Miriam Rothschild
Encyclopedia
Dame Miriam Louisa Rothschild DBE
, FRS (5 August 1908 — 20 January 2005) was a British
natural scientist and author with contributions to zoology
, entomology
, and botany
.
, near Oundle
in Northamptonshire
, the daughter of Charles Rothschild
of the Rothschild family
of Jewish bankers and Rozsika Edle Rothschild (née von Wertheimstein), a Hungarian sportswoman. Her brother was Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild
and one of her sisters (Kathleen Annie) Pannonica Rothschild (Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter
) would later be a bebop
jazz
enthusiast and patroness of Thelonious Monk
and Charlie Parker
.
Her father had described about 500 new species
of flea
s, and her uncle Lionel Walter Rothschild had built a private natural history museum at Tring
. By the age of four she had started collecting ladybird beetles and caterpillars and taking a tame quail
to bed with her. World War I
broke on the eve of Miriam's sixth birthday in 1914, while the Rothschilds were holidaying in Austro-Hungary. They hurried home on the first westward train but, unable to pay, had to borrow money from a Hungarian passenger who commented "This is the proudest moment of my life. Never did I think that I should be asked to lend money to a Rothschild!" Her father died when she was 15 and she became closer to her uncle. She was educated at home until the age of 17, when she demanded to go to school. She thence attended evening classes in zoology
at Chelsea College of Science and Technology
.
, studying the mollusc Nucula
and its trematode parasites (Rothschild 1936, 1938a, 1938b). Because of her inherited wealth, she never had to apply for any grants or funding. As a result of this and her lack of formal education—all her doctorates were honorary—she would always be an "amateur
".
Prior to World War II
, she pressed the UK Government to admit more German
Jews as refugees from Nazi Germany
. During the war, she worked at Bletchley Park
on codebreaking.
s. She was the first person to work out the flea's jumping mechanism. She also studied the flea's reproductive cycle and linked this, in rabbit
s, to the hormonal changes within the host. Her New Naturalist book on parasitism (Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos) was a huge success. Its title can be explained as: external parasites (e.g. fleas), internal parasites (e.g. flukes) and others (the cuckoo is a 'brood parasite'). The Rothschild Collection of Fleas (founded by Charles Rothschild) is now part of the Natural History Museum
collection, and her catalogue of the collection (in collaboration with G. H. E. Hopkins) is a master-work.
Rothshild was a member of the Oxford genetics school during the 1960s, where she met E.B. Ford
. She was one of the few women with whom Ford was on good terms and she campaigned with Ford for the legalisation of homosexuality
.
Rothschild authored books about her father (Rothschild's Reserves – time and fragile nature) and her uncle (Dear Lord Rothschild). She wrote about 350 papers on entomology, zoology and other subjects.
She founded the Schizophrenia Research Fund in 1962, an independent registered charity formed “to advance the better understanding, prevention, treatment and cure of all forms of mental illness and in particular of the illness known as Schizophrenia”. In March 2006, following her death, the name of the Fund was changed in her memory to the Miriam Rothschild Schizophrenia Research Fund. The pioneer of British Art Therapy, Edward Adamson
and his partner and collaborator, John Timlin, were regular visitors to Ashton Wold. Between 1983 and 1997, the influential Adamson Collection of 6000 works of art by people with major mental disorder, created at Netherne Hospital with Adamson’s encouragement, was housed and displayed to the public in a medieval barn at Ashton. Rothschild was both a Trustee and, subsequently, Patron of the Adamson Collection Trust. "All my life," she said, "I have tilted against hopeless windmills".
in 1985 and was made a Dame
in 2000. She received honorary doctorates from eight universities, including Oxford
and Cambridge
. She gave the Romanes Lecture
for 1984–5 in Oxford.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FRS (5 August 1908 — 20 January 2005) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
natural scientist and author with contributions to zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, and botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
.
