Helen Battle

Helen Battle
Born (1903 -08-31)August 31, 1903
London, Ontario
Died June 17, 1994(1994-06-17) (aged 90)
Nationality Canadian
Scientific career
Fields Marine biology
Institutions University of Western Ontario

Helen Irene Battle (August 31, 1903 – June 17, 1994) was a pioneering Canadian ichthyologist and marine biologist. She was the first Canadian woman to earn a PhD in marine biology. She was an emeritus professor of zoology at the University of Western Ontario from 1972.

Early life and education

Born in London, Ontario, she received B.A. (1923) and M.A. (1924) from University of Western Ontario (Western University). Her master's thesis was on the field of fish embryology. She completed her PhD at the University of Toronto in 1928 under the supervision of Achibald G. Huntsman.

In 1928, she became the first woman in Canada to earn a PhD in Marine Biology.

Career

From 1929 to 1967, Battle served on the faculty of Western University. She was a founding member and first vice-president of the Canadian Society of Zoologists (1961) and served as its president in 1962–1963.[1][2][3]

Battle's teaching career spanned over fifty years, involving topics as the embryology of marine life and teaching methodology.[4][5] Her research included examining the impact of pollutants on marine life and drinking water through the analysis of fertilized fish eggs.[6] She was one of the first zoologists to actively apply laboratory research methods to marine problems. She also pioneered the use of fish eggs to study the effects of cancer-causing substances on cell development.[7]

She was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967, and in 1971 was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Western as well as a Doctor of Science from Carleton University. She received the F. E. J. Fry medal from the Canadian Society of Zoologists in 1977, becoming the first woman recipient.[1][2] She was an honorary member of the National Association of Biology Teachers, and in 1991, the Canadian Society of Zoologists established the Helen I. Battle award in her honour.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Zimmer, Mitchell (December 2005). "Helen Irene Battle: A Part of Our History". The Science Flashpoint. University of Western Ontario. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Brown, Patricia Stocking (1994). "Early women ichthyologists". In Balon, Eugene K.; Bruton, Michael N.; Noakes, David L.G. Women in Ichthyology: An Anthology in Honour of ET, Ro and Genie. Springer Science + Business Media, B.V. ISBN 9789401101998.
  3. ↑ Ainley, Marianne (2006). "Gendered Careers: Women Science Educators at Anglo-Canadian Universities, 1920–1980". In Paul Stortz; E. Lisa Panayotidis. Historical Identities: The Professoriate in Canada. University of Toronto Press. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-0-8020-9000-3.
  4. ↑ "Helen Irene Battle | London Culture". www.londonculture.ca. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  5. ↑ "science.ca : Helen Irene Battle". www.science.ca. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  6. ↑ University, Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Western (2017-03-09). "Western News - Western to showcase research milestones with heritage plaques". Western News. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  7. ↑ "Heritage Plaque - Helen Battle". www.uwo.ca. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  8. ↑ "H. I. Battle Award". Canadian Society of Zoologists. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.


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