For the equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) writing competition we have a list of historical scientists for you to choose from.
Historical Scientists
Click on the name to see more information or scroll through the whole list.
Scientists from the Medical Sciences Division
Florence Buchanan (1867-1931)
Edith Bülbring (1903-1990)
Robert Burton (1577-1640)
Mabel FitzGerald (1872-1973)
Esmé Hadfield (1921-1992)
Norman Heatley (1911-2004)
Louise Johnson (1940-2012)
Margaret Pickles (1900-?)
Victoria Smallpeice (1901-1991)
Janet Vaughan (1899-1993)
Cicely Delphine Williams (1892-1992)
Acland’s Cholera map (1815-1900)
The Oxford unknown scientist(s)
Scientists from the Mathematical Physical and Life Sciences Division
Sarah Acland (1849-1930)
Madge Adam (1912-2011)
Ethel Bellamy (1881-1960)
Mary Buckland (née Morland) (1797-1857)
Ida Winifred Busbridge (1908-1988)
Mary Lucy Cartwright (1900-1998)
Lorna Ann Casselton (1938-2014)
Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (1910-1994)
Maud Healey (?-19?)
Jane Kirkaldy (1869-1932)
Mary Winearls Porter (1886-1980)
Marjorie Mary Sweeting (1920-1994)
James Joseph Sylvester (1814-1897)
Nikolaas Tinbergen (1907-1988)
Charlotte Trower (1855-1928)
Monica Turner (1925-2013)
The Oxford unknown scientist(s)
Scientists from the Medical Sciences Division
Florence Buchanan (1867-1931)
Subject
Zoology, Physiology – Animal Behaviour
Speciality
Zoology
Known For
Her discoveries on the transmission of reflex impulses in mammals, birds and reptiles, and the neural control of the heartbeat during exercise. First woman to attend a meeting of The Physiological Society in 1896.
Theme
Women in science & Underrepresented
Further Information
R., J. (1931). “Dr. Florence Buchanan,” Nature 127(456). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/127456a0
Unknown. n.d. “Florence Buchanan,” Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) Available at: https://www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/women-in-physiology-anatomy-genetics/florence-buchanan.
Unknown. (2022) “Florence Buchanan,”. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Buchanan
Edith Bülbring, FRS (27 December (1903-1990)
Subject
Physiology
Speciality
Physiologist
Known For
Studying smooth muscle and catecholamines. She was dismissed in Germany due to her Jewish ethnicity.
Theme
Women in science & Underrepresented
Further Information
Unknown. n.d. “Edith Bülbring,” Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG). Available at: https://www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/women-in-physiology-anatomy-genetics/edith-bulbring
Unknown. (2022) “Edith Bülbring,” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_B%C3%BClbring
Robert Burton (1577-1640)
Subject
Psychiatry
Speciality
Scholar
Known For
His Anatomy of Melancholy book, “a vast encylopaedia on the subject of depression”.
Theme
Men’s mental health
Further Information
Robert burton is a 17th century white man from a wealthy background who wrote about his own troubles with depression; he was a “lifelong sufferer from depression”.
Unknow. (2023) “Robert Burton,” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burton
Godfrey, J. (2019) “Robert Burton,” Cathedral Blog. Christ Church College. Available at: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/blog/robert-burton
Mabel FitzGerald (1872-1973)
Subject
Medicine
Speciality
Physiologist
Known For
Work on the physiology of respiration.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Worked with J.S. Haldane on the effects of altitude on the respiratory system during the medical expedition to pikes Peak, Colorado. Got her degree 75 years after she earned it at the age of 100 years old.
Unknown (2022) “Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald,” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabel_Purefoy_FitzGerald
Esmé Hadfield (1921-1992)
Subject
Medicine
Speciality
Otolaryngologist
Known For
Hadfield’s disease or her work on adenocarcinoma of the nasal sinuses with woodworking.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Unknown. n.d. Esmé Hadfield FRCS (Medicine, 1940). St Hughes. Download PDF : https://www.st-hughs.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Esme-Hadfield-profile.pdf
Whiteside, O.J., Corbridge, R.J. and Capper, J.W. (2010) “Esme Hadfield (1921–92) and the Wycombe Woodworkers,” Journal of Medical Biography, 18(1), pp. 24–26. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1258/jmb.2009.009093
Unknown. (1992) “Obituary,” British Medical Journal ; 305(177). Available at: https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/305/6846/177
Norman Heatley (1911-2004)
Subject
Biochemistry
Speciality
Biologist and Biochemist
Known For
Developing penicillin.
