Mary Gordon Calder
Encyclopedia
Mary Gordon Calder was a Scottish
paleobotanist. She is known for her work on Carboniferous fossil
plants and Jurassic conifers.
, South Lanarkshire
, Scotland
to William Calder, a general manager of a warehouse. She contracted poliomyelitis
as a child, requiring her to wear leg braces
for the rest of her life.
to study botany
. Her mother, a reputedly passionate amateur botanist, may have influenced her in this. She graduated in 1929 with honours and went on to work as a researcher in Glasgow. She first pursued her doctorate under James Montague Frank Drummond (not to be confused with the Australian
botanist James Drummond
), the then Regius Professor of Botany
in the University of Glasgow.
Her first paper was about tomato
es, a choice influenced by Drummond. However, it was never published, as Drummond was replaced as Regius Professor of Botany by John Walton in 1930. Walton, an internationally recognized paleobotanist, encouraged her in the study of plant fossil
s, a field Calder herself was very interested in. She abandoned her earlier paper on tomatoes and began work on a catalogue of the large collection of coal ball
slides by the Scottish paleobotanist Robert Kidston
. She published her first paper on Carboniferous scale trees (class Isoetopsida
of division Lycopodiophyta
) and received her PhD
in 1933.
Calder continued working at Glasgow and published several more papers on Carboniferous lycopods in 1933 to 1934. In 1935, she published a paper on petrified pteridosperms (seed ferns) using the revolutionary cellulose peel techniques developed by Walton in 1928. Unlike previous techniques which utilized thin sections of rock, the cellulose peel method allowed more details of the fossils to be preserved. She also became a lecturer at Glasgow in 1936, allowing her to pursue her own studies.
In 1938, Calder worked on the seed plant
s Calymmatotheca kidstonii and Samaropsis scotica, both from the Tournaisian
age (345.3 to 359.2 million years ago) of the Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian). The two species were later studied further by Albert G. Long in 1959 and emended to Genomosperma kidstonii and Lyrasperma scotica. They became significant as one of the oldest known seed plants discovered with fossilized ovule
s, providing an important early glimpse into the evolution
of reproduction in seed plants.
and worked as a lecturer in Westfield College
(then only admitting women). After the war, she was appointed as the senior lecturer in paleobotany at the University of Manchester
in 1950. She succeeded the British
botanist William Henry Lang
in the post. She published one more paper in 1953 on Araucaria mirabilis
, Araucarites sanctaecrucis
, and Pararaucaria patagonica; all of which are araucarian
conifers from the Middle Jurassic
petrified forest
s of Argentina
. She did not publish any more papers during her tenure, possibly because of a difficulty in adjusting to life in Manchester.
She left the University of Manchester in 1964. She officially retired in 1966 to the town of Milngavie
in Scotland near Glasgow, where she died in 1992.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
paleobotanist. She is known for her work on Carboniferous fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
plants and Jurassic conifers.
Early years
Mary Gordon Calder was born in UddingstonUddingston
Uddingston is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, about seven miles south-east of Glasgow...
, South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to William Calder, a general manager of a warehouse. She contracted poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...
as a child, requiring her to wear leg braces
Orthotics
Orthotics is a specialty within the medical field concerned with the design, manufacture and application of orthoses. An orthosis is an orthopedic device that supports or corrects the function of a limb or the torso...
for the rest of her life.
Life in Glasgow
Calder was interested in biological and chemical sciences, and at the age of 18, she entered the University of GlasgowUniversity of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
to study botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
. Her mother, a reputedly passionate amateur botanist, may have influenced her in this. She graduated in 1929 with honours and went on to work as a researcher in Glasgow. She first pursued her doctorate under James Montague Frank Drummond (not to be confused with the Australian
Australian people
Australian people, or simply Australians, are the citizens of Australia. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years...
botanist James Drummond
James Drummond (botanist)
James Drummond was a botanist and naturalist who was an early settler in Western Australia.-Early life:...
), the then Regius Professor of Botany
Regius Professor of Botany, Glasgow
University of GlasgowThe Regius Chair of Botany at Glasgow University is a Regius Professorship established in 1818.A lectureship in botany had been founded in 1704. From 1718 to 1818, the subject was combined with Anatomy...
in the University of Glasgow.
