Antonovics, Janis (Author)
Mary Gibby (Author)
Hood, Michael E. (Author)
Archives of Natural History
Volume: 48
Issue: 1
Pages: 62-76
This article examines the relationship between John Leigh (1812–1888) and Lydia Becker (1827–1890). Leigh was a prominent figure in the scientific circles of Manchester in the mid-nineteenth century and the city's Medical Officer for Health. Becker was a botanist and Leigh's second cousin. She corresponded with Charles Darwin and became a pioneer in the women's suffrage movement. Previous studies have argued that Leigh patronized and discouraged Becker's botanical interests. However, newly-discovered correspondence shows that Leigh respected her abilities and encouraged her development as a botanist, including attendance at the British Association for the Advancement of Science meetings where she presented one of the first scientific papers by a female botanist in Britain. While social and institutional norms in the Victorian era discouraged women from entering science, these norms could be transgressed in interactions involving specific individuals.
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