Cohn, Helen Margaret (1951 - )

Summary

Helen Cohn is a bibliographer and science historian who, since 2008 has compiled the annual "Bibliography of the history of Australian science". She also contributes to the Encyclopedia of Australian science and innovation. In 2011 she retired after a career in science and natural history libraries where she had responsibility for diverse collections of materials including original art works, manuscripts and 3D objects. Cohn has been a member of the Advisory Committee for the Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller Project since 1987.

Details

Chronology

1972

Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Melbourne

1973

Education - Grad. Dip. Librarianship, Canberra College of Advanced Education

1974 - 1975

Career position - Librarian, Forestry and Timber Bureau, Canberra

1976 - 1977

Career position - Librarian, Linnean Society, London

1979

Career position - Librarian, National Museum of Victoria

1980 - 2011

Career position - Library Manager, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

1987 -

Career position - Member, Advisory Committee, Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller Project

1990

Education - Master of Arts (MA), University of Melbourne

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Cohn, Helen M., Australian Plants, the Garden and Botany in the Nineteenth Century Periodical (Clayton: Centre for Bibliographical and Textual Studies, 1995), 27 pp. Details
• Cohn, Helen M.; and Thurlow, J., Nature's art revealed: 150 years of botanical art at the National Herbarium of Victoria 1853-2003 (South Yarra, Vic.: National Herbarium of Victoria, 2003), 32 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Cohn, Helen M., 'The historic landscape of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne' in A garden for all seasons: an artist’s view of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Graham, A. M., ed. (North Ryde, N.S.W.: Craftsman House, 1998), pp. 32-40. Details
• Willis, J. H.; and Cohn, Helen M., 'Botanical exploration of Victoria' in Flora of Victoria, Foreman, D. B. and Walsh, N. G., eds, vol. 1 (Melbourne: Inkata Press, 1993), pp. 61-79. Details

Journal Articles

• Cohn, Helen M., 'Ferdinand Mueller, Government Botanist: the role of William Hooker in his appointment', Muelleria, 7 (1989), 99-102. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Mueller and the North Australian Exploring Expedition', The Victorian naturalist, 113 (1996), 163-168. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Mary White and James Willis archives', Botanic magazine, 7 (1997), 31-2. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., '150 Years: the National Herbarium of Victoria, 1853-2003', Muelleria, 17 (2003), 3-14. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Grevillea latrobei', La Trobeana: the newsletter of the La Trobe Society of Australia, 2 (2) (2004), 5-7. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'The Close Union Between the Herbarium and the Naturalists', The Victorian naturalist, 122 (2005), 281-9. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Watch Dog Over the Herbarium: Alfred Ewart, Victorian Government Botanist, 1906-1921', Historical Records of Australian Science, 16 (2) (2005), 139-167. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR05009. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the History of Australian Science, no. 28, 2007', Historical Records of Australian Science, 19 (1) (2008), 115-24, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR08005. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the History of Australian Science, no. 29, 2008', Historical Records of Australian Science, 20 (1) (2009), 147-162 , https://doi.org/10.1071/HR09008. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the History of Australian Science, no. 30, 2009', Historical Records of Australian Science, 21 (1) (2010), 119-31, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR10006. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the History of Australian Science, no. 31, 2010', Historical Records of Australian Science, 22 (1) (2011), 188-98, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR11006. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the History of Australian Science, no. 32, 2011', Historical Records of Australian Science, 23 (1) (2012), 90-106, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR12005. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the History of Australian Science, no. 33, 2012', Historical Records of Australian Science, 24 (1) (2013), 174-88, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR12023. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the History of Australian Science, no. 34, 2013', Historical Records of Australian Science, 25 (1) (2014), 123-41, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR14010. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of australian science, no. 35, 2014', Historical Records of Australian Science, 26 (1) (2015), iii-lii. https://doi.org/10.1071/HRv26n1_bib. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 36, 2015', Historical Records of Australian Science, 27 (supp.) (2016), 1-32, https://doi.org/10.1071/HRv27n1_bib. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 37, 2016', Historical Records of Australian Science, 28 (1) (2017), 76-89, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR17902. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 38, 2017', Historical Records of Australian Science, 29 (1) (2018), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR18902. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 39, 2017/8', Historical Records of Australian Science, 30 (1) (2019), 66-81. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR19901. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 40, 2018/9', Historical Records of Australian Science, 31 (1) (2020), 71-86. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR20901. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 41, 2019/20', Historical Records of Australian Science, 32 (2) (2021), 109-23. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR21901. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 42, 2020/21', Historical Records of Australian Science, 33 (1) (2022), 78-95. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR22901. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 43, 2021/22', Historical Records of Australian Science, 34 (1) (2023), 80-107, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR22016. Details
• Cohn, Helen M., 'Bibliography of the history of Australian science, no. 44, 2022/23', Historical records of Australian science, 35 (1) (2024), 64-82. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR23026. Details
• Cohn, Helen M.; Maroske, Sara, 'Relief from Duties of Minor Importance - the Removal of Baron von Mueller from the Directorship of the Royal Botanic Gardens', Victorian Historical Journal, 67 (1) (1996), 103-127. Details
• Cohn, Helen M.; Maroske, Sara, 'Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne: a Select Annotated Bibiliography', Victorian Historical Journal, 67 (1) (1996), 167-174. Details
• Maroske, S.; Sinkora, D.; and Cohn, Helen M., 'Ferdinand von Mueller's library', Botanic magazine, 4 (1992), 17-23. Details
• Maroske, Sara and Cohn, Helen M., 'Such Ingenious Birds: Ferdinand Mueller and William Swainson in Victoria', Muelleria, 7 (4) (1992), 529-553. Details

