GA field trip to Leith Hill, showing long line of geologists many of whom are women

The First Women

An exhibition celebrating the centenary of female Fellowship of the Geological Society

In 2019, the Geological Society celebrated the centenary of the election of its first female Fellows. This exhibition highlights just a few of the firsts achieved by women in both the science and the Geological Society. 

Click on the links below to find out more:

Detail from Frontispiece to Maria Graham’s ‘Journal of a residence in Chile, during the year 1822 : and a voyage from Chile to Brazil in 1823’ (1824).

Maria Graham (1785-1842)

The first woman to have a paper published in one of the Geological Society's journals
Detail of a photograph showing Margaret Crosfield (NERC copyright)

Margaret Crosfield (1859-1952)

The first official female Fellow of the Geological Society
Elizabeth Alexander in Singapore

Elizabeth Alexander (1908-1958)

Creator of the first detailed geological map of Singapore
Janet Watson in the field (copyright Imperial College)

Janet Watson (1923-1985)

The first female President of the Geological Society

 

Above: Photograph of a Geologists’ Association field trip to Leith Hill, 3 June 1912. GA Carreck Archive. Permit Number CP19/039 British Geological Survey © UKRI 2019. All rights reserved.