Ethel Thomas facts for kids

Ethel Nancy Miles Thomas (born October 4, 1876 – died August 28, 1944) was a British scientist who studied plants. She is famous for being the first British person to write about something called double fertilisation in flowering plants. This is a special way plants reproduce.

Ethel Thomas went to University College London. She learned a lot from another botanist, Ethel Sargant, who was like her mentor. She earned her science degree (BSc) in 1905. Later, she joined Bedford College and became the head of their new plant science department. Ethel Thomas also worked at other places like the National Museum of Wales and even helped during World War I with the Women's Land Army. She ended her career at University College, Leicester.

Early Life and Education

Ethel Nancy Miles Thomas was born in Islington, London, England, on October 4, 1876. Her father, David Miles Thomas, was a teacher. Ethel was first taught at home, and then she went to Highbury Fields School.

In 1897, Ethel started studying botany, which is the science of plants, at University College London. In the same year, she began working with the famous botanist Ethel Sargant for four years. While helping with research, Ethel also attended lectures on plants at the Royal College of Science. She was even the president of the women student's union at University College London. Ethel published her first science papers about plants in 1900, even before she finished her main studies. She received her Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1905.

Career in Botany

In 1907, Ethel Thomas became an assistant teacher at Bedford College. The college started a new department just for botany in 1908, and Ethel was chosen to lead it! In the same year, she became a special member of the Linnean Society of London, which is a very old and respected group for natural scientists. She was also part of their main council from 1910 to 1915.

Her hard work was recognized in 1912 when she was given the title of "Reader in Botany" at the University of London. She held this important role at the same time as her job at Bedford College. When Bedford College moved to Regent's Park in 1913, Ethel designed the college's new garden for plants and started planning a special lab to study how plants work.

Ethel Thomas earned her higher science degree, a DSc, from University College London in 1915. She also became a special fellow of the college. After World War I started, Ethel worked as an inspector for the Women's Land Army, helping women who worked on farms. She also did research for the government's War Office and the Medical Research Council.

After the war, Ethel Thomas worked for a year as the temporary head of the botany department at University College of South Wales (now Cardiff University). Then, she spent two years as the keeper of the plant department at the National Museum of Wales. In 1923, Ethel joined the new University College, Leicester. She built the whole biology program there from the very beginning! She even set up the first science laboratory at the University, which was for botany. She stayed as the head of the biology department at University College Leicester until she retired in 1937.

In 1933, Ethel married a lawyer named Hugh Hyndman, but sadly, he passed away the next year. She was a lifelong member of the British Association and was a vice-president of its botany section. After she retired, Ethel continued her research from rooms at Westfield College. However, she stopped in 1940 because of her health. She died on August 28, 1944, from heart failure.

Plant Reproduction Research

Ethel Thomas is well-known for her studies on flowering plants. She was the first person in Britain to publish information about their unique process of double fertilisation. This is how many plants make seeds. She also spent a lot of time studying her idea about "double leaf-trace" by looking at both flowering and non-flowering plants that produce seeds.