Theme
Unsung Hero
Further Information
His important contribution to the discovery of penicillin was not acknowledged. He is described as an unsung hero of the penicillin story.
Evans, R. (2004) “Obituary: Norman Heatley,” The Guardian. 8 January. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/jan/08/guardianobituaries.highereducation
Pearce Wright (2004) “Obituary: Norman George Heatley,” The Lancet (British edition), 363(9407), p. 495.
Louise Johnson (1940-2012)
Subject
Biochemistry
Speciality
Biophysicist and protein crystallographer
Known For
Work on protein crystallography; she discovered the structure of lysozyme and N-Acetylglucosamine.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Female biophysicist and structural biologist known as a “leading architect of modern-day protein crystallography”. She led the development of the UK national synchrotron, the Diamond Light Source near Didcot Oxfordshire. Her 1976 book Protein Crystallography (co-authored with Tom Blundell) was for many years the classic textbook on the topic.
Sansom, M. (2012) “Louise Johnson (1940–2012),” Nature, 490, (488). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/490488a
Margaret Pickles (1900-?)
Subject
Medicine
Speciality
Clinical pathologist and immunologist
Known For
Completing her medical examinations in Oxford. Qualified as a doctor in 1939. Worked at the Radcliffe Infirmary as the Nufffield Graduate Assistant in Pathology in 1941.
Theme
Women in science & Underrepresented
Further Information
Victoria Smallpeice (1901-1991)
Subject
Medicine
Speciality
Paediatrician
Known For
Being the first Physician in Charge and Clinical Director to the Children’s Department, United Oxford Hospitals in Oxford, and also the first Consultant Paediatrician to the Oxford Regional Hospital Board, between 1947 to 1966.
Theme
Women in Medicine
Further Information
Unknown. n.d. “A history of paediatrics at Oxford,” Department of Paedriatrics. Available at: https://www.paediatrics.ox.ac.uk/OldAbout/history-of-paediatrics-research
Stevens D. (2006) “Pride, prejudice, and paediatrics (women paediatricians in England before 1950),” Archives of Disease in Childhood, 91. p. 866-870. Available at: https://adc.bmj.com/content/91/10/866
Janet Vaughan (1899-1993)
Subject
Medicine
Speciality
Physiologist
Known For
Blood banking, blood transfusion and finding a cure for anaemia.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Unknown. n.d. “Janet Vaughan,” Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG). Available at: https://www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/women-in-physiology-anatomy-genetics/janet-vaughan
Doll, R. (2010) “Vaughan [married name Gourlay], Dame Janet Maria,” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-42277
Cicely Delphine Williams (1893-1992)
Subject
Medicine
Speciality
Paediatrician
Known For
The discovery of kwashiorkor and advancing the field of maternal and child health in developing nations.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Unknown. (2022) “Cicely Williams,” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicely_Williams
Pimlott Baker, A. (2004) “Williams, Cicely Delphine,” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/51368
Stevens, D. (2006) “Pride, prejudice, and paediatrics (women paediatricians in England before 1950)”. Archives of Disease in Childhood 91, pp. 866-870. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/adc.2006.099531
Acland’s Cholera map – Henry Acland (1815-1900)
Subject
Medicine
Speciality
Physiology and public health
Known For
His study of the cholera outbreak and his work on sanitary matters. He published a study of the cholera outbreak at Oxford in 1854, which was illustrated with a map showing the outbreak. The map was drawn by a woman but her identity is not yet known.
Theme
Women in science & Men supporting women’s access to male professions
Further Information
Sir Henry Wentworth Acland persuaded Queen Victoria to allow women doctors to train.
