Англиялық геолог және палеонтолог Этельдред Анна Мария Беннетт

British geologist and paleontologist

Etheldred Anna Maria Benett (22 July 1776 – 11 January 1845) was an early English geologist often credited with being the first female geologist, having devoted much of her life to collecting and studying fossils that she discovered in South West England. She worked closely with many principal geologists and her fossil collection, considered one of the largest at the time, played a part in the development of geology as a field of science.

Etheldred Anna Maria Benett was born in 1776 (or 1775)efn|Sources differ on her birth year, e. g. the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004) other recent sources state 1775, Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) and more recent sources state 1776. into a wealthy family as the second daughter of Thomas Benett (1729–1797) of Wiltshire and Catherine née Darell (d. 1790). Her maternal great grandfather was William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury. Her elder brother John was member of Parliament for Wiltshire and later South Wiltshire from 1819 to 1852; his daughter married Lord Charles Spencer Churchill. From 1802 she lived at Norton House in Norton Bavant, near Warminster, Wiltshire where she lived with her sister Anna Maria. Very little is known about Benett's home life, beyond her contributions to geology, and there is no known portrait of her, although a silhouette was published in H. B. Woodard's History of Geology (1911).

From at least 1809 until her death, she devoted herself to collecting and studying the fossils of her native county, beginning with the Warminister area. Benett was knowledgeable in stratigraphy, which aided her searches, and her wealth enabled her to hire collectors and purchase prepared specimens. Her interest in geology was encouraged by her sister in law's half brother, the botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert. Lambert was an avid fossil collector who contributed to James Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology; he was a founding member of the Linnean Society, a member of the Royal Society, and an early member of the Geological Society. It was through him that Benett developed her love of fossils and relationships with many leading geologists of the time, and it is only through works by these men that most references to her work were made. For example, she contributed to Gideon Mantell's work on stratigraphy, and also worked with Sowerby. Benett was unmarried and financially independent, and so was able to dedicate much of her life to the developing field of geology through the collection and study of fossils, especially fossil sponges. Benett had contact with many authors of works on fossils including the Sowerbys. Forty one of her specimens were included in Sowerby's Mineral Conchology, a major fossil reference work, in which she had the second highest number of contributions. In response to her honorary doctorate, Benett noted that "scientific people, in general, have a very low opinion of the abilities of my sex." Another particularly fascinating section of her collection was that they contained microfossils, she would have been one of the first geologists to sieve for specimens such as these, and today these are primarily used as an indication for oil deposits. Benett's entire collection was assumed lost in the early 20th century, as specific specimens could not be located. However, the Philadelphia Academy's revived interest in early English fossil collections, and particularly Benett's collection, led to formal recognition again. This ultimately led to the discussion of her two publications, the elaboration of her taxonomic names, and the photographic illustration of many vital pieces of her collection. Benett also took an interest in conchology and spent time collecting and detailing shells, many of which were new records. In a letter to Mantell in 1817, she claimed her shell collecting had left her with no time to look at his fossils. This mistake occurred when the Imperial Natural History Society of Moscow awarded membership to her under the name of Master Etheldredus Benett in 1836. German geologists who cited her in their works referred to her as "Miss Benett". Bennett lived during a time where many phenomena were explained by religion, including the existence of fossils. During her lifetime, many thought fossils were the result of great catastrophes related to religion, like Noah's flood. Furthermore, several well known scientists were members of the clergy. She met William Smith, the "father" of English geology, and presented him with a Tisbury coral test. He mentioned her in his letters to others, such as when he wrote about "ladies in Wiltshire" who had "distinguished themselves in their collections". (Torrens 2000 p60) Concurring to John Needham's novel, "Forests of the Dinosaurs – Her work was instrumental within the advancement of Wiltshire's Jurassic Finale, and permitted for the Cretaceous to be connected with the stratigraphy of the Vale of Wardour within the county of Dorset. She too communicated with a few other of the ‘giants’ of early fossil science such as Professor William Buckland, Gideon Mantell, Edward Charlesworth, Henry de la Beche, Roderick Impey Murchison and Samuel Woodward furthermore George Lyell who gave us the theory of Uniformitarianism – that the forms of nowadays are the same as those of yesteryear i. e. that ‘the present is the key to the past’. Benett was chosen as the emblem for the conference ‘The role of women in the history of Geology’ held in November 2005 at the Geological Society of London.

Benett's contribution to the early history of Wiltshire geology is significant as she felt at ease with, and corresponded extensively with, fellow geologists such as George Bellas Greenough (the first president of the Geological Society), Gideon Mantell, William Buckland, and Samuel Woodward. She freely gave her ideas and items from her fossil collection to worthy causes such as museums, sending one to St. Petersburg. Through exchanging numerous fossils with Mantell, a thorough understanding of the Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks of Southern England was reached.