Person
Allan, Frances Elizabeth (Betty) (1905 - 1952)
- Born
- 11 July 1905
St Kilda, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 6 August 1952
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia - Occupation
- Biometrician and Statistician
- Alternative Names
- Calvert, Betty (Also known as)
Summary
Betty Allan was Senior Biometrical Officer at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) from 1930-1940. She is regarded as the effective founder of the CSIRO Division of Mathematics and Statistics. A talented student, Allan studied at the University of Melbourne and carried out post-graduate work in Newnham College, Cambridge.
Details
Born and educated in Melbourne, Frances Allan won a scholarship to carry out postgraduate studies in mathematics, applied biology, statistics and agriculture at Cambridge. She then went to Rothamsted Experimental Station to learn practical statistics for the agricultural industry and was co-author on 3 influential scientific papers there. Upon her return to Australia, Allan was immediately employed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (Division of Plant Industry) and became their first biometrician. During this time she also lectured to undergraduates at Canberra University College and at other organisations. Because of the rules at the time, Frances Allan had to give up full time work after she married in April. She did however gain Government approval to work until the end of that year. She continued to lecture part-time then, after the birth of her first child, retired from research. Allan became active in many parenting and education groups once retired.
Chronology
- 1926
- Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA) completed at the University of Melbourne
- 1926
- Education - Joint recipient of the Dixon and Wyselaskie scholarship for mathematics
- c. 1927
- Award - Professor Nanson Prize and Fred Knight research scholarship received
- 1928
- Education - Diploma of Education (DipEd) completed at the University of Melbourne
- 1928
- Education - Master of Arts (MA) completed at the University of Melbourne
- 1928
- Education - Studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, UK
- 1928
- Award - CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) studentship grant to fund her London studies
- 1929 - 1930
- Education - Research student in agricultural statistics at Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK
- 1930 - 1934
- Career position - Biometrician in the Division of Plant Industry at CSIR
- 1932
- Career position - Lecturer in Statistical Theory at Canberra University College
- 1935
- Career position - Foundation member of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science
- 1935 - 1937
- Career position - Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at Canberra University College
- 1935 - 1940
- Career position - Research Officer at CSIR
- 1936
- Career position - Lecturer at the Australian Forestry School (part-time)
- 1938 - 1940
- Career position - Lecturer at the Australian Forestry School (part-time)
- c. 1940
- Career position - Researcher at the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics (part-time)
- 22 April 1940
- Life event - Married Dr Patrick Joseph Calvert at Trinity College Chapel in Parkville, Victoria
- 1943 - 1944
- Career position - Secretary of the Canberra Nursery Kindergarten Society
- 1944 - 1946
- Career position - President of the Canberra Mothercraft Society
Related entries
Husband
Archival resources
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Corporate Records and Archives Strategies
- Frances Elizabeth Allan - Records, 1910 - 1950, T88/60; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Corporate Records and Archives Strategies. Details
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions
- McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details
Book Sections
- Heyde, C. C., 'Allan, Frances Elizabeth (1905-1952), Statistician' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 13 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 26-27. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130031b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Field, J. B. F.; Speed, F. E.; Speed, T. P.; and Williams, J. N., 'Biometrics in the CSIR: 1930 - 1940', Australian Journal of Statistics, 30 (B) (1988), 54-76. Details
- Flesch, Juliet and McPhee, Peter, '150 Years, 150 Stories: Betty Allan', Uni News, 12 (15) (2003), 4. Details
- Speed, T. P., 'The role of statisticians in CSIRO: past, present and future', Australian Journal of Statistics, 30 (B) (1988), 15-34. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21537623. Details
- 'Allan, Frances Elizabeth (19050711-19520806)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467437. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Allan, Frances Elizabeth', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P001468p.htm. Details
- Ward, C., 'Frances Elizabeth (Betty) Allan [1905-1952]', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2011, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/Allan-Frances-Elizabeth. Details
See also
- Flesch, Juliet and McPhee, Peter, 150 years, 150 stories: brief biographies of one hundred and fifty remarkable people associated with the University of Melbourne (Melbourne: Department of History, University of Melbourne, 2003), 168 pp. Details
McCarthy, G.J.
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 26 March 2007
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education