Alice Wilson

Alice Evelyn Wilson MBE FRSC FRCGS (August 26, 1881 – April 15, 1964) was Canada's first female geologist.^[1] She is most well known for her scientific studies of rocks and fossils in the Ottawa region between 1913 and 1963.^[2]

Alice Evelyn Wilson was born on 26 August 1881 in Cobourg, Ontario, the daughter of Mary Adelia Kingston Wilson and Dr. John Wilson, a professor of Classics at the University of Toronto.^[3]

She grew up in an academically oriented household and was one of three children, with two older brothers.^[4] One of them, Alfred William Gunning Wilson, later became a geologist and earned a doctorate from Harvard University, while another brother, Norman Wilson, was noted for his ability in mathematics.^[4] The family environment placed a strong emphasis on scholarship, languages, and intellectual pursuits, influences that would shape Wilson's later scientific career.^[4]

Wilson experienced fragile health during childhood. To strengthen her condition, her father encouraged regular outdoor activity, and the family spent time canoeing and camping in the landscapes of southern Ontario.^[3] These excursions introduced Wilson to the region's natural environments at an early age and fostered an enduring interest in geology and natural history. During these outings she began collecting fossils from the limestone formations near her home, an activity that developed into a lasting fascination with palaeontology.^[3]

Wilson received her early education in Cobourg. While she was still a child, her family moved to Toronto after her father joined the faculty of the University of Toronto.^[3]

Wilson's path through higher education was unusually long and fragmented, interrupted first by serious illness and later by institutional barriers that delayed her pursuit of advanced study for more than two decades.

In 1901, at the age of 20, Wilson enrolled at Victoria College, a federated college of the University of Toronto, where she studied modern languages and history. Her original intention was to become a teacher, one of the few professional careers widely regarded as socially acceptable for educated women in the early twentieth century.^[5]

During her final year of study, after several years at the university, Wilson became seriously ill with anemia. The illness forced her to withdraw from the university before completing her degree.^[1]

After a prolonged period of recovery, Wilson began working in 1907, at the age of 25, as an assistant at the Museum of Mineralogy at the University of Toronto. The position introduced her to scientific collections and research environments and marked the beginning of her transition toward scientific work.^[1]

Two years later, in 1909, she joined the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), which was then headquartered in the Victoria Memorial Museum in Ottawa. There she worked in the invertebrate palaeontology section under the supervision of palaeontologist Percy Raymond. Raymond encouraged Wilson to complete her university studies while continuing her work at the Survey.^[5]

Wilson resumed her studies and eventually completed her degree at the University of Toronto in 1911, at the age of 29.^[1]

Wilson's growing scientific work made her eligible to pursue doctoral studies in 1915, when she was 34 years old. She repeatedly requested leave from the Geological Survey of Canada in order to undertake advanced study, but her requests were denied, even though similar leave was granted to male scientists.^[5]

Beginning in 1920 her supervisor, geologist Edward M. Kindle, supported her efforts to pursue further education, though other leaders within the Survey remained opposed. Wilson later wrote that although various explanations had been offered for the refusals, she believed the fundamental reason was that granting her leave would make a woman eligible for the highest scientific positions within the Survey.^[5]

For nearly a decade Wilson continued to seek permission to pursue further study. In 1924, at the age of 43, she was finally granted leave, but without salary, which required her to seek outside funding in order to continue her studies.^[5]

After several years of applications she was awarded a scholarship from the Canadian Federation of University Women in 1926, when she was 45 years old. The scholarship helped support her continuing academic work despite the institutional barriers she had faced.^[5]

Wilson's significant contributions to the 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 the field alongside male colleagues, a restriction that persisted until 1970. To overcome this challenge, Wilson proposed an alternative approach to conducting fieldwork, successfully persuading the GSC to grant her permission for solo research expeditions in the relatively unexplored Ottawa-St. Lawrence Valley. Wilson embarked on these expeditions to study geological formations, exploring the terrain on foot and by bicycle. When faced with the GSC's refusal to provide her with a car, a convenience routinely provided to male counterparts, she independently purchased a vehicle to facilitate her research endeavors.^[6]

Despite being a reputable geologist, Wilson experienced consistent denials of promotions based solely on her gender. She also encountered challenges in her relationships with colleagues, often being excluded and finding difficulty in project inclusion.^[7] Her final year of university took an unexpected turn when a severe bout of anemia affected her health to the point where she could not complete her coursework. She had to the discontinuation of her studies. But after a recovery period spanning several years, she began a new chapter in 1907 by accepting a position as a clerk at the University of Toronto.^[8]

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, who also advocated for Wilson to take a leave of absence from the GSC in order to finish her degree, which she received in 1910.^[9]

Following her return in 1911, she was given a permanent position at the GSC, although she was still not allowed to participate in field studies alongside her male peers. This policy was finally changed in 1970.^[10]

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.^[9] 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. She was promoted to assistant geologist in 1936.[4] This was in lieu of the position she had requested for, which was Assistant Paleontologist. This was the highest position she had been allowed to advance to, due to her difficulty obtaining the scholarships to pursue the level of education she wanted.

