Elizabeth Coxen Explained

Elizabeth Frances Coxen (1825–1906) was an Australian naturalist and meteorologist.

Born in Gloucestershire, England, Coxen emigrated to with her family to Sydney, Colony of New South Wales in 1839.^{[1] [2]} She was a collector of shells, insects and birds, as was her husband, Charles Coxen, and they donated many specimens to the Queensland Museum, where Elizabeth worked as curator.^[3] After her husband's death, she became the first female elected a member of the Royal Society of Queensland.^[4]

Coxen died in Brisbane on 11 August 1906^{[5] [6]} and was buried with her husband in the cemetery of Christ Church in Tingalpa. Her friends commissioned a plaque commemorating her at St John the Baptist Anglican Church at Bulimba.^[7] She is commemorated in the name of the land snail Spurlingia coxenae (now known as Spurlingia dunkiensis).

Notes and References

1. McKay. Judith. Healy. John M.. 2017. Elizabeth Coxen: pioneer naturalist and the Queensland Museum's first woman curator. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature. 60. 139–160. 10.17082/j.2204-1478.60.2017.2017-05. free.
2. Web site: Coxen, Elizabeth Frances (1825 - 1906). Encyclopedia of Australian Science. 25 June 2015.
3. Book: Mather, Patricia. A Time for a Museum: The History of the Queensland Museum 1862-1986. Queensland Museum. 1986. 0724216456. South Brisbane, Australia. 186. 15667855.
4. Chisholm. A. H.. Coxen, Charles (1809–1876). coxen-charles-3281. 25 June 2015.
5. News: Family Notices. 15 August 1906. The Brisbane Courier. 3 November 2018. 15,161. Queensland, Australia. LXIII. 4. National Library of Australia.
6. Queensland death index
7. Web site: Elizabeth Coxen. Monument Australia. 25 June 2015.