Catherine Raisin

Catherine Raisin
Born 24 April 1855
Camden New Town
Died 12 July 1945 (aged 90)
Cheltenham
Nationality British
Institutions Bedford College
Alma mater University College London

Catherine Alice Raisin (24 April 1855 - 12 July 1945) was a British geologist who primarily researched petrology and mineralogy. Head of the geology department at Bedford College for 30 years, she was also Vice President of the college for 3 years. She was the first woman to be an academic head of a geology department in Britain and in 1919 became a fellow of the Geological Society of London.[1]

Early life

Catherine Raisin was born 24 April 1855 to a father who was a pannierman at the Inner Temple.[2] She attended North London Collegiate School where she stayed to work as a teacher until the age of 20 whilst also attending geology and mineralogy classes at University College London.[3] In 1877 Raisin attained a special certificate in botany, but couldn't start a degree until they were opened to women in 1878; she began her degree at University College London the following year.[2] There she studied geology and zoology, the first woman to study geology at the university, and obtained her bachelor's degree in 1884 as the top geology graduate of the university.[3]

Career

In 1893, at the age of 38, Raisin was the first woman to receive an award - the Lyell Fund - from the Geological Society of London and in 1899 became a Doctor of Science, only the second woman to do so.[2][3] She spent her entire academic career at Bedford College where she was the first full-time head of the geology department and helped form a separate geography department, whilst teaching a large amount of geology classes. Whilst head of the geology department she was also head of the botany department from 1891 to 1908 and head of the geography department from 1916 to 1920.[4] Raisin accepted an offer of the post of Vice Principal of the college in 1898, but resigned in 1901 due to the high work load.[3]

The main focus of Raisin's research was in microscopic petrology and mineralogy, topics in which she published 24 papers between 1887 and 1905. In particular she studied chert, serpentines, and spilites.[2] She was seen as a leading expert on metamorphic facies.[3]

Education equality

Over the course of her career Raisin fought for equality in education, specifically for the right of female students to study at university and become researchers or lecturers. She founded the Somerville Club in 1880, a women's discussion group which would grow to over 1000 members by 1945. At Bedford College she sometimes paid wages herself and set up various funds and awards to encourage students.[3] After retiring she again worked with women's groups.[5]

Later life

Raisin became a fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1906 and in 1919, after the society changed its rules to allow women, also became a fellow of the Geological Society of London.[1]

Raisin retired in 1920 and in 1945, at the age of 90, died from cancer.[3][5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Haines, Catherine (2001). International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950. ABC-CLIO. p. 257. ISBN 1576070905. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie, Joy Dorothy Harvey (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. pp. 1068–1069. ISBN 041592040X. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Cynthia V. Burek, Bettie Higgs (2007). The Role of Women in the History of Geology. Geological Society of London. pp. 27–32. ISBN 1862392277. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  4. ↑ CD Reid (2007). Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. via Highbeam (subscription required). ISBN 0787675857. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mary Creese, Thomas Creese (March 1994). "British women who contributed to research in the geological sciences in the nineteenth century". The British Journal for the History of Science 27 (1): 23–54. doi:10.1017/S0007087400031654. Retrieved 17 August 2014.