Louisa Bolus
Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus née Kensit (31 July 1877, Burgersdorp – 5 April 1970, Cape Town) was a noted South African botanist and taxonomist.
Louisa Bolus attended school in Port Elizabeth (South Africa) and completed her BA degree in Cape Town in 1902. She then went to work as an assistant to her uncle Harry Bolus in his herbarium. In 1912 she married Harry's son Frank. In June 1913 she became a foundation member of the Council of the Botanical Society of Southern Africa. Her first book, 'Elementary Lessons in Systematic Botany', was published in 1919. This was followed by two volumes of books on South African Flowers. Louisa contributed to a number of botanical journals throughout her life, namely 'Annals of the Bolus Herbarium', 'South African Museum Annual', 'Kew Bulletin', 'Journal of South African Gardening', 'Country Life' and 'Journal of South African Botany'. Louisa spent much of her life doing in-depth research on Mesembryanthema. 'Notes on Mesembryanthemum and Allied Genera' was published in 1927. This was followed by the publication of three books, covering the detailed Latin descriptions of approximately 1500 plants. In 1936 Louisa was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the University of Stellenbosch. A plant belonging to the large Mesembreyanthemum family, genus Kensita was established to honour Dr Bolus's work on the subject. Louisa made contributions to 'Flowering Plants of South Africa', edited by E. P. Phillips in 1943, and in 1951 she was a guarantor for the publication of 'Wild Flowers of the Cape of Good Hope' by Elsie Garrett Rice and R. H. Compton. In 1971 a book titled 'The Genera of Mesembryanthemacae' by Hans Herre was published. The book was dedicated to Louisa Bolus. Louisa Bolus died at her home in Claremont, Cape Town in 1970 at the age of 93, being recognized as one of South Africa's leading botanists, with no formal scientific training.
References
Women South Africa Remembers (Fay Jaff) 1975
External links
Biography of Louisa Bolus at the S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science
|