Margaret di Menna

Dr
Margaret di Menna
ONZM
Born Margaret Elaine di Menna
(1923-07-08)8 July 1923
Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
Died 24 March 2014(2014-03-24) (aged 90)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Alma mater University of Otago
Occupation Microbiologist

Margaret Elaine di Menna ONZM (8 July 1923 – 24 March 2014) was a New Zealand microbiologist. In 1954 she became the first woman to gain a Doctor of Philosophy degree from a New Zealand university. Her doctoral thesis at the University of Otago was entitled "Yeasts of the human body, their nature and relationship".[1] She had previously graduated with a MSc(Hons) from the same institution in 1948.[2]

In the 1997 New Year Honours, di Menna was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to microbiology.[3] In 2011, the reading room at Abbey College at the University of Otago was named in her honour.[4] She was a prominent member of Zonta International.[5]

She died in Hamilton in 2014.[6]

References

  1. Page, Dot (2012). "First of the few: an unsuitable degree for a woman?" (PDF). New Zealand Federation of University Women Canterbury Branch Newsletter (April): 5. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  2. "NZ university graduates 1870–1961". Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  3. "New Year honours list 1997". www.dpmc.govt.nz. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1996. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  4. "Awards and achievements". www.agresearch.co.nz. AgResearch. April 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  5. "A Brief History of Prominent Zonta Member: Margaret Di Menna, Club of Hamilton-Waikato". Zonta International New Zealand. Zonta International New Zealand. 2014. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  6. "Dr Margaret di Menna obituary". New Zealand Herald. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.


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