home in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

at the age of 95. She was survived by her son Klaus, daughter-in-law Judith, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

References

External links