Brief description
Ethel McLennan was awarded her Doctor of Science degree in 1921 for a study of the endophytic fungus associated with the seed of the grass Lolium. She was awarded a fellowship by the International Federation of University Women in 1926, and became a central figure in the Botany Department at the University of Melbourne. She became associate professor in 1931, and enjoyed an excellent reputation nationwide as a leading plant pathologist and mycologist.
McLennan had an admirable academic career in the area of botany. She lived a full life, managing to teach and research while still maintaining her wit and sense of humour.
Flourished
Ethel MacLennan was Associate Professor of Botany, University of Melbourne 1931-1955, after having joined the staff in 1915. She specialized in mycology and plant pathology, and was awarded the Syme Prize in 1927.
Full description
botanist and educator, was born on 15 March 1891 at Williamstown, Victoria, second child of George McLennan and Eleanor, nee Tucker. She lived all her life in Hawthorn where she was educated at Tintern Church of England Girls’ Grammar School. After matriculation in 1910, she studied Science at the University of Melbourne, majoring in the Biological Sciences. She was particularly interested in Botany, then taught by Professor A.J. Ewart. In Zoology she was instructed by Professor (later Sir) Baldwin Spencer, a great advocate of clear-cut scientific illustrations. Ethel was employed by Professor Ewart as a tutor-lecturer in Botany straight after graduation in 1915; she published her first paper in 1916. She had a heavy teaching load in the small department, specialising in plant pathology and mycology. These two subjects were also the main objects of her research and she never veered from her chosen path. McLennan focused her early interests on the endophytic fungus associated with the seed of the grass Lolium . A detailed, illustrated, scholarly study of this gained her the DSc degree in 1921. With a second publication on the same subject, she successfully entered for the David Syme Research Prize given for the best original research in Science in 1927. She was only the second woman to win the award, after Dr Georgina Sweet. She was also second to Dr Sweet in becoming a woman associate professor at Melbourne University, in 1931. When the first Botany Department (1928) was built for Melbourne University, McLennan helped to ...
Dr. Ethel McLennan (1891-1983) graduated B.Sc in 1915 with first class honours and distinctions in Botany and Zoology. She was appointed Demonstrator-Lecturer in Botany that year. She graduated D.Sc. in 1921, received the Syme Prize in 1927, and became Associate Professor in Botany in 1931. She retired in 1957 and died in 1983. Dr. McLennan's activities included directing research in mycology pathology, assisted in setting up the National Collection of Fungi; and assisted in investigations into diseases of various crops.
Ethel Irene McLennan (1891-1983), botanist and educator, was born on 15 March 1891 at Williamstown, Melbourne, second child of Victorian-born parents of Scottish origin George McLennan, warehouseman,...
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Identifiers
- AU-NUN:DAAO : bio:ethel-irene-mclennan
- legacy_url : www.daao.org.au/artist_bio/4137
- legacy_id : 4137
- AU-ANU:ADBO : adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mclennan-ethel-irene-15527
- Handle : 11343/61826
- AU-VU:EOAS : www.eoas.info/biogs/P000610b.htm
- AU-NUN:DAAO : www.daao.org.au/bio/ethel-irene-mclennan
- AU-VU:AWR : www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE3725b.htm
- NLA : nla.party-755074