Acland, H. W. (1856). Map of Oxford, to illustrate Dr. Acland’s Memoir on cholera in Oxford in 1854, : showing the localities in which cholera & choleraic diarrhœa occurred in 1854, and cholera in 1832 & 1849; together with the parts of the town described as unhealthy, by Omerod, Greenhill & Allen, and a writer in the Oxford Herald; the parts remedied since the date of their descriptions; the districts still undrained; the parts of the river still contaminated by sewers, in 1855; and the contour levels. [London : J. Churchill; Oxford : J. H. and J. Parker, 1856]. Available at: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9967738403506421
Unknown. (2019)”Sarah Acland (1849 – 1930),” Women in Oxford’s History Podcast. Available at: https://womenofoxford.wordpress.com/2019/01/31/sarah-acland-1849-1930/.
The Oxford unknown scientist(s)
The unknown scientists represent historical people from under-represented groups who contributed to science and medicine at Oxford and who have not been identified.
You are welcome to enter a name of a historical person or scientist from any groups and backgrounds and connected to science and medicine at Oxford that is not on the list.
Scientists from the Mathematical Physical and Life Sciences Division
Sarah Acland (1849-1930)
Subject
Photography
Speciality
Colour photography
Known For
Colour photography in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods.
Theme
Unsung Hero
Further Information
Pioneer of colour photography.
Hudson, G. (2012) “Acland Images,” matters photographical. Available at: https://mattersphotographical.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/sarah-angelina-acland-images/
Madge Adam (1912-2001)
Subject
Astrophysics
Speciality
Solar astronomer
Known For
Her ground-breaking research on the nature of sunspots and their magnetic fields. She was the only woman undergraduate in her year at Oxford reading Physics, and the first woman to achieve First Class Honours in the subject in 1934.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Ethel Bellamy (1881-1960)
Subject
Astrophysics & Computer Science
Speciality
Astronomical computer and seismologist
Known For
Work on the Astrographic Catalogue and seismology.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Mary Buckland (née Morland) (1797-1857)
Subject
Natural Sciences
Speciality
Paleontologist and Scientific Illustrator
Known For
Her illustrations she produced for the works of her husband William Buckland..
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
She received no credit and acknowledgment for the work she did.
Newell, S. n.d. “Mary Morland: naturalist, artist and curator (after 1825 Mary Buckland),” Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Available at: https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/mary-morland-online-exhibition
Unknown. n.d. “Mary Buckland,” Museum of the Earth. Available at: https://www.museumoftheearth.org/daring-to-dig/bio/buckland
Ida Winifred Busbridge (1908-1988)
Subject
Mathematics
Speciality
Mathematician
Known For
Work on integral equations and radiative transfer.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
O’Connor, J.J. and Robertson, F.E. (2020) “Ida Winifred Busbridge,” MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. Available at: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Busbridge/
Friedman, E.C. (2020) “Busbridge, Ida Winifred”, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.51639
Mary Lucy Cartwright (1900-1998)
Subject
Mathematics
Speciality
Mathematician
Known For
The first woman mathematician to be elected to the Royal Society in 1947. First woman to receive the Society’s Sylvester Medal in 1964. She was also the first woman to be President of the Mathematical Association and the first woman to be President of the London Mathematical Society. A pioneer of what would later be called Chaos Theory.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Lorna Ann Casselton (1938-2014)
Subject
Plant Sciences
Speciality
Fungal Geneticist
Known For
Genetic and molecular analysis of mushrooms.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Unknown. (2022) “Lorna Casselton,” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorna_Casselton
Talbot, N.J. (2014) “Lorna Casselton obituary,” The Guardian, 31 March. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/mar/31/lorna-casselton
Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (1910-1994)
Subject
Chemistry
Speciality
Chemist
Known For
The technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, which became essential for structural biology; solving the atomic structure of molecules such as penicillin and insulin, using X-ray crystallography.
Theme
Women in science, Underrepresented & Scientist with a disability
Further Information
Unknown. (2023) “Dorothy Hodgkin,” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Hodgkin
Unknown. n.d. “Dorothy Hodgkin FRS,” The Royal Society. Available at: https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/diversity-in-science/scientists-with-disabilities/dorothy-hodgkin/
Maud Healey (1921-1992)
Subject
Earth Sciences
Speciality
Paleontologist
Known For
Cataloguing thousands of specimens, standardising the geological nomemclature and turning geology into an academic discipline.
