Winifred Betts
Winifred Aitken | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Winifred Betts 11 May 1894 Nelson, New Zealand |
| Died | 29 April 1971 (aged 76) Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Occupation(s) | Botanist and university lecturer |
| Known for | First female lecturer at the University of Otago |
| Spouse | |
Mary Winifred Aitken (née Betts; 11 May 1894 – 29 April 1971) was a New Zealand botanist. She was the first female lecturer at the University of Otago.[1]
Biography
[edit]Born in Nelson on 11 May 1894, Betts was the daughter of printer and stationer Alfred George Betts and Ada Betts (née Grindley).[1][2] Known to friends as Winnie, she was educated at Nelson College for Girls and received her Bachelor of Science (1916) and Master of Science (1917)[3] degrees from the University of Otago. On her graduation, she received the National Research Scholarship that was awarded at the university each year, which offered her an income of £100 a year, plus lab expenses, so she could conduct independent research.
Betts was appointed university lecturer in botany in 1920 at age 25, the first woman to earn that designation.[4] She was described by the pre-eminent botanist Leonard Cockayne as “the most brilliant woman scientist in New Zealand".[3][4]
Also in 1920, she married another Otago graduate, the mathematician Alexander Aitken, and the couple remained in New Zealand as Winnie Aitken continued her botany lectures until 1923.[4] In December 1923, the couple moved to Scotland so her husband could pursue his academic career; subsequently, he was named professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh.[4][5]
Winifred Aitken died in Edinburgh on 29 April 1971.[6]
Recognition
[edit]In 2017, Betts was selected as one of the Royal Society of New Zealand's "150 women in 150 words".[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Thomson, A. D. (December 1995). "Winifred Betts, pioneer New Zealand graduate in botany" (PDF). New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter (42): 16–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Birth search: registration number 1894/5392". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ a b Clarke, Ali (9 August 2014). "Winifred Betts – botany pioneer". The Hocken Blog Thoughts from the staff of The Hocken Collections – Te Uare Taoka o Hakena. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d Blackman, Anna (28 March 2016). "Scientific women". University of Otago 1869-2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018.
- ^ Roberts, H. Stanley. A history of statistics in New Zealand. New Zealand Lottery Grants Board. p. 75. ISBN 9780959763270.
- ^ "Mary Winifred Aitken in the England & Wales, national probate calendar (index of wills and administrations), 1858–1995". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "150 Women in 150 Words". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- 1894 births
- 1971 deaths
- People from Nelson, New Zealand
- People educated at Nelson College for Girls
- New Zealand women botanists
- 20th-century New Zealand women scientists
- University of Otago alumni
- Academic staff of the University of Otago
- 20th-century New Zealand botanists
- New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom