Margaretta Riley Explained

Margaretta Riley, née Hopper (May 4, 1804 – July 16, 1899), was an English botanist. She studied ferns and was the first British pteridologist of her sex.

Life

She was born in Castle Gate, Nottingham on 4 May 1804 to Richard and Margaretta Hopper.^[1] She married John Riley in 1826, agent for the Montague family in Papplewick, north of Nottingham, where she lived for the rest of her life.^[1]

Margaretta Riley and her husband worked together as pteridologists studying ferns. They were both members of the Botanical Society of London − he from 1838, and she from 1839 on.^[2]

She discontinued her botanical research when she was widowed in 1846.

Legacy

The crater Riley on the planet Venus was named after her.^[3]

Works

Publications by Margaretta Riley include:

• On the British Genus Cystea (1839)
• On growing ferns from seed, with suggestions upon their cultivations and preparing the speciments (1839)
• Polypodium, Dryopteris and calcareum (1841)

References

• Mary R. S. Creese: Ladies in the Laboratory? American and British Women in Science, 1800-1900: A Survey of their Contributions to Research, London 1998

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ellis. Mavis. Margaretta ("Meta") Riley. Claves Regni. St Peter's Church, Nottingham. 16 July 2017. 2 May 2004.
2. Allen. D. E.. Dyce. J. W.. The First Woman Pteridologist. The Bulletin. 1978. 1. 6. 247–9. 17 July 2017. The British Pteridological Society. Internet Archive.
3. Web site: PIA00266: Venus - Oblique View of Crater Riley. JPL Photojournal. JPL. 16 July 2017. 14 March 1996.