Madeleine Alberta Fritz (3 November 1896 – 20 August 1990) was a Canadian
palaeontologist. She was a professor at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...
, where she taught vertebrate studies in the department of
Geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...
. Fritz's writing on the fossil
Bryozoa
Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a ...
along with her research on the stratigraphy of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
and the surrounding areas were major contributions to the geological field.
Fritz was one of the pioneering researchers on the Palaeozoic fossil Bryozoa, which is a type of sea creature that bonds together and builds joint skeletons composed of tiny chambers or tubes. Her work on these creatures later lead to her being called the “great-grandmother of Palaeozoic Bryozoa".
Her scientific journals on these extinct marine invertebrates are internationally acclaimed.
Fritz worked at The
Royal Ontario Museum as an associate director from 1936 to 1955, and later became the Invertebrate Palaeontology Curator at the ROM from 1955 to 1957. In 1956, she became a palaeontology professor at University of Toronto under the Department of Geology until her official retirement in 1967. Fritz was a member of the
Geological Association of Canada and the
Geological Society of America. She also was a member of the Canadian Confederation of University Women and the
International Federation of University Women Graduate Women International (GWI), originally named the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), is an international organisation for women university graduates. IFUW was founded in 1919 following the First World War