Reviews

• McCracken, Donal P., Gardens of Empire: Botanical Institutions of the Victorian British Empire (1997)
  Cohn, Helen M., Historical Records of Australian Science, 12 (2), (1998), 280-2, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9981220267. Details
• Morton, S.R. and Mulvaney, D.J., eds., Exploring Central Australia: Society, the Environment and the 1894 Horn Expedition (1996)
  Cohn, Helen M., The Victorian naturalist, 117, (2000), 191-2. Details
• Mabberley, David, Ferdinand Bauer, the Nature of Discovery, Merrell Holberton and the Natural History Museum, London, 1999, 128 pp.
  Cohn, Helen M., 'Ferdinand Bauer, the nature of discovery, by David Mabberley, and Catalogue of the holdings in the Natural History Museum (London) of the Australian botanical drawings of Ferdinand Bauer (1760-1826) and cognate materials relating to the Investigator voyage', Historical Records of Australian Science, 14 (1), (2002), 112-115. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR02901F_BR. Details
• Walter, John, SGAP: the story of Arthur Swaby and the Society for growing Australian Plants (2008)
  Cohn, Helen M., The Victorian naturalist, 125 (3), (2008), 85-6. Details
• Morton-Evans, Christine and Morton-Evans, Michael, The Flower Hunter: the Remarkable Life of Ellis Rowan (2008)
  Cohn, Helen M., Historical Records of Australian Science, 21 (2), (2010), 292-4, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR10012. Details
• Norton, Leonie, Women of Flowers: Botanical Art in Australia from the 1830s to the 1960s (2009)
  Cohn, Helen M., Historical Records of Australian Science, 21 (2), (2010), 292-4, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR10012. Details
• Emmett, Peter and Kanellos, Tony, eds, Santos MEB Museum of Economic Botany: the Museum of Economic Botany at the Adelaide Botanic Garden, a Souvenir (2010)
  Cohn, Helen M., Historical Records of Australian Science, 22 (1), (2011), 181-2, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR11005. Details
• Underwood, Roger, A Botanical Journey: the Story of the Western Australian Herbarium (2011)
  Cohn, Helen M., Historical Records of Australian Science, 23 (2), (2012), 228-9, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR12014. Details
• Olsen, Penny, Collecting Ladies: Ferdinand von Mueller and Women Botanical Artists (2012)
  Cohn, Helen M., Historical Records of Australian Science, 24 (2), (2013), 343-4, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR13005. Details
• Hansen, Anita and Davies, Margaret, eds., The library at the end of the world: natural science and its illustrators (2014)
  Cohn, Helen M., Historical Records of Australian Science, 27 (1), (2016), 99-100, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR16900. Details
• Dufty, David, Radio girl: the story of the extraordinary Mrs Mac, pioneering engineer and wartime legend (2020)
  Cohn, Helen M., Historical Records of Australian Science, 32 (1), (2021), 107-8, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR21902. Details

Theses

• Cohn, Helen M., 'Some Foundations of Science in Victoria in the Decade After Separation', MA thesis, University of Melbourne, 1990. Details