Margaret Williamson Rea (1875 – 17 April 1954) was an Irish

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. She graduated from

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

with an M.Sc. in 1921. She worked with professors James Small and R. H. Yapp, publishing a number of papers in the ''

New Phytologist ''New Phytologist'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published on behalf of the New Phytologist Foundation by Wiley-Blackwell. It covers all aspects of botany and was established in 1902 by Arthur Tansley, who served as editor until 1931. M ...

'' and ''Protoplasma'', and also collaborated at least once with Margarita D. Stelfox. Rea specialised in the collection and description of

Mycetozoa Mycetozoa is a polyphyletic grouping of slime molds. It was originally thought to be a monophyletic clade, but in 2010 it was discovered that protostelia are a polyphyletic group within Conosa. Classification It can be divided into dictyoste ...

Life

Margaret Williamson Rea was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

in 1875, the eldest daughter of Robert and Eleanor Rea. She studied at

(QUB), graduating with a B.Sc. in 1919, followed by an M.Sc. in 1921. She published a number of papers in the ''

'' and ''Protoplasma'', two co-authored with Prof. James Small; another was based on her masters thesis, ''Stomata and Hydathodes in ''Campanula rotundifolia'' L., and their Relations to Environment'', and in it she acknowledges Professor R. H. Yapp, "at whose suggestion the work was commenced". She also co-authored at least one paper with Margarita D. Stelfox. She specialised in the collection and description of

, recording a number of her records in the ''

Irish Naturalists' Journal The ''Irish Naturalists' Journal'' () is a scientific journal covering all aspects of natural history. It has been published since 1925. It was preceded by ''The Irish Naturalist'' (1892−1924). References External links *''The Irish Natura ...

''. Some specimens collected by Rea are held in the

National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

. Others form part of the Stelfox Collection in the herbarium of the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures ...

. She joined the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club in 1907 and in 1918/1919, when her address was given as Salem House,

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

, Belfast, was one of its two secretaries, alongside Dr. (later Professor) J. K. Charlesworth of QUB. In the 1924 membership list of the

British Mycological Society The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi. Formation The British Mycological Society (BMS) was formed by the combined efforts of two local societies: the Woolhope Naturalists' Fiel ...

, which she joined in 1920, her address was again given as Salem House. She died suddenly in hospital, on 17 April 1954.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rea, Margaret Williamson 1875 births 20th-century Irish botanists Irish women botanists Scientists from Belfast 20th-century British botanists 20th-century Irish women scientists Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Irish mycologists 1954 deaths