Etheldred Benett
| Etheldred Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born |
22 July 1776 Tisbury, Wiltshire |
| Died | 11 January 1845 (aged 68) Norton House, Norton Bavant |
| Resting place | Bavant Parish Church |
| Occupation | Fossil collector · Geologist |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Bennett (c. 1729–1797) Catherine née Darrell d. 1790 |
Etheldred Benett (22 July 1776 – 11 January 1845) was an early English geologist. Her enthusiasm for characteristic history came to fruition as a result of her sibling's marriage to Lucy Lambert. Lucy's stepbrother, Aylmer Bourke Lambert, was an establishing individual from the Linnean Society (1788), a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Society of Arts (1791), and an individual from the Geological Society of London (1808). She devoted much of her life to collecting and studying fossils of South West England and is often considered the 'first lady geologist.' She worked closely with many principal geologists of the time and her fossil collection played a part in the development of geology as a field of science. Discoverer of Iguanadon Gideon Mantell was so inspired by her work, he named a Cretaceous sponge after her. Ammonites benettianus is also named after her.
Etheldred Benett was the eldest daughter of Thomas Benett (1729–1797) of Wiltshire and Catherine née Darell (d. 1790); her brother, John (1773–1852), was a member of Parliament for Wiltshire and later South Wiltshire from 1819 to1852. From 1802 she resided at Norton House in Norton Bavant, near Warminster, in Wiltshire, and from at least 1809 until her death, devoted herself to collecting and studying the fossils of her native county. Etheldred's interest in geology was encouraged by her sister in-law's half brother, the botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert. It was through Lambert, that Bennett developed relationships with many leading geologists of the time and it is only through works by these men, that most reference to her work was made. Bennett was unmarried and financially independent, and so was able to dedicate much of her life to the developing field of science and geology through the collection and study of fossils.
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