Person

Bentivoglio, Marie (1898 - 1998)

Born
1898
Italy
Died
1998
Italy
Occupation
Crystallographer and Geographer
Alternative Names
  • Spaldeschi, Marie (married name)

Summary

Marie Bentivoglio was a pioneering geographer and crystallographer. She is the only woman to have been Head of the Department of Geography at the University of Sydney. She was also the first Australian woman to be awarded a 1851 Exhibition overseas scholarship. Graduating from the University of Oxford with a doctorate in mineralogy and a diploma in geography, Bentivoglio retuned to a teaching role in the Department of Geography at the University of Sydney. After a brief tenure as Acting Head of this Department, she taught at the Sydney Teachers' College. In 1931 she was elected Member of Council of the Geographical Society of New South Wales. She resigned from the College during a visit to the United States where she gave many talks on Australia, including to the National Geographical Society. Bentivoglio's subsequent career in the U.S. was in the field of plastics, and included working for the Selanesi Corporation from 1938 and lecturing at the New York University between 1952 and 1960.

Details

Chronology

1919
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc(Hons)), University of Sydney
1920
Career position - President, Sydney University Club
1920
Education - Diploma in Education, University of Sydney
1922
Award - 1851 Exhibition Overseas Scholarship
1925
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Diploma in Geography, University of Oxford
1926 - 1928
Career position - Lecturer in Geography, University of Sydney
1928 - 1929
Career position - Head, Department of Geography, University of Sydney
1929 - 1936
Career position - Teacher, Sydney Teachers' College
1931
Career event - Elected Member of Council, Geographical Society of New South Wales
1938 - ?
Career position - Researcher in plastics, Selanesi Corporation, U.S.A.
1952 - 1960
Career position - Lecturer, New York University, U.S.A>
1994
Award - DSc honoris causa, University of Sydney

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Bentivoglio, Marie and Friedrich, Frieda Frances, A physical and practical geography for secondary schools (Sydney: Whitcombe & Tombs, 1931), 394 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Bentivoglio, Marie, 'An investigation of the rate of growth of crystals in different directions', Proceedings of the Royal Society A: mathematical, physical and engineering sciences, 115 (770) (1927), 59-87. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1927.0076. Details
  • Canale, C., 'Notable Australians of Italian heritage (5): Dr. Marie (Maria) Bentivoglio 1898 - 1998', Dante news Gold Coast (2017), 6. Details
  • Warner, R. F., 'An intimate history of leadership: Sydney University's Department of Geography, 1921 - 1997', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 144 (2022), 255-70, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/LIN/article/view/17116. Details

Newspaper Articles

Resource Sections

See also

  • Bygott, Ursula; Cable, Kenneth John, Pioneer Women Graduates of the University of Sydney, 1881-1921 (Sydney: University of Sydney, 1985), 55 pp. Details
  • Carey, Jane, Taking to the field: a history of Australian women in science (Clayton, Vic.: Monash University Press, 2023), 297 pp. Details

Elizabeth Daniels and Helen Cohn

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