Madeleine Fritz
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Madeleine Alberta Fritz (3 November 1896 – 20 August 1990) was a Canadian
palaeontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
. She was a professor at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, where she taught vertebrate studies in the department of
Geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
. Fritz's writing on the fossil
Bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a spe ...
along with her research on the stratigraphy of
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and the surrounding areas were major contributions to the geological field. Fritz is considered one of the pioneering researchers on the
Palaeozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of ...
fossil Bryozoa, which is a type of sea creature that bonds together and builds joint skeletons composed of tiny chambers or tubes. Her research on these creatures has led her to being called the “great-grandmother of Palaeozoic Bryozoa". Her scientific journals on these extinct marine invertebrates are internationally acclaimed. Fritz worked at The
Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
as an associate director from 1936 to 1955, and later became the Invertebrate Palaeontology Curator at the ROM from 1955 to 1957. In 1956, she became a palaeontology professor at University of Toronto under the Department of Geology until her official retirement in 1967. Fritz was a member of the Geological Association of Canada and the
Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...
. She also was a member of the
Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...
of University Women and the International Federation of University Women Panel of Experts.


Early life

Madeleine Fritz was born in
Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...
. Growing up, she developed a fascination for the geological formations, like mountains, of her hometown. Her father was a sea captain, so she spent many of her early years in and around the ocean. As a young girl she often played on the beach with marine life, which sparked her initial interest in fossil invertebrates. Fritz studied Arts and English at
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 Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
. After graduating with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in 1919, she went on to teach at Elmwood Private Girls School in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
, Canada. While living in Ottawa, she met palaeontologist, Alice Wilson. Wilson was an assistant palaeontologist at the
Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...
, which was based out of Ottawa. Alice Wilson in 1930 became the first woman in Canada to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and twelve years later, in 1942, Fritz would become the second woman to be elected to the organization. When they met, Wilson was preparing to embark on a geological expedition to
Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...
. Due to strict gender rules of that time, Wilson would not have been permitted to travel with any male colleagues. Therefore, she invited Fritz to join her on the expedition as her assistant while school was out for the summer. Fritz signed up as a "cook and canoe man," and accompanied Wilson for the six-week expedition in
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 ...
. After returning from her expedition with Alice Wilson, Fritz remained a teacher at Elmwood for one more year prior to deciding to enrol in the geology program offered at the University of Toronto. At the time, she was the only woman in the Geology program.


Academic career

While attending the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
in 1920, Fritz was the only female graduate student in the geology department. Despite this, Fritz mentioned that she felt accepted by those in her class and that no one ever tried to deter her from pursuing her degree in geology. She completed her M.A. in 1923 and her Ph.D. in 1926, making her the first woman in Canada to have ever received a Ph.D. within the geology/palaeontology field. In 1927, Fritz was hired as an assistant at the
Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
of Palaeontology, which was affiliated with the University of Toronto. This position made her the only female geologist in Canada to hold an academic position in the field of geology during the interwar years. In 1935, Fritz was hired as an assistant professor in the geology department at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
. In 1955, Fritz became the curator of the Department of Invertebrate Palaeontology of the
Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
. She was the first woman to hold this position. In 1956, Fritz became a full professor at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
. It is important to note that it took over twenty years for her to be promoted from assistant professor to full professor; this demonstrates lateral segregation. She ended up juggling fieldwork, teaching and administrative duties for a good part of her career. Fritz officially ended her career with retirement in 1967, but she continued to research human evolution and origin of the Earth for the majority of her life. She also took part in a lot of fieldwork over the course of her career which was opposed quite strongly by the
Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...
. Fritz's career was a reflection of a successful female academic breakthrough in a field mainly dominated by males since it was associated with rugged work like mining and exploration. She broke barriers regarding female gender roles of getting married and raising children as a career, and instead pursued her graduate degree. Fritz continued these accomplishments through participating in field work and publishing numerous research paper's while actively maintaining her administration and teaching roles. She has inspired many students through her work, like Mary Turner. It is possible that Fritz may have been trying to encourage her protégées to pursue doctoral studies so that there would be a strong cohort of women trained to replace her prior to her retirement. However, some female students may not have wanted to make the personal sacrifices that many of the early women in geology had made in terms of remaining single and focusing solely on their careers.


