| Emily Mary Berridge | |
| Nationality: | British |
| Field: | Botany |
| Work Institutions: | University of Liverpool, University of London |
| Alma Mater: | Royal Holloway College, |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Margaret Benson |
| Partners: | )--> |
| Prizes: | FLS |
Emily Mary Berridge (1872-1947) was an English paleobotanist and bacteriologist. She was among the first group of women admitted to the Linnean Society.
Berridge was born in 1872 and educated at Dulwich High School, Kent.[1] The headmistress, Miss Arnold, encouraged her ambitions for a career in science.[2] She studied at the University of London, gaining B. Sc. in Physics from Bedford College in 1898 and subsequently studied natural sciences at Royal Holloway College, with an award of D. Sc.. Prior to her graduation she was also a research student at both University College (1906) and Imperial College (1910).
She died on 8 October 1947.
She worked with Professor Margaret Benson for her doctoral studies. These were on topics related to fossil plants, particularly relevant to the Gnetales and Amentiferae. They worked on several topics including the fertilisation of Carpinus betulus (European Hornbeam) and embryology of the Amentiferae.
In 1916 Berridge commenced an appointment at University of Liverpool in the Thompson Yates Laboratory that changed the direction of her research. She worked with Ernest Glynn on the bacteria responsible for fever and dysentery among soldiers returning from Egypt during the First World War. She remained there until 1919 working on aspects related to the interaction of the bacteria with serum applying technologies such as agglutination.
She then returned to London and between 1921 - 1930 worked in the Department of Botany at Imperial College on the physiology and pathogenicity of plant disease bacteria. She made use of her knowledge of agglutination in these later botanical studies.
She subsequently created a Botanical Research Fund for postgraduate students, funded by herself, and donated equipment and materials to Royal Holloway, her alma mater.
Berridge was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1905 and was subsequently among the first women to read a paper to the Society, in November 1905.[3]