Born: 1776 (Wiltshire, England)
Died: 1845
Etheldred Anna Maria Benett (22 July 1776 – 11 January 1845) was an early English geologist often credited with being the first female geologist, having devoted much of her life to collecting and studying fossils that she discovered in South West England. She worked closely with many principal geologists, and her fossil collection, considered one of the largest at the time, played a part in the development of geology as a field of science.
Etheldred Anna Maria Benett was born in 1776 (or 1775)[a] into a wealthy family as the second daughter of Thomas Benett (1729–1797) of Wiltshire and Catherine née Darell (d. 1790). Her maternal great grandfather was William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury. Her elder brother John was a member of Parliament for Wiltshire and later South Wiltshire from 1819 to 1852; his daughter married Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill. From 1802, she lived at Norton House in Norton Bavant, near Warminster, Wiltshire, where she resided with her sister Anna Maria.
Very little is known about Benett’s home life beyond her contributions to geology, and there is no known portrait of her, although a silhouette was published in H. B. Woodard’s History of Geology (1911).
From at least 1809 until her death, she devoted herself to collecting and studying the fossils of her native county, beginning with the Warminister area. Benett was knowledgeable in stratigraphy, which aided her searches, and her wealth enabled her to hire collectors and purchase prepared specimens. Her interest in geology was encouraged by her sister-in-law’s half-brother, the botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert.
Lambert was an avid fossil collector who contributed to James Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology; he was a founding member of the Linnean Society, a member of the Royal Society, and an early member of the Geological Society. Through Lambert, Benett developed her love of fossils and established relationships with many leading geologists of the time, and it is only through works by these men that most references to her work were made. For example, she contributed to Gideon Mantell’s work on stratigraphy and also collaborated with Sowerby.
Benett was unmarried and financially independent, allowing her to dedicate much of her life to the developing field of geology through the collection and study of fossils, especially fossil sponges.
Her specialty was the Middle Cretaceous Upper Greensand in Wiltshire’s Vale of Wardour. Her collection was one of the largest and most diverse at the time, attracting many visitors to her home. The collection consisted of over 1,500 specimens, which are now being recognized due to the resurfacing of her collection through a publication in 1989.
Benett’s contributions to geology were significant, and her work played a part in shaping the field. As an early female geologist, she defied societal norms and participated in a predominantly male-dominated field. Her dedication to collecting and studying fossils not only expanded the knowledge of geological history but also paved the way for future women in science. Etheldred Anna Maria Benett’s impact on the field of geology, as both a collector and a collaborator, remains an inspiration for aspiring scientists, particularly women, to this day.