Lilian Sheldon (May 1862 – 6 May 1942) was an English zoologist.

Life

Sheldon was born in Handsworth in 1862 where her father was the vicar (one source says 1860). She had two brothers who survived and four sisters. Her parents Ann (born Sharp) and the Reverend John Sheldon arranged for their daughters to attend Handsworth Ladies' College and remarkably three of the girls went on to higher education in Cambridge. Lillian Sheldon went to

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

in 1880 and two others to

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

. Her elder sister Helen Sheldon became a notable headteacher at Sydenham. Lilian took two Natural Sciences

Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

examinations in Cambridge in 1883 and 1884. Sheldon conducted research on the development of the

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

embryo with Alice Johnson and, as well, on the anatomy and

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

of ''Cynthia rustica'' (now called '' Styela rustica'') and ''

Peripatus ''Peripatus'' is a genus of velvet worms in the Peripatidae family. The name "peripatus" (unitalicised and uncapitalised) is also used to refer to the Onychophora as a whole, although this group comprises many other genera besides ''Peripatu ...

''. Her results were published in the ''

Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science The ''Journal of Cell Science'' (formerly the ''Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of cell biology. The journal is published by The Company of Biologists. The journal is partnered with ...

''. Sheldon also contributed a section on Nemertines to volume 2 of the ''Cambridge Natural History'' series. She worked at the College as a demonstrator on morphology from 1892 to 1893, and lectured on comparative anatomy from 1893 to 1898. She was a College associate from 1894 to 1906. She retired from academia around 1898. She later published a number of articles on traditional

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

shire buildings in the Transactions of the

Devonshire Association The Devonshire Association (DA) is a learned society founded in 1862 by William Pengelly and modelled on the British Association, but concentrating on research subjects linked to Devon in the fields of science, literature and the arts. History ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she worked for

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, where she was one of the earliest women drivers in the country. In 1931 her brother Gilbert Sheldon died. He had suffered from paralysis nearly all his life but he had published a number of books and travelled widely with his six sisters. It was Lilian and

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fi ...

who wrote the introduction to his last work published in 1932. She also served on the local hospital committee at

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

. Sheldon died there at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Lilian 20th-century English zoologists 1862 births 1942 deaths British women zoologists Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge 19th-century British zoologists 19th-century English women scientists 20th-century English women scientists People from Handsworth, West Midlands