Dame Ethel Mary Reader Shakespear (née Wood; 17 July 1871 – 17 January 1946) was an English

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, althoug ...

, Justice of the Peace, public servant, and philanthropist.Biography, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' She is most famously known for her work on the Lower Ludlow Formation and won several awards for her influential papers.

Early life and education

Shakespear was born in Biddenham,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, the youngest daughter of the Reverend Henry Wood. She was educated at Bedford High School for Girls and

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's 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 Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

(1891–95), graduating in

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

. While at Cambridge, she was introduced to the work of

John Edward Marr John Edward Marr FGS FRS (14 June 1857 – 1 October 1933) was a British geologist. After studying at Lancaster Royal Grammar School, he matriculated to St John's College, Cambridge, graduating with First Class Honours in 1878. Following under ...

and

Thomas McKenny Hughes Thomas McKenny Hughes (17 December 1832 – 9 June 1917) was a Wales, Welsh geologist. He was Woodwardian Professor of Geology at Cambridge University. Private life Thomas M. Hughes was born in Aberystwyth, one of the nine children (six sist ...

. There, she was able to attend the geologic field outings alongside Hughes. During her time at Newnham College, she played tennis, took piano lessons, and became involved in Liberal politics, and it was here that she met her lifelong friend and collaborator

Gertrude Elles Gertrude Lilian Elles MBE (8 October 1872 – 18 November 1960) was a British geologist, known for her work on graptolites. Personal life Gertrude Elles was born on October 8, 1872. She was the youngest of six children. Every year the E ...

Career

She studied rocks with Elles as one of their first joint projects in the Lake District. These studies were suggested by one of her previous professors, Marr. She continued her research alongside Elles, specifically on ancient rocks of the Welsh Borderlands as a research student at Newnham College. In 1896, she became assistant to

Charles Lapworth Charles Lapworth FRS FGS (20 September 1842 – 13 March 1920) was a headteacher and an English geologist who pioneered faunal analysis using index fossils and identified the Ordovician period. Biography Charles Lapworth was born at Faring ...

Mason College Mason Science College was a university college in Birmingham, England, and a predecessor college of Birmingham University. Founded in 1875 by industrialist and philanthropist Sir Josiah Mason, the college was incorporated into the University ...

(which later became the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

). In 1906, she earned her

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

. Despite success in her field, she left her job with Lapworth in 1906 when she married Gilbert Arden Shakespear, a physics lecturer at the university whom she had met in Cambridge. However, she did remain as an associate of Newnham College for fifteen years. Despite encouragement to return to her field by her peers, she was unable due to her social work. Throughout most of her later life, Shakespear was involved with the study of

graptolite Graptolites are a group of colonial animals, members of the subclass Graptolithina within the class Pterobranchia. These filter-feeding organisms are known chiefly from fossils found from the Middle Cambrian ( Miaolingian, Wuliuan) through t ...

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

and around the Welsh Borderland area. Her monograph was to become a standard

paleontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

reference work for many years.

Papers

In 1900, Shakespear published a paper on the Ludlow Formation, entitled "The Lower Ludlow Formation and its Graptolite Fauna" in the ''Journal of the Geological Society''. It outlined how geologists can use the fauna to classify the mudstones found in the area. Her famous research paper ''The graptolites of the Lower Ludlow Shales'' surrounding the

Ludlow Group The Ludlow Group are geologic formations deposited during the Ludlow epoch of the Silurian period in the British Isles, in areas of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Formations This group contains the following formations in descending or ...

was published before her marriage in 1906. Her research on the Lower Ludlow Shales suggests a large number of fossils to be found in this section. The most famous of fossils found in this region was Cyathaspis, the oldest British vertebrate. With Lapworth and Elles, she published a paper on the biostratigraphy of the area from 1901 to 1914 entitled ''British Graptolites''. She was particularly responsible for the illustrations. This monograph was to become a standard

palaeontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

reference work for many years. In collaboration with her husband, Gilbert Arden Shakespear, "The Tarannon Series of Tarannon" was published in the ''Geological Magazine'' in 1906. This was the final work published before her death.

Other work

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she devoted herself to helping disabled servicemen. She was honorary secretary of the Birmingham War Pensions Committee and from 1917 to 1926 sat on the Special Grants Committee of the

Ministry of Pensions Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

. She was appointed a justice of the peace for Birmingham in 1922, specialising in cases involving children and working-class girls. She was a family visitor for

foster parents Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

and invited many poor women and girls to stay in her home at Caldwell Hall,

Upton Warren Upton Warren is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district, in Worcestershire, England. The village is situated just off the A38 road between Bromsgrove and Droitwich Spa, and on the River Salwarpe. In the 2001 census, the parish, whic ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

Honours and awards

In recognition of her work on the paper, "The Lower Ludlow Formation and its Graptolite Fauna", she was awarded the Wollaston Fund in 1904. In 1920, she received the

Murchison Medal The Murchison Medal is an academic award established by Roderick Murchison, who died in 1871. First awarded in 1873, it is normally given to people who have made a significant contribution to geology by means of a substantial body of research and ...

for her work on ''British Graptolites''. Shakespear was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in 1918 for her war work and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours for her work with the Birmingham War Pensions Committee.

Personal life

Ethel and Gilbert had one child, a daughter, who died in infancy. Shakespear died of cancer in 1946, aged 74.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakespear, Ethel 1871 births 1946 deaths People from Biddenham People educated at Bedford High School, Bedfordshire Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Birmingham Deaths from cancer in England English women geologists English palaeontologists English philanthropists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire British women in World War I 20th-century British women scientists 20th-century English women 20th-century English people