Carrie Derick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carrie Derick
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Carrie Derick in Toronto at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, August 1924
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| Born | January 14, 1862 Clarenceville, Canada East
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| Died | November 10, 1941 (aged 79) Montreal, Quebec
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| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Geneticist; Botanist |
| Known for | Canada's first female professor |
Carrie Matilda Derick (born January 14, 1862 – died November 10, 1941) was a brilliant Canadian scientist. She was a botanist, who studies plants, and a geneticist, who studies how traits are passed down. Carrie Derick made history as the first female professor at a Canadian university. She also started the Genetics Department at McGill University.
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Carrie Derick's Early Life and Schooling
Where did Carrie Derick grow up?
Carrie Derick was born in 1862 in Clarenceville, which was then called Canada East. This area is part of the Eastern Townships in Quebec.
How did Carrie Derick start teaching?
She went to school at the Clarenceville Academy. Carrie started teaching when she was only fifteen years old. Later, she trained to be a teacher at the McGill Normal School. She graduated in 1881 and won a special award called the Prince of Wales Gold Medal.
After her training, she taught in Clarenceville and Montreal. By the age of nineteen, she became the principal of the Clarenceville Academy.
What did Carrie Derick study at university?
In 1889, Carrie Derick went to McGill University to study for her Bachelor of Arts degree. She graduated in 1890 at the very top of her class. She studied natural science and had the highest grades that year. She also won the Logan Gold Medal. Two other important Canadian women, Elizabeth Binmore and Maude Abbott, were in her graduating class.
After graduating, she taught at the Trafalgar Institute for Girls. At the same time, she worked part-time at McGill. She was the first woman to work as a botany demonstrator there.
How did Carrie Derick continue her studies?
In 1891, Carrie started her master's degree in botany at McGill. She worked under a professor named David P. Penhallow. She earned her Master of Arts degree in 1896. She did this while working two jobs at the same time!
She also studied in Germany at the University of Bonn in 1901. She finished all the research needed for a Ph.D. degree. However, she did not get the official degree. This was because the University of Bonn did not give Ph.D. degrees to women back then.
Carrie Derick also spent time studying at other famous places. She studied at Harvard University for three summers. She also went to the Royal College of Science in London in 1898. For seven summers, she studied at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Carrie Derick's Career at University
How did Carrie Derick become a professor?
After her studies, Carrie Derick returned to McGill University. She had already taught, researched, and worked in administration there for seven years without pay. In 1905, she wrote to the university's leader, Principal Peterson. She was then promoted to assistant professor. However, she was paid only one-third of what male professors earned.
In 1909, the head of McGill's Botany Department, David Penhallow, became sick. Carrie Derick took over his role. Penhallow passed away in 1910. Carrie continued to lead the department for three more years.
What challenges did Carrie Derick face?
In 1912, McGill University looked for a new head for the botany department. Even with all her experience and strong support, Carrie Derick was not chosen.
Instead, McGill University officially made her a professor of morphological botany in 1912. This was a big step! It made Carrie Derick the first woman to become a university professor in Canada. But this new job did not come with more pay. She also did not get a seat on the faculty, which meant she couldn't vote on important university decisions. The university president even told her it was just a "courtesy title." This meant she wasn't truly seen as a professor. The new head of the botany department also gave her work that was usually done by a demonstrator, not a professor.
How did Carrie Derick make a difference?
Carrie Derick kept working hard. She went back to teaching and research after a new demonstrator was hired. She later asked for her job title to be changed. She wanted it to be "professor of comparative morphology and genetics." This title would better show her true skills and research interests.
Carrie Derick started the Genetics Department at McGill University. She also created the "Evolution and Genetics" course. This was the first course of its kind in Canada. She wrote many scientific papers about botany. She was one of the few women listed in the important book American Men of Science in 1910.
Due to poor health, Carrie Derick retired in 1929. McGill University gave her the special title of "professor emerita." This made her the first female professor emerita in Canada.
What did Carrie Derick do for women's rights?
Carrie Derick was an early leader in the fight for women's rights. She fought for women to have the right to education, to vote, and to work. She also helped start the National Council of Women of Canada and was a member for life. Her friend Maude Abbott, a famous heart doctor, helped her start it.
Carrie Derick was also part of many other groups. She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was also vice president of the Natural History Society of Montreal. She joined the Botanical Society of America and the American Genetics Association.
From 1913 to 1919, Carrie Derick was the president of the Montreal Suffrage Association. This group worked to get women the right to vote. She also supported other important causes. She believed that children should have to go to school. She also cared about helping children with special needs.
In 1914, Carrie Derick supported Annie Langstaff. Annie was the first woman to graduate from law school at McGill University. Carrie helped Annie try to join Quebec's bar, which would allow her to practice law. Sadly, Annie was not successful at that time. One of Carrie's students, Faith Fyles, became an assistant botanist at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa.
When did Carrie Derick pass away?
Carrie Derick died on November 10, 1941, in Montreal, Quebec.
How is Carrie Derick remembered today?
A street in Montreal's Southwest area is named after her: Rue Carrie-Derick. McGill University also created an award in her honor. It is called the Carrie M. Derick Award for Graduate Supervision and Teaching.
In 2007, Carrie Derick was named a National Historic Person. This means she is recognized as someone very important in Canada's history. On her 155th birthday in 2017, she was honored with a Google Doodle.
Awards Carrie Derick Received
- The J.C. Weston prize
Images for kids
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Carrie Derick in Toronto at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, August 1924
See also
In Spanish: Carrie Derick para niños
