Alice Wilson

Wilson was born in Cobourg, Ontario in 1881 to her father Dr. John Wilson, a professor of classics at the University of Toronto.[1] From childhood she was often exposed to nature during canoeing and camping trips with her father and two brothers. Alice's early fascination with palaeontology, also had roots in her childhood, where she had already begun collecting fossils from the Cobourg Limestones near her home. This passion for palaeontology led her to transition into a role as a museum assistant within the palaeontology department of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) in 1909. These trips sparked her interest in fossils and the study of geology. Going outdoors also assisted in improving her struggling health. During her time in college, her brothers were already critically acclaimed experts in their respective fields of geology and mathematics.[1]

When Alice reached the age of 20, she made the decision to enroll in Classics studies at Victoria College in Toronto, aspiring to become a teacher. It remains somewhat uncertain whether her choice to pursue teaching was a genuine personal preference or a result of societal expectations at the time. According to her close friend Winston Sinclair, Alice once confided that during her youth, teaching was often viewed as the most socially acceptable career path for young women. It is possible that this societal influence played a role in her decision to enter the teaching profession. [3]

Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65, as dictated by the prevailing laws of the time, Dr. Wilson found herself in a unique situation. It is noteworthy that her departure led to the recruitment of five individuals to undertake the tasks she had been handling. However, even in retirement, her commitment to her work and her sense of adventure remained undiminished. Remarkably, despite officially retiring, Dr. Wilson continued to contribute her expertise to the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), volunteering her services without compensation. Her enduring dedication to the field is evident in her decision to remain engaged in geology-related activities. Dr. Wilson's sense of adventure extended beyond her professional life. During her retirement years, she embarked on exciting journeys that took her to diverse destinations. She ventured to Brazil, where she explored the depths of the Amazon jungle, and she also visited Mexico to actively participate in the International Geological Congress. These adventures underscore her passion for exploration and her lifelong commitment to the field of geology.[4]

Alice Wilson's significant contributions to our understanding of the geology of Ontario and Quebec were motivated in part by gender-based restrictions within the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). The prevailing policy at the time prevented women, including Wilson, from participating in field along side male colleagues, a restrict that persisted till 1970. Determined to overcoming this obstacle, Wilson proposed an alternative approach to conducting field work. She successfully persuaded the GSC to grant her permission on solo research expeditions in the relatively unexplored Ottawa-St. Lawrence Valley. Undeterred by the challenges, Wilson embarked on these expeditions, traversing the terrain on foot and by bicycle to study the geological formations. When faced with the GSC's refusal to provide her with a car, an amenity routinely furnished to male counterparts in the field, she took matters into her own hands by purchasing a vehicle to facilitate her research endeavours.[5] Despite being a reputable geologist in her field, Alice was constantly denied promotions simply because she was female. She also had difficult relationships with her colleagues, as she was often left out and no one wanted to include her their projects.[6] Alice's educational journey also faced challenges. Her education took an unexpected turn during her final year of university when she was afflicted by a severe bout of anaemia. Her health deteriorated to the point where she was unable to complete her coursework, leading her to discontinue her studies. Following a period of recovery spanning several years, she embarked on a new chapter in 1907 by accepting a position as a clerk at the University of Toronto.[7]

In 1901 Wilson began studying modern language and history at the Victoria College in Toronto originally intending to be a teacher.[8] She did not finish her last year of studies due to health problems; suffered anemia and had to drop out, but continued education after recovering.[9] She eventually completed her degree many years later in 1911.[1] Despite being eligible to undertake a doctorate in 1915, Wilson was repeatedly denied paid time off from the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), even though the GSC was granting paid absences at the time. Wilson's direct boss from 1920, Edward M. Kindle, was supportive of Alice and wanted her to take a leave and finish her doctorate though others in leadership roles at the GSC where much less so.[1] For seven years Wilson persisted, and finally was awarded a scholarship by the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) in 1926. Even then, the GSC contended Wilson's leave. After a lobbying effort from the CFUW, Wilson was granted leave, and graduated in 1929 at the age of 48 from the University of Chicago with a doctorate in geology.[2][10]

In 1907 Wilson started her career at the University of Toronto museum in the mineralogy division, despite not having completed her degree. In 1909, she took an assistant job at the Victoria Memorial Museum, and then became eligible and took a temporary clerk position at the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), which was headquartered at the Victoria Memorial Museum in Ottawa. Her past education of studying languages would later prove useful when she was requested to translate a portion of Karl Alfred von Zittel's Text-Book of Paleontology from German to English by Percy Raymond, whom also advocated Wilson to take a leave of absence from the GSC in order to finish her degree, of which she received in 1910.[8] Following her return in 1911, she was given a permanent position at the GSC, except she was still not allowed to partake in field studies alongside her male peers. This policy was later changed in 1970.[11]

Before the departure of colleague Percy Raymond, she wrote two articles, both of which recorded new species of animals. Respectively, a new branchiopod and then a bivalve.[8] Wilson faced significant difficulty being included in her colleagues' work after that.

