| Authorised form of name | Rothschild; Dame; Miriam Louisa (1908 - 2005) |
| Dates | 1908 - 2005 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Polebrook, Northamptonshire |
| Date of birth | 05/08/1908 |
| Place of death | Ashton Wold, Northamptonshire |
| Date of death | 20/01/2005 |
| Occupation | Zoologist; Writer; Gardener; Farmer; Campaigner; Parasitologist |
| Research field | Entomology |
| Small animals |
| Botany |
| Activity | Education:
At home; evening class in zoology, Chelsea Polytechnic
Career:
Studied the mollusc Nucula and its trematode parasites at Marine Biological Station, Plymouth (1930s); editor of 'Novitates Zoologica', Tring Museum journal (1938-1941); spent some time at Bletchley Park during WW2; worked on rabbit flea; published 'Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos' (1952) with Theresa Clay; published 'Catalogue of the Rothschild Collection of Fleas in the British Museum', volumes I to IV (1953-1983); served on Government advisory committee on myxomatosis (1954); consulted by The Prince of Wales and helped to sow wild flower meadow at Highgrove; wrote 'The Butterfly Gardener' (1983) with Clive Farrell; Oxford University Romanes Lecture, "Animals and Man" (1985); Trustee, Natural History Museum (1967-1975); member of Entomological Club; awarded Medals by Royal Horticultural Society, gold medal (1951), A J Waley Medal and Victoria Medal of Honour; Linnean Society Bloomer Award; Lynn Society's Floral Medal; Royal Entomological Society's Wigglesworth Gold Medal; opened National Dragonfly Museum in old mill on her Ashton Wold estate (1996); created Schizophrenia Research Trust
Honours:
CBE 1982; DBE 2000 |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 21/03/1985 |
| Age at election | 76 |
| Relationships | Daughter of Nathaniel Charles Rothschild, younger son of 1st Lord Rothschild and Rozsika von Wertheimstein; sister of Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild (FRS 1953); niece of Lionel Walter Rothschild (FRS 1911); married (1943) Captain George Lane MC, marriage dissolved (1957). |
| Source | Obituaries:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 2006 vol 52 pp 315-330, plate, by Helmut F van Emden and Sir John Gurdon
Obituaries in Telegraph (24 January 2005); Independent (24 January 2005)
Sources:
Mariana Cook 'Faces of Science' 2005 Photograph and her account of how she becme a scientist in her own words |
| Code | NA193 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1985/33 | Rothschild, Dame Miriam Louisa: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1982 |
| S/0053 | Sculpture bust of Rothschild, Miriam | 2003 |
| S/0052 | Sculpture bust of Rothschild, Miriam | 2013 |