Ethel Mary Doidge (1887–1965) was a British born, South African
mycologist and
bacteriologist.
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Doidge was born in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, England on 31 May 1887 and was educated in South Africa at
Epworth School in
Pietermaritzburg and
Huguenot College,
Wellington, Western Cape. In 1908 she joined the
Transvaal Department of Agriculture as an assistant to
Dr I.B. Pole Evans. In 1909 she was awarded a M.A. degree by the
University of the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1914 she was awarded a D. Sc. degree; she was the first woman to obtain a doctorate in South Africa. Her thesis was entitled ''A bacterial disease of mango, Bacillus mangiferae n. sp.''. This disease was previously unknown outside South Africa and caused considerable loss to mango growers there for some years. In 1912 she was elected a
Fellow of the Linnean Society (F.L.S). She was appointed assistant chief of the Division of Botany and Plant Pathology in 1919 and became principal plant pathologist in 1929, a position she held until her retirement in 1942. Her services were retained for a further four years, during which time she completed her work on ''The South African fungi and lichens''.
Through her knowledge of bacteriology and
mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...
, she managed to solve problems of importance to agriculture. Doidge was appointed a member of the first council of the
University of South Africa. She was a founding member of the
South African Biological Society and in 1922 was given the Society's major award, the Senior Captain Scott Memorial Medal, for her research on South African plant pathology.
Publications
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See also
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List of mycologists
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List of South African plant botanical authors
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Timeline of women in science
Notes and references
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Further reading
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External links
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A Google Books bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doidge, Ethel Mary
1887 births
1965 deaths
20th-century South African botanists
South African women botanists
South African mycologists
South African naturalists
20th-century South African women scientists
20th-century naturalists
Fellows of the Linnean Society of London
British emigrants to the Colony of Natal