Eleanor A. Ormerod
English Naturalist and Entomologist
1828 – 1901 A.D.

Eleanor A. Ormerod, an English naturalist and entomologist. From her earliest childhood insects were her delight, and the opportunity afforded for entomological study by the large estate upon which she grew up and the interest she took in agriculture generally soon made her a local authority on this subject.

When the Royal Horticultural Society, in 1868, began forming a collection of insect pests of the farm, Miss Ormerod largely contributed to it, and was awarded the Flora medal. In 1882 she was appointed consulting entomologist to the Society, a post she held for ten years. She received gold and silver medals form European universities and scientific institutions, and her pamphlets and books are valuable.

When in 1900 she receive the first LL. D. ever given a woman by Edinburgh University, the dean of the legal faculty in making the presentation said:

“The preeminent position which Miss Ormerod holds in the world of science is the reward of the patient study and unwearying [sic] observation. Her investigations have been chiefly directed towards the discovery of methods for the prevention of the ravages of those insects which are injurious to orchard, field and forest. Her labors have been crowned with such success that she is entitled to be hailed the protrectress [sic] of agriculture and the fruits of the earth – a beneficent Dementer of the nineteenth century.”

~*~

Reference: Famous Women; An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women By Joseph Adelman. Copyright, 1926 by Ellis M. Lonow Company.