Her first paper was about tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es, a choice influenced by Drummond. However, it was never published, as Drummond was replaced as Regius Professor of Botany by John Walton in 1930. Walton, an internationally recognized paleobotanist, encouraged her in the study of plant fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, a field Calder herself was very interested in. She abandoned her earlier paper on tomatoes and began work on a catalogue of the large collection of coal ball
Coal ball
Coal balls, despite their name, are calcium-rich masses of permineralised life forms, generally having a round shape. Coal balls were formed roughly , during the Carboniferous Period...
slides by the Scottish paleobotanist Robert Kidston
Robert Kidston
Robert Kidston FRS was a Scottish palaeobotanist. He studied botany at the University of Edinburgh and later studied the Rhynie chert and worked for the British Geological Survey....
. She published her first paper on Carboniferous scale trees (class Isoetopsida
Isoetopsida
The Isoetopsida is a class of the Lycopodiophyta. All living plants belong to the genus Selaginella in the Selaginellales or to Isoetes in the order Isoetales. In the past, members of this group have sometimes been placed in the class Isoetopsida, sometimes in the Selaginellopsida or Lycopodiopsida...
of division Lycopodiophyta
Lycopodiophyta
The Division Lycopodiophyta is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae. It is the oldest extant vascular plant division at around 410 million years old, and includes some of the most "primitive" extant species...
) and received her PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1933.
Calder continued working at Glasgow and published several more papers on Carboniferous lycopods in 1933 to 1934. In 1935, she published a paper on petrified pteridosperms (seed ferns) using the revolutionary cellulose peel techniques developed by Walton in 1928. Unlike previous techniques which utilized thin sections of rock, the cellulose peel method allowed more details of the fossils to be preserved. She also became a lecturer at Glasgow in 1936, allowing her to pursue her own studies.
In 1938, Calder worked on the seed plant
Spermatophyte
The spermatophytes comprise those plants that produce seeds. They are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants...
s Calymmatotheca kidstonii and Samaropsis scotica, both from the Tournaisian
Tournaisian
The Tournaisian is in the ICS geologic timescale the lowest stage or oldest age of the Mississippian, the oldest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Tournaisian age lasted from 359.2 ± 2.5 Ma to 345.3 ± 2.1 Ma...
age (345.3 to 359.2 million years ago) of the Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian). The two species were later studied further by Albert G. Long in 1959 and emended to Genomosperma kidstonii and Lyrasperma scotica. They became significant as one of the oldest known seed plants discovered with fossilized ovule
Ovule
Ovule means "small egg". In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: The integument forming its outer layer, the nucellus , and the megaspore-derived female gametophyte in its center...
s, providing an important early glimpse into the evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
of reproduction in seed plants.
Life in London and Machester
In 1940, Calder moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and worked as a lecturer in Westfield College
Westfield College
Westfield College was a small college situated in Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead, London, and was a constituent college of the University of London from 1882 to 1989. The college originally admitted only women as students and became coeducational in 1964. In 1989, Westfield College merged with Queen...
(then only admitting women). After the war, she was appointed as the senior lecturer in paleobotany at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
in 1950. She succeeded the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
botanist William Henry Lang
William Henry Lang
William Henry Lang FRS was a British botanist. The son of Thomas Lang, a medical practitioner, Lang was educated at Dennistoun public school in Glasgow before being accepted into the University of Glasgow, where he graduated with a Bsc in botany and zoology in 1894...
in the post. She published one more paper in 1953 on Araucaria mirabilis
Araucaria mirabilis
Araucaria mirabilis is an extinct species of coniferous trees from Patagonia, Argentina. It belongs to the section Bunya of the genus Araucaria; the only living species of which is Araucaria bidwillii from Australia.A...
, Araucarites sanctaecrucis
Araucarites sanctaecrucis
Araucarites sanctaecrucis is an extinct coniferous tree from Patagonia, Argentina. Its exact affinities are unknown and it is currently assigned to the form genus Araucarites of the family Araucariaceae. A. sanctaecrucis are known from petrified fossils of branches, foliage, and cones from the...
, and Pararaucaria patagonica; all of which are araucarian
Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae, commonly referred to as araucarians, is a very ancient family of coniferous trees. It achieved its maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when it was distributed almost worldwide...
conifers from the Middle Jurassic
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
petrified forest
Petrified Forest
A petrified forest is a forest in which tree trunks have fossilized as petrified wood.Petrified Forest may refer to:*Lake Macquarie Petrified Forest, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia*Mississippi Petrified Forest, Mississippi, United States...
s of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. She did not publish any more papers during her tenure, possibly because of a difficulty in adjusting to life in Manchester.
She left the University of Manchester in 1964. She officially retired in 1966 to the town of Milngavie
Milngavie
Milngavie , is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden....
in Scotland near Glasgow, where she died in 1992.