Meadowcroft had written that Wilson had become primary Geologist in 1945 but there is no documentary evidence of this claim.

Wilson's significant contributions to the 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 the field alongside male colleagues, a restriction that persisted until 1970. To overcome this challenge, Wilson proposed an alternative approach to conducting fieldwork, successfully persuading the GSC to grant her permission for solo research expeditions in the relatively unexplored Ottawa-St. Lawrence Valley. Wilson embarked on these expeditions to study geological formations, exploring the terrain on foot and by bicycle. When faced with the GSC's refusal to provide her with a car, a convenience routinely provided to male counterparts, she independently purchased a vehicle to facilitate her research endeavors.^[6]

Despite being a reputable geologist, Wilson experienced consistent denials of promotions based solely on her gender. She also encountered challenges in her relationships with colleagues, often being excluded and finding difficulty in project inclusion.^[7] Her final year of university took an unexpected turn when a severe bout of anemia affected her health to the point where she could not complete her coursework. She had to the discontinuation of her studies. But after a recovery period spanning several years, she began a new chapter in 1907 by accepting a position as a clerk at the University of Toronto.^[8]

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.^[11]

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.^[12]

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.^[13]

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.^[12]

During her work on the Devonian fossils, Wilson was still devoted to her educational work by leading field trips, serving as a tour guide for the Museum, and as a speaker to organizations.^[14]

From 1948 until 1958 Wilson was a lecturer in Paleontology at Carleton College (later Carleton University). 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.^[15]

The book for children features three kids asking a geologist different questions about the Earth starting with: "Why do some rocks skip on water better than others?" Dr. Wilson once said that "The earth touches every life. Everyone should receive some understanding of it" (Massive Science). This explains her passion for teaching others about geology and the admiration she gained from her students at Carleton who knew her affectionately as the "rock doctor."^[16]

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.^[17] 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.^[18][19] However, she kept her office at the GSC and continued her work regardless of not being compensated until her death in 1964.^[20]

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.

A few months before her death, Wilson gave up her office at the GSC and informed Dr. James M. Harrison about it. Although Dr. Harrison tried to convince her not to leave, Wilson responded by saying, "[Her] work is done."

Wilson died in Ottawa on April 15, 1964, at the age of 84 years old.^[21] Her death marked a significant loss to the academic community, particularly in the field of geology. She is remembered for her work to the understanding of the stratigraphy and invertebrate palaeontology of the Palaeozoic strata of eastern Canada, though that contribution wasn't recognized until after her retirement.

Wilson received numerous professional honours during her lifetime and has been commemorated in Canada for her pioneering role in geology.

• First woman geologist employed by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1909.^[22]

• One of the first two women elected Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 1930.^[23]

• First Canadian woman admitted to the Geological Society of America in 1936.^[24]

• First woman elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1938.^[25]

• Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her contributions to science within the Canadian federal civil service in 1935.^[26]

• Awarded an honorary doctorate by Carleton University in recognition of her geological research and her work as a lecturer in paleontology in 1960.^[27]

• Alice Wilson Award established by the Royal Society of Canada, recognizing outstanding early-career women scholars, in 1991.^[28]

• Inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in 2005.^[29]

• The Geological Survey of Canada named a meeting room "Wilson Hall" in Ottawa in her honour.^[30]

• Designated a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada in 2011.^[13]

• A Government of Canada commemorative plaque honouring Wilson was unveiled at the Canadian Museum of Nature on 18 October 2018.^[13]

• A tunnel boring machine used for the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project in Montreal was named "Alice" in her honour in 2019.^[13]
  

• "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. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
• Contributions to the Study of the Ordovician of Ontario and Quebec. Ottawa: Canada Dpmt. of Mines. 1936.
• 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.
• The Earth Beneath Our Feet. Toronto: Macmillan. 1947.
• Miscellaneous Classes of Fossils, Ottawa Formation, Ottawa-St. Lawrence Valley. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. 1948.
• 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.
• Cephalopoda of the Ottawa Formation of the Ottawa-St. Lawrence Lowland. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada. 1961.

• Timeline of women in science

• Works by or about Alice Wilson at the 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.