Ethel Nancy Miles Thomas (4 October 1876 – 28 August 1944) was a British botanist, best known for her work on

double fertilisation Double fertilization is a complex fertilization mechanism of flowering plants (angiosperms). This process involves the joining of a female gametophyte (megagametophyte, also called the embryo sac) with two male gametes (sperm). It begins when a ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s as the first British person to publish on the topic. Thomas studied at University College London, largely as a research apprentice to

Ethel Sargant Ethel Sargant (28 October 1863 – 16 January 1918) was a British botanist who studied both the cytology and morphology of plants. She was one of the first female members of the Linnean Society and the first woman to serve on their council. S ...

, receiving her BSc in 1905. She joined Bedford College and soon became head of the newly formed botany department. Thomas left the Bedford College in 1913, subsequently holding roles at

University of South Wales The University of South Wales ( cy, Prifysgol De Cymru) is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wa ...

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and in the

Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the W ...

, before settling at University College, Leicester.

Biography

Ethel Nancy Miles Thomas was born on 4 October 1876 in Islington, London. Her parents were David Miles Thomas, a tutor, and his wife Mary. Initially educated at home, she went on to attend

Highbury Fields School Highbury Fields School (formerly Highbury Hill High School) is a secondary school for girls and coeducational sixth form, located next to Highbury Fields in the Highbury area of the London Borough of Islington, England. The School has specialism ...

(then Mayo High School) in Islington. In 1897, Thomas began studying botany at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and in the same year began a four-year research apprenticeship to the botanist,

. Whilst acting as a research assistant, she attended botany lectures given by

John Bretland Farmer Sir John Bretland Farmer FRS FRSE (5 April 1865 – 26 January 1944) was a British botanist. He believed that chromomeres not chromosomes were the unit of heredity. Farmer and J. E. S. Moore introduced the term ''meiosis'' in 1905. Life ...

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from th ...

and acted as president of the women student's union for University College London. Thomas published her first papers on botany in 1900, before she completed her undergraduate studies and received her BSc from University College in 1905. In 1907, Thomas joined Bedford College as an assistant lecturer and when the college created a botany department in 1908, Thomas was appointed its head. In the same year, she was elected a fellow of 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 ...

and served as a member of its council from 1910 to 1915. In 1912, she was awarded the role of Reader in Botany at

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in recognition of her work, a position which she held at the same time as her Bedford College role. When Bedford College moved to

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

in 1913, Thomas designed the botany garden and started plans for a plant physiology laboratory. Thomas received 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 University College London in 1915, where she was also recognised with a fellowship. The following year, Thomas was dismissed from Bedford College by Margaret Tuke, the college's principal after a period of animosity over a difference in their approaches. She became an inspector for the

for the remainder of

World War I 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 ...

, whilst also researching for the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

and Medical Research Council. After the end of World War I, Thomas took a temporary role as acting head of University College of South Wales's (now Cardiff University) botany department for a year, before spending two years as keeper of the botany department for

. In 1923, Thomas joined the newly established University College, Leicester, building the biology program from scratch. She set up a botany laboratory, the first laboratory at the University. She remained as head of the biology department at University College Leicester until she retired in 1937. In 1933, Thomas married a barrister, Hugh Hyndman, but was left widowed the following year. She was a life member of the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

and served as vice-president of its botany arm, 'Section K'. After retirement, Thomas carried on her research from rooms in

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

, but stopped in 1940 due to poor health. She suffered heart failure and died on 28 August 1944.

Research

Thomas is noted for investigations on

s and was the first person in Britain to publish information about their

. She also worked extensively on her theory about double leaf-trace by studying both flowering and non-flowering seed producing plants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ethel British botanists 1876 births 1944 deaths British women scientists Alumni of University College London Women's Land Army members (World War I)