The Academy of Natural Sciences, Ewell Sale Stewart Library
Etheldred Benett (1775–1845), the daughter of a English country squire, developed a keen interest in geology—not an especially ladylike hobby in those days.
She gathered together the finest fossils from her native Wiltshire. But she was more than just a collector; she catalogued the specimens, named new species, and published her own research. She also corresponded, collaborated, and debated with the leading geologists and paleontologists of her day. All of them were men, and most were university-educated and members of the prestigious Geological Society of London—three things that Miss Benett was not. As a result, hers is not a well-known name, even among geologists.
The exhibit showcases many of Benett's fossil invertebrates from the Academy's collections, including three remarkable clams in which the soft body tissues have been preserved. Her 1831 “A Catalogue of the Organic Remains of the County of Wiltshire” is also on display, as well as notable books by her contemporaries: William Buckland, Edward Charlesworth, James Sowerby, and William “Strata” Smith.