Janet Thomson also known as Janet Wendy Thomson (born 1942) is a British

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and the first British woman scientist to complete field research in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. Thomson Summit and Thomson Glacier are named in her honor. She was a 2001 recipient of the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of list of global issues, global issues, and to provide an active prese ...

's Fuchs Medal, and in 2003, she was the recipient of the

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

Biography

Janet Wendy Thomson was born in 1942 in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. She attended Bedford College and later the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Thomson began working for the

(BAS) in 1964, but was barred from participating in actual trips to

because policy forbade women, because of the hardship it would impose. For eighteen years, Thomson pressed to have the restriction lifted. Not making headway with the British team, Thomson joined an American expedition in 1976, becoming the first British woman to conduct fieldwork in the Antarctic. In 1983, Thomson became the first British woman scientist working inside the

Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. So ...

on a British team, when the BAS finally lifted their gender barrier. Peter D. Rowley who led the

United States Antarctic Research Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...

geological survey during the 1984 to 1985 season, suggested that Thomson Summit, a peak in the

Behrendt Mountains The Behrendt Mountains () is a group of mountains, long, aligned in the form of a horseshoe with the opening to the southwest, standing southwest of the Merrick Mountains in Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. Location The Behrendt Mountains are in t ...

Palmer Land Palmer Land () is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica that lies south of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This application of Palmer Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the Advisory Committee on Antarctic N ...

, be named in Thomson's honor in 1986. Thomson Glacier, is also named for her. Thomson served as head of the Mapping and Geographical Information Center (MAGIC) prior to her 2003 retirement. She then worked on a

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...

of Antarctica with the Committee on Antarctic Research Digital Topographic Database. In 2003, she was awarded the

for her outstanding service to polar research. Thomson and other noted British scientists were interviewed in an oral history project for the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

in 2013.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

British Library oral history interviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Janet 1942 births Living people People from Staffordshire Alumni of Bedford College, London Alumni of the University of London British women scientists British Antarctic scientists English geologists Recipients of the Polar Medal Women Antarctic scientists English women geologists