Marjorie Elizabeth Jane Chandler facts for kids

Marjorie Chandler (1897–1983) was a British paleobotanist. A paleobotanist is a scientist who studies ancient plants, often using fossils. Marjorie became a well-known scientist after working for many years as a research assistant with another famous scientist, Eleanor Mary Reid.

Life and Education

Marjorie Elizabeth Jane Chandler was born on May 18, 1897, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, UK. Her father, Frederick Augustus, was a jeweler, and her mother was Alice Sarah Chandler. Marjorie was the oldest of six children.

She went to Leamington High School and then won a scholarship to Newnham College, Cambridge in 1915. At Cambridge University, she studied natural sciences and earned a top degree in 1919. She later received her Master of Arts (MA) degree from Cambridge in 1948.

In 1920, Marjorie started working as a research assistant for Eleanor Mary Reid. Eleanor Reid was one of the first four women to become a fellow of the Geological Society that same year. They worked together from Eleanor's home in Milford-on-Sea, starting a scientific partnership that lasted their whole lives. Marjorie even became Eleanor's nurse until Eleanor passed away in 1953.

Marjorie Chandler retired and later died in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK, on October 1, 1983. In her retirement, she loved gardening and was involved in church activities. She also stayed in touch with other paleobotanists and the scientific world.

Discovering Ancient Plants

Marjorie Chandler and Eleanor Reid spent many years studying ancient plants. They used collections of plant fossils from the British Museum. After six years of hard work, they published a book called Bembridge Flora. This book described many Cenozoic plants, especially those found on the Isle of Wight. The Cenozoic Era is a time period in Earth's history that began about 66 million years ago and continues today.

In 1933, they published a second book. This one focused on fossilized plants found in the clay of London. Their laboratory was actually in Eleanor Reid's attic! Marjorie worked there through very cold winters and hot summers.

Their research showed how the climate changed during the Tertiary period, which is part of the Cenozoic Era. They looked at plant remains found in different layers of rock. This gave new clues about how plants changed and evolved over millions of years. Their studies even revealed that the area we now call London was once a tropical forest! Eleanor Reid was recognized for this important work and received the Lyell Medal in 1936 from the Geological Society.

Marjorie's Own Research

From 1933 onwards, Marjorie Chandler took the lead in studying Tertiary floras (ancient plant life). Eleanor Reid continued to support her and sometimes wrote short papers. Marjorie's research was supported by a small grant from the British Museum each year.

Marjorie became known around the world for her work. She expanded on the research she and Reid had done together, looking at plants from other parts of the Eocene and Oligocene periods. These are also parts of the Cenozoic Era. Marjorie's own research described ancient plants found in Dorset and Bournemouth. She also created a large supplement to the London Flora book.

One of her most important publications was The Lower Tertiary Floras of Southern England, which she published in 1961. This book helped us understand more about the plant life that existed in southern England millions of years ago.

Key Publications

Marjorie Chandler contributed to several important scientific books and papers. Here are some of her notable works:

The Lower Tertiary Floras of Southern England

This major work was published in five parts starting in January 1961. It described and cataloged many fossilized plants found in different rock layers across southern England. Many of the ancient seeds described were found in Herne Bay, Kent. Other plant fossils came from places like Sussex, Middlesex, Surrey, and the Isle of Sheppey. The book included many illustrations of fossilized plant remains, mostly seeds and some fruits. Each fossil was shown from different angles, even with its imperfections.

The London Clay Flora by Eleanor Mary Reid & Marjorie Elizabeth Jane Chandler

This book is a very important publication about the ancient plants found in the London Clay, especially along the shores of Sheppey. It was the second part of a larger catalog of Cenozoic plants at the British Museum of Natural History. Before this book, the London Clay plants hadn't been studied in a published work for about a hundred years.

Reid and Chandler's book was different from older works. It focused less on just describing the fossil fruits and seeds. Instead, it looked more at the conditions that allowed these fossils to form. The book did include detailed descriptions of different types of ancient plants, but its main importance was in the authors' conclusions about the ancient plant life, the climate of the London Clay era, and how different fossils and plant groups were related.

The Bembridge Beds

This publication described the rich plant fossils found in the Bembridge Beds. These beds are located on the northwest coast of the Isle of Wight, in Gurnard Bay and Thorness Bay. Most of the plants studied came from these two spots. The area shows different layers of clays and marls (a type of soil) that contain a lot of selenite (a mineral). You can see these layers in the cliffs when they are not covered by plants or landslides, and on the beach when the tide is low.

See also

In Spanish: Marjorie Elizabeth Jane Chandler para niños