Person

McLennan, Ethel Irene (1891 - 1983)

Born
15 March 1891
Williamstown, Victoria, Australia
Died
12 June 1983
Kew, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Botanist and Plant pathologist

Summary

Ethel McLennan was Associate Professor of Botany at the University of Melbourne from 1931 to 1955, after having joined the staff in 1915. She specialized in mycology and plant pathology, being widely recognised and one of Australia's leaders in these fields. In 1927 she was awarded the Syme Prize. McLennan was Acting Professor of the School of Botany in the interregnum between two professors. During WWII she was responsible for the maintenance and development of Penicillium and other fungal cultures as a possible Australian source of antibiotics. In retirement McLennan was part-time keeper of the Department's herbarium.

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Details

Chronology

1914
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
1915 - 1923
Career position - Demonstrator and Lecturer in Botany, University of Melbourne
1921
Education - Doctor of Science (DSc), University of Melbourne
1923 - 1931
Career position - Senior Lecturer in Botany, University of Melbourne
1926
Career position - Scandinavian fellowship, International Federation of University Women
1927
Award - David Syme Research Prize, University of Melbourne
1929
Career position - Chairwoman of the Australian Pan-Pacific Women's Committee
1931 - 1955
Career position - Associate Professor of Botany, University of Melbourne
1934
Career position - President, Australian Federation of University Women
1937 - 1938
Career position - Acting Professor, Botany Department, University of Melbourne
1955
Life event - Retired
1982
Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne

Related Awards

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

The University of Melbourne Archives

  • Ethel Irene McLennan - Records, 1920 - 1982; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

Books

  • Carey, Jane, Taking to the field: a history of Australian women in science (Clayton, Vic.: Monash University Press, 2023), 297 pp. Details
  • Hooker, Claire, Irresistible Forces: Australian Women in Science (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 2004), 215 pp. Details
  • Turner, J. S.; McLennan, Ethel I.; and Rogers, J. S., The tropic proofing of optical instruments (Melbourne: Ministry of Munitions, Ordnance Production Directorate, Scientific Instruments and Optical Panel, 1947), 80 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Ducker, Sophie C., 'Ethel McLennan (1891-1983) botanist' in 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology, Heather Radi, ed. (Sydney: Women's Redress Press Inc, 1988). Details
  • Ducker, Sophie C., 'McLennan, Ethel Irene (1891-1983), Botanist and Educator' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 18: 1981 - 1990 L-Z, Melanie Nolan, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2012), pp. 94-5. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mclennan-ethel-irene-15527. Details

Edited Books

  • Radi, H. ed., 200 Australian Women: a Redress Anthology (Sydney: Women's Redress Press Inc, 1988), 268 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Flesch, Juliet and McPhee, Peter, '150 Years, 150 Stories: Ethel Irene McLennan', Uni News, 11 (16) (2003), 4. Details
  • Parbery, D. G., 'Ethel Irene McLennan 1891-1983: Pioneer Teacher of Mycology and Plant Pathology in Victoria', Australasian Plant Pathology, 18 (3) (1989), 47-56. Details

Resources

See also

  • Alexander, John A. ed., Who's who in Australia 1944 (Melbourne, Victoria: The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, 1944), 906 pp. Details
  • Ashton, D. H.; Ducker, S. C., 'John Stewart Turner 1908-1991', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (3) (1993), 278-290. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9930930278. Details
  • Bolton, H. C., 'Optical Instruments in Australia in the 1939-45 War: successes and lost opportunities', Australian Physicist (1990). http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/papers/bolton2.htm. Details
  • Fenner, Frank ed., History of Microbiology in Australia (Melbourne: Australian Society for Microbiology, 1990), 624 pp. Details
  • 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

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

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