Helen Margaret Gilkey facts for kids
Helen Margaret Gilkey (1886–1972) was an amazing American scientist. She was a mycologist, which means she studied fungi like mushrooms and truffles. She was also a botanist, someone who studies plants. Besides her science work, Helen was a talented artist. She drew plants for scientific books and painted beautiful watercolors. She was born on March 6, 1886, in Montesano, Washington. In 1903, her family moved to Corvallis, Oregon. Helen Gilkey lived to be 86 years old, passing away in 1972.
Her Journey to Becoming a Scientist
Helen Gilkey loved learning about plants from a young age. She went to Oregon Agricultural College, which is now called Oregon State University. There, she earned two degrees: a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. Her studies focused on botany (plant science) and mycology (fungi science). She also learned how to draw plants for scientific purposes.
Helen then continued her education at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1915, she made history! She became the very first woman to earn a Ph.D. in botany from that university. For her Ph.D., Helen wrote a special research paper called a doctoral dissertation. Her paper was all about the taxonomy of North American truffles. Taxonomy is the science of classifying and naming living things. Her detailed work on truffles is still very important for scientists today.
Her Work as a Scientist
After finishing her studies, Helen Gilkey worked as a scientific illustrator. She drew original pictures for a famous book called Manual of Flowering Plants of California. In 1918, she got an important job at Oregon Agricultural College. She became the herbarium curator. A herbarium is like a library for dried plant specimens, and a curator takes care of them.
Helen was most famous for her deep studies of truffles. Truffles are a special type of fungi that grow underground. She found and described many new kinds of truffles from the United States. She also studied some truffles from faraway places like Argentina and Australia. Her book from 1939 is the most complete guide to truffles in North America.
Throughout her career, Helen Gilkey wrote many books and more than 40 scientific articles. Her last book, Handbook of Northwestern Plants, was published in 1967. This book helped many people learn about the plants growing in the northwestern United States.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Helen Gilkey's hard work and discoveries were recognized with several awards. In 1952, the Oregon Academy of Science gave her the "Outstanding Scientist" award. She received the same award again in 1969 from the Northwest Scientific Association.
To honor her important contributions to science, a new group of truffles was named after her in 2006. This group is called Gilkeya. It's a special way to remember her lasting impact on the study of fungi.