Early life
Miriam Rothschild was born in 1908 in Ashton WoldAshton, East Northamptonshire
Ashton is a village and civil parish about ¾ mile east of Oundle in the east of the English county of Northamptonshire forming part of the district of East Northamptonshire.-History:...
, near Oundle
Oundle
Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5,345 or 5,674 . It lies some north of London and south-west of Peterborough...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, the daughter of Charles Rothschild
Charles Rothschild
Nathaniel Charles Rothschild , known as "Charles", was an English banker and entomologist and a member of the Rothschild family.-Family:...
of the Rothschild family
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
of Jewish bankers and Rozsika Edle Rothschild (née von Wertheimstein), a Hungarian sportswoman. Her brother was Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild
Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild
Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild, GBE, GM, FRS was a biologist by training, a cricketer and a member of the prominent Rothschild family...
and one of her sisters (Kathleen Annie) Pannonica Rothschild (Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter
Nica de Koenigswarter
Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter was a British-born jazz patroness and writer. She was a scion of the prominent Rothschild international financial dynasty.-Personal:...
) would later be a bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
enthusiast and patroness of Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
and Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
.
Her father had described about 500 new species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
s, and her uncle Lionel Walter Rothschild had built a private natural history museum at Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
. By the age of four she had started collecting ladybird beetles and caterpillars and taking a tame quail
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
to bed with her. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke on the eve of Miriam's sixth birthday in 1914, while the Rothschilds were holidaying in Austro-Hungary. They hurried home on the first westward train but, unable to pay, had to borrow money from a Hungarian passenger who commented "This is the proudest moment of my life. Never did I think that I should be asked to lend money to a Rothschild!" Her father died when she was 15 and she became closer to her uncle. She was educated at home until the age of 17, when she demanded to go to school. She thence attended evening classes in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
at Chelsea College of Science and Technology
Chelsea College of Science and Technology
Chelsea College of Science and Technology was established as a College of Advanced Technology on a single site on the corner of Manresa Road and King's Road, Chelsea, London as part of the University of London in 1966 and was granted its Royal Charter in 1971....
.
1930s-1940s
During the 1930s she made a name for herself at the Marine Biological Station in PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, studying the mollusc Nucula
Nucula
Nucula is a genus of clams of the family Nuculidae.-Species:* Nucula aegeensis Jeffreys, 1879 - Aegean nutclam* Nucula annulata Hampson, 1971 * Nucula atacellana Schenck, 1939 - cancellate nutclam...
and its trematode parasites (Rothschild 1936, 1938a, 1938b). Because of her inherited wealth, she never had to apply for any grants or funding. As a result of this and her lack of formal education—all her doctorates were honorary—she would always be an "amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
".
Prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, she pressed the UK Government to admit more German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Jews as refugees from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. During the war, she worked at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
on codebreaking.
Personal life
She married Captain George Lane, MC in 1943. The marriage was dissolved in 1957. They had six children: two sons and four daughters.Science and entomology
Rothschild was a leading authority on fleaFlea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
s. She was the first person to work out the flea's jumping mechanism. She also studied the flea's reproductive cycle and linked this, in rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, to the hormonal changes within the host. Her New Naturalist book on parasitism (Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos) was a huge success. Its title can be explained as: external parasites (e.g. fleas), internal parasites (e.g. flukes) and others (the cuckoo is a 'brood parasite'). The Rothschild Collection of Fleas (founded by Charles Rothschild) is now part of the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
collection, and her catalogue of the collection (in collaboration with G. H. E. Hopkins) is a master-work.
Rothshild was a member of the Oxford genetics school during the 1960s, where she met E.B. Ford
E.B. Ford
Edmund Brisco "Henry" Ford FRS Hon. FRCP was a British ecological geneticist. He was a leader among those British biologists who investigated the role of natural selection in nature. As a schoolboy Ford became interested in lepidoptera, the group of insects which includes butterflies and moths...
