| Winifred Goldring | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 11, 1888 Kenwood, New York |
| Died | January 30, 1971 |
| Known for | Paleontology |
Winifred Goldring (February 1, 1888 – January 30, 1971[1]) was a pioneering female paleontologist whose work included a description of stromatolites.[2]
Goldring was born in Kenwood, New York).[3]. Petrified Sea Gardens, the stromatolite site that she studied, is a National Natural Landmark and a National Historic Landmark of the United States.
She was the fourth State Paleontologist of New York, and the first woman to hold that position.[4] In 1949 she was elected president of the Paleontological Society[4] (the largest association of paleontologists in the world)-the first woman to hold that office and one of only two women to attain that position to this day. Because these were (and still are) male-dominated geological societies, large numbers of men must have supported her candidacy for Goldring to win, underscoring her prominence as a nationally-known geologist respected for the quality of her research, despite prevalent gender prejudices in academia.[5]
She was an educator as well as researcher, and commissioned and designed dioramas for the New York State Museum.[1]
In 1905 she graduated as valedictorian from The Milne School in Albany, NY. Enrolled in Wellesley College with an intended major in classical languages, she became intensely interested in geology and changed her major, attaining an A.B. (with honors) in 1909 and an A.M. in 1912.[4]