In 1916, during the First World War, Wilson's place of work, the Victoria Memorial Museum, was shut down and reoccupied as a war-time parliament. During this time, Wilson funded her projects with her own money, studying comparative anatomy and marine biology in Long Island, New York. Later, Wilson took part in the war-time effort on the home front, joining the Canadian equivalent of the Women's Land Army. At war's end in 1920, Wilson went back to the Victoria Memorial Museum, now working as an Assistant Paleontologist.[8] She would further be promoted to associate geologist, in 1940.[1]

While working at the GSC, they did not allow women to work together with men during fieldwork. So Wilson created her own niche and did fieldwork at local sites in the Ottawa area, going on to eventually map over 14,000 square kilometres (5,400 sq mi) of the Ottawa St Lawrence Lowlands entirely on her own. For fifty years she studied the area on foot, by bicycle and eventually by car.[12] The GSC published the results of her fieldwork in 1946 and her Geology of the St. Lawrence Lowland, Ontario and Quebec was the first major geological publication about the area. In addition to a comprehensive discussion of its geology, Wilson covered the area's economic resources, including building stone, sand, gravel and drinking water. Wilson's research into the stratigraphy and invertebrate palaeontology of the Palaeozoic strata of eastern Canada was significant, though her contributions to the field did not gain recognition until after her retirement.[8] In Ontario, her focus was on invertebrate fossils during the Ordovician period, specifically sediments and fossils in the Ottawa Valley. In the Rocky Mountains and the Arctic, Wilson studied Ordovician fauna.[1] During the Great Depression, however, Wilson had to switch her focus from Ordovician to Devonian rocks, to meet the growing demand of petroleum in Western Canada. One of her tasks was to identify and categorize all Paleozoic invertebrates for examination. As a result, Wilson ordered the National Type Collection of fossils—an internationally recognized reference collection.[8]

From 1948 until 1958 Wilson was a lecturer in Paleontology at Carleton College (later Carleton University). Carleton recognized Wilson both as a geologist and as an inspiring teacher with an honorary degree in 1960.[2] Wilson also worked to bring geology to a broader public. She wrote a children's book, The Earth Beneath our Feet, aimed at encouraging broader knowledge and interest in the science she was so passionate about.[13]

Wilson's work on researching the geology and paleontology in the area of Cornwall, Ontario and the St. Lawrence lowlands was important for the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway that was built in 1954.

Wilson became a respected member of the GSC and mentored many young geologists through her lectures, field trips, publications, and museum exhibits. However, she was not referred to as "Doctor" by her colleagues until 1945—16 years after she obtained her doctorate.[13] She retired two years later, at the age of 65, as was required by law, though five new hires were required to do the same amount of work as Wilson.[12][11] However, she kept her office at the GSC and continued her work regardless of not being paid until her death in 1964.[14]

Alice Wilson died in Ottawa on the 15th of April 1964.

Wilson was the first woman geologist hired by the Geological Survey of Canada (1909); one of the first two women elected as Fellows of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (1930);[15] the first Canadian woman to be admitted to the Geological Society of America (1936); and the first female Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1938).[10][12]

In 1935, when the government of R. B. Bennett was looking to honour a woman in the federal civil service, Wilson was chosen to become a Member of the Order of the British Empire.[10]

In 1991 the Royal Society of Canada established the Alice Wilson Awards for emerging women scholars.[16] Wilson was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in 2005.[16]

On 18 October 2018, the Government of Canada dedicated a plaque to Wilson, recognizing her as a "person of national historic significance at the Canadian Museum of Nature."[10][17]

• "An Upper Ordovician Fauna from the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia" (PDF). Contributions to Canadian Palaeontology. Geological Survey of Canada: 1–34. November 25, 1926. doi:10.4095/299082.
• Wilson, A. E. (1946). Geology of the Ottawa-St. Lawrence lowland, Ontario and Quebec. Ottawa: Canada Department of Mines and Resources. doi:10.4095/101632.
• Gastropoda and Conularida of the Ottawa formation of the Ottawa-St. Lawrence lowland (PDF). Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. 1951. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2016.

• Timeline of women in science

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Alice Wilson

• Works by or about Alice Wilson at Internet Archive
• "Explorer of the Earth beneath our Feet". Royal Society of Canada. Archived from the original on October 7, 2006.
• "Trailblazer". Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on December 12, 2006. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
• "66. Ottawa Geology (1946)". The History of the Geological Survey of Canada in 175 Objects. Government of Canada. March 3, 2017.