Margaret Mary Smith
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Margaret Mary Smith (née MacDonald; 26 September 1916 in
Indwe Indwe is a small town in Chris Hani District Municipality near Dordrecht in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town is situated between Dordrecht and Elliot on the R56 road. It was founded in 1896 as a centre for coal-mining activit ...
,
Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...
, South Africa – 8 September 1987), was an ichthyologist, accomplished fish illustrator, and an academic.


Early life

Margaret Mary Smith was the daughter of Chisholm MacDonald and Helen Evelyn Zondagh. Her father was a medical doctor and her mother a descendant of the
Voortrekker The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...
leader Jacobus Johannes Uys. She was the youngest of three children. Margaret attended Indwe High School. She was head girl and head scholar as well as chairperson of the debating society and captain of the netball and tennis teams. From 1934 to 1936 she attended
Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...
, where she achieved a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in physics and chemistry. She also attended the Grahamstown Training College School of Music and obtained her University Teachers' Licentiate in Music for singing in 1936.


Career

In 1937, after she obtained her degree, she was hired as a senior demonstrator in chemistry at
Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...
. She tutored students in physics and chemistry and in 1945 she taught physics at St. Andrew’s College. On 14 April 1937 Margaret married her chemistry lecturer
James Leonard Brierley Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyology, ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought t ...
in Florida, Transvaal. They had one son named William. He is the renowned South African television science and mathematics teacher
William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...
. Besides physics and chemistry, Margaret had an interest in ichthyology, the study of fish. During 1938 and 1956, Margaret Mary Smith and her husband conducted fish collection expeditions along the South African coast. In 1952, they found a rare
coelacanth Coelacanths ( ) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (the terrestrial vertebrates including living amphibians, reptiles, bi ...
in the Comoros, only the second live specimen positively identified in modern history. The first specimen had been discovered in 1938 by a colleague of James named
Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer Marjorie Eileen Doris Courtenay-Latimer (24 February 190717 May 2004) was a South African museum official, who in 1938, brought the existence of the coelacanth, a fish thought to have been extinct for 65 million years, to the attention of the ...
. Margaret made the illustrations and paintings for their manuscript. In 1946, the Department of Ichthyology was opened at
Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...
. Both Margaret and her husband worked in the department and worked on the production of a book called "The Sea Fishes of Southern Africa", which was published in 1945. Margaret, produced 685 paintings for the first edition of the book. She produced over 2000 paintings of fish and became recognised as one of the leading fish illustrators in the world. As well as being a co-author, Margaret produced many colour figures, and one of her first major solo works was the description and illustration of the common marine fishes of South Africa in the 16-volume set of "Ensiklopedie van die Wêreld". She also illustrated the fishes in the later editions of Sea Fishes of Southern Africa, Fishes of the Seychelles and Fishes of the Tsitsikama Coastal National Park. In January 1968, her husband died. According to those who knew him, he had said years earlier that he had no intention of living past 70. He took his own life by cyanide poisoning. The couple jointly discovered 370 species of fish and published 500 papers. Between 1968 and 1982 Margaret Mary Smith was the director of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology. The Institute was established to commemorate her husband
James Leonard Brierley Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyology, ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought t ...
and continue his work. Margaret spent seven months visiting ichthyological research institutes and museums in Europe, North America, the Far East and Australasia to gather ideas for the design of an ichthyological research unit in
Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...
. The building was officially opened on 26 September 1977, the date of both her and her late husband’s birthdays. The research unit promoted, among other things, coelacanth research. She was a part of a team that established the new Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science at Rhodes University. In 1978, along with
Phil Heemstra Phillip Clarence Heemstra (9 December 1941 – 29 August 2019) was an American-South African ichthyologist. He was born in Melrose Park, Illinois, United States as the son of Clarence William Heemstra and his wife, Lydia (born Epcke). He attend ...
, she co-edited revision of the book she initially wrote with her late husband. In 1980, Margaret was appointed an associate professor and in April 1980 the institute was expanded into a National Museum. In 1981, she was appointed a full professor. The institute was a declared cultural institution in 1981. It was financed by the then Department of National Education. On 30 April 1982 Margaret Smith retired as director of the J.L.B. Smith Institute. She had served on the Senate and Faculty of Science of the University from 1968 to 1982. She left behind the largest collection of southern African marine fishes in the world. While retired, Margaret Smith received the
Order for Meritorious Service The Order for Meritorious Service is a South African National Order that consisted of two classes, in gold and silver, and was awarded to deserving South African citizens. The order was discontinued on 2 December 2002.P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, ( , ; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006) was a South African politician who served as the last Prime Minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and as the first executive State President of South Africa from 1984 until ...
. The Margaret Smith Library is named in honour of the first Director of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, now the
South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), is involved in research, education and in applications of its knowledge and research to African fish fauna, for either economic or conservation benefit. The institute originally est ...
(SAIAB) at
Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...
. Built in 2001, The Margaret Smith Residence, a women’s hostel at Rhodes University honours her contribution to the university and to international science.


See also

* :Taxa named by Margaret Mary Smith *
Coelacanth Coelacanths ( ) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (the terrestrial vertebrates including living amphibians, reptiles, bi ...
*
James Leonard Brierley Smith James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 September 1897 – 8 January 1968) was a South African ichthyology, ichthyologist, organic chemist, and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought t ...
*
West Indian Ocean coelacanth The West Indian Ocean coelacanth (''Latimeria chalumnae'') (sometimes known as gombessa, African coelacanth, or simply coelacanth) is a crossopterygian, one of two extant species of coelacanth, a rare order of vertebrates more closely related to ...


References


External links


Fishes of the Tsitsikama Coastal National Park

Margaret Mary Smith: 26 September 1916 – 8 September 1987
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Margaret 1916 births 1987 deaths Academic staff of Rhodes University Rhodes University alumni South African ichthyologists 20th-century South African women scientists Women ichthyologists 20th-century South African zoologists