Beryl Brewin Explained

Beryl Brewin
Birth Name:Beryl Iris Brewin
Birth Date:10 September 1910
Fields:Ascidian zoology
Workplaces:University of Otago
Alma Mater:University of Auckland, University of Otago
Thesis1 Year:1958
Thesis1 Title:Papers on the class Ascidiacea, and on other marine topics : comprising a thesis presented for the degree of D.Sc., University of New Zealand

Beryl Iris Brewin (10 September 1910 – 8 January 1999) was a New Zealand marine zoologist, specialising in ascidians (sea squirts).

Academic career

Brewin was born 10 September 1910 to parents Lucy and Frank Brewin.[1] She graduated from Auckland University College in 1931 with a Bachelor of Science in botany and zoology. This was followed by an MSc in botany in 1933.[2]

Brewin, described as a 'live wire', worked at the University of Otago Department of Zoology from 1936 to 1963.[3] [4] She had reached senior lecturer level when she retired.

Brewin submitted her Doctor of Science thesis, consisting of 18 papers published between 1942 and 1957 to the University of New Zealand in 1958. According to GBIF, she named more than 80 species or genera from New Zealand and Australia.[5]

In 1954, Brewin was the second woman to be appointed to the Council of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, after her colleague Marion Fyfe, also from the Department of Zoology at Otago. Brewin served four years on the council.[6]

Brewin retired in 1963, and left nearly half a million dollars to the University of Otago in 1999, for the purposes of providing more comfortable accommodation for marine researchers at the Portobello marine laboratory.[7] She also bequeathed $1 million for the purchase of a research vessel, the RV Beryl Brewin in her honour.[8]

In 2017, Brewin was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.

Selected species named by Brewin

External links

Notes and References

  1. Birth certificate 1910/22561, held by the Department of Internal Affairs
  2. Web site: 1910-01-01. Brewin, Beryl Iris, 1910–. 2021-01-02. Brewin, Beryl Iris, 1910– Items National Library of New Zealand National Library of New Zealand. en.
  3. Web site: Clarke. Ali. 2016-03-27. Scientific women. 2021-01-02. University of Otago 1869–2019. en. 2 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180202030440/https://otago150years.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/scientific-women/. live.
  4. Web site: Beryl Brewin. 2021-01-02. Royal Society Te Apārangi. 24 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210124152817/https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/150th-anniversary/150-women-in-150-words/1918-1967/beryl-brewin/. live.
  5. Web site: Search. 2021-01-02. www.gbif.org. en.
  6. Web site: 150 Years of Discovery. 2021-01-02. www.tiki-toki.com. 17 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210117100543/http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/807231/150-Years-of-Discovery/. live.
  7. Death certificate 1999/1210 held by Department of Internal Affairs
  8. Web site: Friends. Alumni &. A Legacy for Excellence. 2021-01-02. www.otago.ac.nz. en-nz. 24 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024151406/https://www.otago.ac.nz/alumni/donate/bequests/legacy.html. live.

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