Theme
Women in science & Underrepresented
Further Information
Williams, C. (2022) “Maud Healey and her geological legacy,” More than a dodo: Oxford University Museum of Natural History Blog. Available at: https://morethanadodo.com/2022/03/17/reading-archival-silences/
Sarah (2016) “The road to Fellowship – the history of women and the Geological Society,” Geological Society of London Blog. The Geological Society. Available at: https://blog.geolsoc.org.uk/2016/03/08/the-road-to-fellowship-the-history-of-women-and-the-geological-society/
Jane Kirkaldy (1869-1932)
Subject
Biology
Speciality
Science Educator
Known For
Being a pioneer in promoting science education for women. She was part of the first generation of female science students at Oxford and (with her friend Catherine Pollard) were the first women to read Zoology (Animal Morphology) at Oxford). She was one of the first women to obtain first-class honours in the natural sciences and contributed greatly to the education of the generation of English women scientists.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
Granat, E. (2022) “Re-Collections: Jane Willis Kirkaldy,” More than a dodo: Oxford University Museum of Natural History Blog. Available at: https://morethanadodo.com/2022/04/22/re-collections-jane-willis-kirkaldy/
Unknown. (2022) “Jane Kirkaldy,” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Kirkaldy
Mary Winearls Porter (1886-1980)
Subject
Chemistry
Speciality
X-Ray crystallographer
Known For
Being a pioneering female x-ray crystallographer and completing the Barker Crystallographic index. She was a mentor to Dorothy Hodgkin’s and also helped pave the way for future female x-ray crystallographers in a male dominated field.
Theme
Women in science & Unsung Hero
Further Information
Unknown (2023) “Mary Winearls Porter,” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Winearls_Porter
Unknown (2017) “Mary ‘Polly’ Winearls Porter,” Trowelblazers. Available at: https://trowelblazers.com/2017/09/19/mary-porter/
Marjorie Mary Sweeting (1920-1994)
Subject
Earth Sciences
Speciality
Geomorphologist
Known For
Karst studies; the first western-geologist to study karsts.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
James Joseph Sylvester (1814-1897)
Subject
Mathematics
Speciality
Mathematician
Known For
His important work on matrix theory; coining terms “graph”, “discriminant”.
Theme
Religious discrimination & Supporter of women’s education
Further Information
Being Jewish he refused to sign up to the Thirty -Nine Articles of the Church of England that was necessary before graduating. He was not able to graduate and get a Fellowship. He couldn’t teach and undertake Mathematics research in a UK university and applied and got appointed to the chair of mathematics in the Unites States. He held the Savilian chair of Geometry at Oxford.
O’Connor, J.J. and Robertson, E.F. (2005) “James Joseph Sylvester,” MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. Available at: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Sylvester/
Unknown (2023) “James Joseph Sylvester,” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joseph_Sylvester
Nikolaas Tinbergen (1907-1988)
Subject
Zoology/ethology
Speciality
Biologist and ornithologist
Known For
Being one of the founders of ethology; Hawk/goose effect; Tinbergen’s four questions.
Theme
Scientist with a disability
Further Information
https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/diversity-in-science/scientists-with-disabilities/nikolaas-tinbergen/
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbm.1990.0043
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1973/tinbergen/facts/
Charlotte Trower (1855-1928)
Subject
Botany
Speciality
Botanical illustrator
Known For
Her watercolor paintings of mostly British plants and flowers. She collaborated with her sister Alice and amateur botanist George Claridge Druce to create over 1,800 scientifically accurate paintings.
Theme
Women in science; Underrepresented
Further Information
Trower Botanical Illustrations Collection, Oxford University Herbaria.
Evans, B. (2020) “George Claridge Druce (1850-1932),” The Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire. Available at: https://anhso.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Fritillary/frit8-druce.pdf
Monica Turner (1925-2013)
Subject
Ornithology
Speciality
Ornithologist
Known For
Being the first woman ornithologist to acquire a doctorate in Britain, in 1952, and for for detailed investigations of animal foraging. She was a member of the Edward Grey Institute and she published under her maiden name Monica Betts.
Theme
Women in science
Further Information
The Oxford unknown scientist(s)
The unknown scientists represent historical people from under-represented groups who contributed to science and medicine at Oxford and who have not been identified.
You are welcome to enter a name of a historical person or scientist from any groups and backgrounds and connected to science and medicine at Oxford that is not on the list.