Commemoration

Madeleine Fritz's contribution to palaeontology is remembered during the "Madeleine Fritz Annual Lecture in Palaeontology" event where namely women guest speakers discuss advancements in the geological field. It is also a space for discussion about new research and findings in the field. This event is held at the
Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
. The
Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
has an annual travel grant that Fritz had created a fund for. Each year, two grants are given out to students furthering their education in palaeontology. Up to 1,000 dollars is awarded for each grant. It is used to lighten the financial burden for the students so that they can attend the Royal Ontario Museum and examine their artifacts and fossils. The grant is called the "M.A Fritz Travel Grant", having been named after her.


Honours

Fritz received several honours throughout her lifetime. In 1942 she entered the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
as the second woman to receive such honour within Canada. In 1967, Fritz received the Canadian Centennial Medal. In 1975, Fritz was one of nineteen Canadian female scientists honoured in a display at the National Museum of Natural Science. In 1977, University of Toronto awarded her a distinguished service award.


Publications

Throughout her lifetime, Madeleine Fritz wrote many different research papers, composing over sixty of them between the years 1923 and 1927. Her main research was on the topic of Canadian faunas and fossils, specifically she made significant contributions to research of Palaeozoic
Bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a spe ...
. From 1922 to 1927 Fritz worked with Dr. William Arthur Parks alongside other students and paleontologists to compile an inventory of fossils from the Upper Ordovician stratigraphy found in the Credit River area. This work was published from 1923 to 1927 in 6 different papers by the Ontario Department of Mines and are still cited today as definitive works on the subject. In 1937, Fritz authored a journal entry in the field of
Palaeontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geo ...
named "Multisolenia, A New Genus of Palaeozoic Corals" while at the University of Toronto. She described a new
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Multisolenia'', a coral found in the
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
of the
Lake Timiskaming Lake Timiskaming or Lake Temiskaming (, ) is a large freshwater lake on the Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial boundary between Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The lake, which forms part of the Ottawa River, is in length and covers ...
-district in northern Ontario. The
genotype The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...
described was ''Multisolenia tortuosa'' Fritz. Two years later she provided further evidence for the distinction of the new found genus. Madeleine Fritz wrote a paper on the redescription of Trepostomatous bryozoan types that came from the Upper
Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...
rocks of Toronto and its surrounding areas. In addition, she redescribed type specimens from the Bryozoan Heterotrypa from Upper Ordovician rocks that came from the Credit River Valley area in Ontario. She studied the species Atactoporella, Homotrypa, and Homotrypella. These bryozoan types are situated at the Royal Ontario Museum in the Department of Invertebrate Paleontology. She also redescribed a variation of the genus S. catenulata diversa as Mesotrypa catenulata diversa. Additionally, she redescribed bryozoan-type samples which gathered from the marine rocks surrounding Workman's Creek. It was during the time that Fritz studied under renowned palaeontologist William Arthur Parks that she took on a leadership role in the North American study of Ordovician Bryozoa. She was very grateful to have been able to be mentored by Parks, and she demonstrated her gratitude by writing a biography of him that was published in 1971.


Bibliography

Among the published writings of Madeleine Fritz are: * * * Fritz 1917: see also an
copy
in
Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as a worldwide consortium of natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working ...
(BHL).
* Fritz 1982: see also an
copy
in BHL.


References


External links

* *
Madeleine Alberta Fritz oral history interview
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritz, Madeline 1896 births 1990 deaths Canadian paleontologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Scientists from Saint John, New Brunswick Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canadian women curators Canadian women paleontologists