Florence Davy Thompson
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Florence Davy Thompson (; 1865–1915) was an English-born Canadian biologist, artist and the founding librarian at the
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...
.


Early life

She was born on 13 September 1865 to Samuel Lucas and Florence Davy in
Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
, where her father owned a brewery. Her mother was the daughter of the American consul in Leeds, and arranged for her own daughter to receive a superb education from a private tutor, William Dawson. In 1892 she married customs clerk William Henry Thompson and moved with him to
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
.


Career in Winnipeg

On arriving in Canada, she demonstrated her artistic talent, winning prizes for her
watercolour painting Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...
s at the 1892 Winnipeg Industrial Exhibition. (Her grandfather, named
Samuel Lucas Samuel Lucas (1811 – 16 April 1865) was a British journalist and abolitionist. He was the editor of the ''Morning Star (London newspaper), Morning Star'' in London, the only national newspaper in Britain to support the Unionist cause in the Am ...
like her father, had been well-regarded in England for his painting.) Thompson collaborated with professors at the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Medical College, writing and illustrating scientific treatises. In 1906 and 1907 she published four papers on
pancreatic islets The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% o ...
with professor Swale Vincent and in 1909 she worked on a paper on
thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. It consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by ...
and
parathyroid gland Parathyroid glands are small endocrine glands in the neck of humans and other tetrapods. Humans usually have four parathyroid glands, located on the back of the thyroid gland in variable locations. The parathyroid gland produces and secretes par ...
s with professor Jasper Halpenny. She published two more physiology papers as sole author. The faculty of the university were anxious to establish a library and, in 1905 Vincent was asked to lead that effort. In 1908 the library was established and Thompson was made the librarian, but with an honorarium of only $100 rather than the $1,000 Vincent had recommended. In 1910 (by which time her salary had increased to $900) she travelled to
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
in Montreal to further develop her skills. In addition to her scientific writing, Thompson presented papers to women's clubs on topics as diverse as furniture and lace-making. She was active in the Local Council of Women, the Women's Canadian Club, and University Women's Club. Thompson died suddenly of
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...
in 1915. At the time of her death the library's collection had expanded to over 7,500 works. The man who would be hired to replace her as university librarian in 1916 was paid $2,000.


See also

* University of Manitoba Libraries


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Florence Davy 1865 births 1915 deaths Canadian biologists Canadian librarians Canadian women illustrators Deaths from appendicitis People from Hitchin Scientists from Manitoba British scientific illustrators Canadian scientific illustrators British women illustrators 19th-century Canadian illustrators 19th-century British illustrators 20th-century Canadian illustrators 20th-century British illustrators Academic staff of the University of Manitoba Artists from Winnipeg Writers from Winnipeg 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian women librarians English emigrants to Canada