Elizabeth Hodgson (1814 – 26 December 1877) was a botanist and geologist whose research was focused on the

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...

area of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

(now present-day

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

). She published on fossils found in iron ore mines, and developed theories on

glacial drift In geology, drift is a name for all sediment (clay, silt, sand, gravel, boulders) transported by a glacier and deposited directly by or from the ice, or by glacial meltwater. Drift is often subdivided into unstratified (unsorted) drift ( glac ...

and limestone

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs '' in situ'' (on-site, with little or no move ...

Life and career

Hodgson was born in 1814. Her father was James Hodgson, a captain of the Royal Navy. She lived in Ulverston, Lancashire and studied the geology of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

. She developed theories on glacial flow and drift and the weathering of limestone, which she began by examining the patterns of movement of fragments of granite from the fells. Her first paper about the area was published in 1863 in the ''

Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society A magazine is a periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content forms. Magazines are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, ...

'', and it was written about fossils found in iron ore mines near Ulverston. The paper was read to members by the president

Andrew Crombie Ramsey Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay (sometimes spelt Ramsey) (31 January 18149 December 1891) was a Scottish geologist. Biography Ramsay was born at Glasgow. He was for a time actually engaged in business, but from spending his holidays in Arran he bec ...

. This paper was only the second paper by a woman published in the journal, the first being a letter about her earthquake experiences by Mrs Maria Graham, 38 years previously. In the seven years after her first publication, Hodgson wrote other papers on the geology, paleontology and glaciology of the Lake District, most of which were published in the ''

Geological Magazine The ''Geological Magazine'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1864, covering the earth sciences. It publishes original scientific research papers on geological topics. The journal is published bimonthly by Cambridge University ...

''. Hodgson also contributed papers to the ''Geologist'', and was a member of the Botanical Exchange Club. She collected mosses from the Furness area, and published the ''Flora of Lake Lancashire'' in 1874 in the ''Journal of Botany''. After her health declined and she was unable to continue making scientific collections, Hodgson died on 26 December 1877, at 64 years old.

Selected works

*"Flora of Lake Lancashire" in the ''

Journal of Botany, British and Foreign ''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign'' is a monthly journal that was published from 1863 to 1942, and founded by Berthold Carl Seemann who was the editor until his death in 1871. It was initially published by Robert Hardwicke. Seemann himse ...

'' (1874)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Elizabeth Botanists active in Europe 19th-century British geologists British women geologists British women botanists 1814 births 1877 deaths