Caroline Birley facts for kids

Caroline Birley (born November 16, 1851 – died February 15, 1907) was an amazing English scientist who loved rocks and fossils. She was also a talented writer of children's books! Caroline was special because she became a respected geologist at a time when mostly men worked in science. Her love for geology began when she was a child, collecting interesting stones, and it lasted her whole life.

Caroline's Early Life and Family

Caroline Birley was born in Chorlton-on-Medlock, a part of Manchester, England. She was the youngest of four children. Her parents were Thomas Hornby Birley and Anne Leatham.

Her brother, Francis Birley, was a famous amateur football player. He won the FA Cup three times in the 1870s and even played for the England team. Her uncle, Hugh Birley, was a Member of Parliament for Manchester.

Caroline's family moved several times during her childhood. They lived in different areas around Manchester, including Heaton Mersey and Pendleton.

Caroline's Career as a Geologist

Caroline's interest in geology started very early. When she was a child, she would collect unusual stones during family holidays on the Isle of Man. By the age of 12, she was already subscribing to the Geological Magazine, a science journal! She paid for it herself at first, and later her grandmother helped her with the cost.

As her collection of rocks and fossils grew, it became too big for her home. So, in 1888, she built a special iron building in her garden. She called it the "Seedley Museum," and it was open for the public to visit!

Caroline became a member of important science groups. In 1887, she joined the British Association for the Advancement of Science. She attended their yearly meetings until she died. She also joined the Geologists' Association in 1890 and the Malacological Society of London in 1894.

Exciting Field Trips to Find Fossils

Between 1887 and 1905, Caroline traveled all over the world to find geological specimens. She often went with her friend, Louisa Copland. Imagine going on these adventures!

• January 1887 – Egypt
• June 1887 – Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
• July 1888 – Faxe, Denmark
• May 1889 – Faeroe Islands
• May 1890 – Faeroe Islands
• July 1891 – Faxe, Denmark
• November 1891 – Malta
• November 1892 – Algiers, Algeria
• November 1893 – Corsica and Italy
• August 1897 – Canada and Colorado
• April 1899 – The Azores
• April 1902 – Boulogne, France
• July 1905 – Cape Town, South Africa

On her trips to Faxe, Denmark, she found many Late Cretaceous fossils. A famous geologist, Dr. Henry Woodward, studied her finds. He even named two new species of fossil crabs after Caroline and her friend Louisa! One was called Dromiopsis birleyae and the other Dromiopsis coplandae.

When naming Dromiopsis birleyae, Woodward wrote that he dedicated it to Caroline because she spent so much time studying geology and fossils. He said her private collection showed how much she loved science.

During her 1889 visit to the Faeroe Islands, she collected a huge amount of rocks containing zeolites. She and Louisa Copland even wrote an article about the plants of the Faeroe Islands for a science journal. In 1899, Caroline found a brand new type of crab fossil in Kent, England. Dr. Woodward described it and named it Mesodromilites birleyae after her!

Caroline also visited Ormara in Balochistan, which is now in western Pakistan. Her collection of fossil-filled rocks from there was given to another scientist, Richard Bullen Newton, who studied them in detail.

Caroline as a Children's Author

Caroline Birley wasn't just a scientist; she also wrote many books for children. Many of her books were published by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.

Some of her books include:

• We are Seven (1879)
• A Heap of Stones (1881)
• Jessamine and her Lesson Books, and How She Missed the Gipsey Tea (1887)
• The Linen Room Window, or "What snow conceals, the sun reveals" (1898)

She also contributed stories to other collections:

• My Birthday Present: A Series of Original Birthday Stories for Boys and Girls from Six to Twelve Years of Age (1886)
• Jack Frost's Little Prisoners: A collection of stories for children from four to twelve years of age (1887) – Caroline's story in this book was called A Christmas Wheatsheaf.

She wrote one other book called My Lady Bountiful: A true tale of Harriet, Duchess of St. Albans (1888).

Later Life and Legacy

Later in her life, Caroline moved to Kensington in London, taking her large collection with her. Eventually, she moved back to Pendleton.

She spent a lot of her time at the British Museum, carefully naming and organizing her specimens. Even when she wasn't feeling well, she still attended science meetings. In August 1906, she went to a meeting in York. Her health got worse in the autumn, but she kept labeling her newest finds. One of these was a huge slab of New Red Sandstone with Labyrinthodont footprints on it!

In February 1907, Caroline got the influenza (flu) and sadly died of a heart attack on February 15. She was buried at Lingfield Church in Surrey, near her brother Francis's home. She never married and did not have children.

Caroline's Gifts to Museums

Caroline Birley left a lasting impact on science. In 1894, she gave eight special mineral specimens from the Faroe Islands and Iceland to the Manchester Museum.

In her will, she asked that most of her amazing collection of geological specimens go to the Natural History Museum in London. Any items they didn't want were to be given to the Manchester Museum. She wanted her collection to be known as the "Caroline Birley Collection." Her family and friends made sure her collection was shared even more widely. They gave gifts to the Manchester Grammar School, the University of Oxford, and museums in places like Bolton, Bury, and Warrington.

Her obituary, a notice published after her death in The Geological Magazine, said that geology had lost a very passionate student. It said that from her childhood until the end of her life, she never stopped loving geology. She thought no effort or personal sacrifice was too great to visit interesting geological places and collect specimens for her beloved museum.

Images for kids

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  Dromiopsis birleyae – a fossil crustacean discovered by Caroline Birley

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  Mesodromilities birleyi – fossil crab discovered by Caroline Birley

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  Jessamine and her Lesson Books (1887)

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  Jack Frost's Little Prisoners (1887)