. She was one of the few women with whom Ford was on good terms and she campaigned with Ford for the legalisation of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
Rothschild authored books about her father (Rothschild's Reserves – time and fragile nature) and her uncle (Dear Lord Rothschild). She wrote about 350 papers on entomology, zoology and other subjects.
She founded the Schizophrenia Research Fund in 1962, an independent registered charity formed “to advance the better understanding, prevention, treatment and cure of all forms of mental illness and in particular of the illness known as Schizophrenia”. In March 2006, following her death, the name of the Fund was changed in her memory to the Miriam Rothschild Schizophrenia Research Fund. The pioneer of British Art Therapy, Edward Adamson
Edward Adamson
Edward Adamson was a British artist and pioneer of Art Therapy, who has been called “the father of art therapy in Britain”.- Life and work :...
and his partner and collaborator, John Timlin, were regular visitors to Ashton Wold. Between 1983 and 1997, the influential Adamson Collection of 6000 works of art by people with major mental disorder, created at Netherne Hospital with Adamson’s encouragement, was housed and displayed to the public in a medieval barn at Ashton. Rothschild was both a Trustee and, subsequently, Patron of the Adamson Collection Trust. "All my life," she said, "I have tilted against hopeless windmills".
Awards/honours
Rothschild was elected a Fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1985 and was made a Dame
Dame (title)
The title of Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood in the British honours system . It is also the equivalent form address to 'Sir' for a knight...
in 2000. She received honorary doctorates from eight universities, including Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. She gave the Romanes Lecture
Romanes Lecture
The Romanes Lecture is a prestigious free public lecture given annually at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, England.The lecture series was founded by, and named after, the biologist George Romanes, and has been running since 1892. Over the years, many notable figures from the Arts and Sciences have...
for 1984–5 in Oxford.
Books
- Rothschild, Miriam and Clay, Theresa (1953) Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos: a study of bird parasites. The New Naturalist series. London: Collins
- Hopkins, G. H. E. and Rothschild, Miriam (1953–81) An Illustrated Catalogue to the Rothschild Collection of Fleas 6 volumes (4to.) London: British Museum (Natural History)
- Rothschild, Miriam (1983) Dear Lord Rothschild: birds, butterflies and history. London: Hutchinson (ISBN 0-86689-019-X)
- Rothschild, Miriam and Farrell, Clive (1985) The Butterfly Gardener. London: Michael Joseph
- Rothschild, Miriam (1986) Animals and Man: the Romanes lecture for 1984-5 delivered in Oxford on 5 February 1985. Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Rothschild, Miriam et al. (1986) Colour Atlas of Insect Tissues via the Flea. London: Wolfe
- Rothschild, Miriam (1991) Butterfly Cooing Like a Dove. London: Doubleday
- Stebbing-Allen, George; Woodcock, Martin; Lings, Stephen and Rothschild, Miriam (1994) A Diversity of Birds: a personal voyage of discovery. London: Headstart (ISBN 1-85944-000-2)
- Rothschild, Miriam and Marren, Peter (1997) Rothschild's Reserves: time & fragile nature. London: Harley (ISBN 0-946589-62-3)
- Rothschild, Miriam; Garton, Kate; De Rothschild, Lionel & Lawson, Andrew (1997) The Rothschild Gardens: a family tribute to nature. London: Abrams
- Van Emden, Helmut F. and Rothschild, Miriam (eds.) (2004) Insect and Bird Interactions Andover, Hampshire: Intercept (ISBN 1-898298-92-0)
Papers
- Rothschild, M. (1936) Gigantism and variation inf Peringia ulvae Pennant 1777, caused by infection with larval trematodes. J. Mar. Biol. Assn UK 20, 537-46
- Rothschild, M. (1938)a. Further observations on the effect of trematode parasites on Peringia ulvae (Pennant) 1777. Novavit Zool. 41, 84-102
- Rothschild, M. (1938)b. Observations on the growth and trematode infections of Peringia ulvae (Pennant) 1777 in a pool in the Tamar saltings, Plymouth [where published?]
- [many more]