Ida Slater

Ida Slater
Ida Slater
Born	Ida Lilian Slater; 30 June 1881; Hampstead, London, England
Died	7 August 1969 (aged 88); Hillingdon
Nationality	British
Occupation	Geologist

Ida Lilian Slater (1881–1969)^[1] was a British geologist who made important contributions to the study of conulariids. She was jointly awarded the Daniel Pidgeon Fund with Helen Drew (funding awarded in 1907 and 1906 respectively) to undertake field work investigating the Palaeozoic rocks of Wales.^[1]

Early life

Ida was born into a wealthy family in Hampstead, London on 30 June 1881. She was one of four children of Mary Emily Wilkins and John Slater, a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.^[2]

Slater went to the all-girls South Hampstead High School.^[2] Slater and Helen Drew arrived at Newnham College, Cambridge in 1900 to study geology as part of their degrees.^[3] Prior to becoming a geologist, Slater also explored geomorphology and stratigraphy.^[2] Slater was secretary of the Sedgwick Club, Cambridge in 1903.^[3] Part of her development as a geologist was gained at the Club^[2] where she was a member from 6 May 1902 until 1905, and was their honorary secretary from mid-1903 until 9 February 1904. During the later years of her degree, she occasionally attended meetings as a visitor until her final recorded attendance on 27 February 1906 (Sedgwick Club notebooks, Archives of the University of Cambridge, Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences).^[4]

Career

Slater collaborated with Gertrude Elles on the stratigraphy of the Lower Palaeozoic (Elles and Slater 1906) of Wales.^[3]^[5]

After undertaking research, she was appointed a demonstrator for Catherine Raisin, employed to help run the department and laboratories, at the new laboratory rooms for geology and botany (established 1897) at Bedford College (London) in 1910.^[3] She held that post for two years.

In 1910 Slater published the results of her research into the Palaeozoic of Wales jointly with Helen Drew.^[3]

Family life

Slater married William Lees, a Kensington solicitor, in 1912 at Hampstead. Slater ceased working completely after marrying him.^[2]

Publications

Drew, H. and Slater, I.L. 1910. Notes on the geology of the district of Llansawel, Carmarthenshire.
Elles, G.L. and Slater, I.L. 1906. The highest Silurian rocks of the Ludlow district. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 62, 195–221.
Slater, Ida L. 1907. A monograph of British Conulariae. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society. 40p., 5 leaves of plates: ill.; 28 cm.

References

^ ^a ^b Lewis, C.L.E.; Knell, S.J., eds. (2009). The making of the Geological Society of London. London: Geological Society. ISBN 9781862392779.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Begum, Tammana (22 May 2019). "Ida Slater: a geologist ahead of her time". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Burek, C. V.; Higgs, B., eds. (2007). The role of women in the history of geology. London: Geological Society. ISBN 9781862392274.
^ Consuelo Sendino; et al. (2018). "Ida Slater: A Collection Researcher in a Male World at the Beginning of the 20th Century". Collections. ISSN 1550-1906.
^ Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The biographical dictionary of women in science : pioneering lives from ancient times to the mid-20th century. New York: Taylor & Francis. p. 1198. ISBN 0415920388. OCLC 40776839.

[Making_of_the_Geol_Soc-1] Lewis, C.L.E.; Knell, S.J., eds. (2009). The making of the Geological Society of London. London: Geological Society. ISBN 9781862392779.

[:0-2] Begum, Tammana (22 May 2019). "Ida Slater: a geologist ahead of her time". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2025.

[Role_of_Women-3] Burek, C. V.; Higgs, B., eds. (2007). The role of women in the history of geology. London: Geological Society. ISBN 9781862392274.

[Ida_Slater:_A_Collection_Researcher_in_a_Male_World_at_the_Beginning_of_the_20th_Century-4] Consuelo Sendino; et al. (2018). "Ida Slater: A Collection Researcher in a Male World at the Beginning of the 20th Century". Collections. ISSN 1550-1906.

[5] Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The biographical dictionary of women in science : pioneering lives from ancient times to the mid-20th century. New York: Taylor & Francis. p. 1198. ISBN 0415920388. OCLC 40776839.

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