Sidnie Milana Manton (4 May 1902 – 2 January 1979) was an influential British zoologist. She is known for making advances in the field of functional

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

. She is regarded as being one of the most outstanding zoologists of the twentieth century.

Early life

Sidnie Milana Manton was born in Kensington,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

the daughter of a descendant of French aristocracy and a dentist. She was educated at the Froebel Demonstration School and at St. Paul's Girls' School before joining

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...

in 1921. While at Girton College she was awarded the Montifiore Prize in 1925. She came top of the class list, but was not awarded the prize that that position usually brings, because women were not at that time officially members of Cambridge University.

Career

Manton initially worked as an Alfred Yarrow Research Student at

, and later was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Science (ScD) title from Cambridge University and the first woman to hold the post of Demonstrator in Comparative Anatomy at Cambridge University. She took part in an expedition to the Great Barrier Reef in 1928-1929, which was the first scientific study of any coral reef in the world. Manton was responsible for collection and preservation of specimens, particularly arthropods. The scientists, including Manton, collected unprecedented data on the reef's ecology and health, data which are still in use today. As her career at Cambridge University developed, she became Director of Studies in Natural Sciences, Director of Studies in Geography and Lecturer. While at Cambridge University she worked on the evolution of the

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

s, publishing "''The Arthropoda: Habits, Functional Morphology and Evolution''" in 1977. Manton died on 2 January 1979. Her archives are held at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

., and a collection of her letters and Diaries were published in 2020

Honours and awards

She was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in March 1948, one of the first women to receive this honour. She was also a Fellow of the Linnean Society, and was awarded a Gold Medal by the Linnean Society in 1963. In 1968, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion The

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

awarded her the

Frink Medal The Frink Medal for British Zoologists is awarded by the Zoological Society of London "For significant and original contributions by a professional zoologist to the development of zoology." It consists of a bronze plaque (76 by 83 millimetres), de ...

in 1977 for "the advances made by her towards the understanding of arthropod evolution.". Together these awards demonstrate the very high esteem in which her work was held during her lifetime, but recognition has also continued after her death. In 1992, the Manton crater on

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

was named after Sidnie Manton and her sister Irene Manton. In 2018 the

British Ecological Society The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...

and the Journal of Animal Ecology inaugurated the Sidnie Manton Award for early career ecologists.

Personal life

Manton's sister was the botanist Professor Irene Manton FRS. Manton married

John Philip Harding John Philip Harding (12 November 1911 – 14 July 1998) was a British zoologist, Keeper of Zoology at the Natural History Museum from 1954 to 1971 and professor at Westfield College, London from 1971 until retirement in 1977. In 1937 he marri ...

in 1937. They had one son and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manton, Sidnie 1902 births 1979 deaths People from Kensington People educated at St Paul's Girls' School Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge Female Fellows of the Royal Society Place of death missing 20th-century British zoologists Fellows of the Royal Society 20th-century British women scientists Women entomologists Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge British marine biologists Women marine biologists