Honor Fell
| Honor Fell | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Honor Bridget Fell 22 May 1900 |
| Died | 22 April 1986 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Zoology, physiology, cell biology |
| Institutions | Strangeways Research Laboratory |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Thesis | Historical studies on the gonads of the fowl: the histological basis of sex reversal (1924) |
| Academic advisors | Thomas Strangeways |
| Known for | Directing Strangeways Research Laboratory, developing tissue culture technique |
Dr Dame Honor Bridget Fell, DBE, PhD, DSc, FRS (22 May 1900 – 22 April 1986) was a British scientist and zoologist. Her contributions to science included the development of experimental methods in organ culture, tissue culture, and cell biology.
Fell was born to Colonel William Edwin Fell and Alcie Fell at Fowthorpe near Filey in Yorkshire on 22 May 1900, the youngest of nine children. She had six sisters and two brothers, the younger of the two brothers, with down syndrome, died at the age of eight. Fell was known as the baby of the family. Her father was a minor landowner but cannot be said to have been a successful farmer. Whereas, her mother was a very practical and capable carpenter. Her mom died in 1951, when Fell was fifty one years old. . Both school and family records highlight her childhood love of pet ferrets. Fell carried her pet ferret, Janie, to her sister Barbara's wedding when she was only thirteen. Fell had little contact with her family until the 1960s when one of her nephews, Henry Fell, and his wife asked her to stay with them. After that one visit she always spent Easter with them and sometimes Christmas.
She was educated at Wychwood School, North Oxford and later at Madras College. In those days Wychwood was considered rather advanced because of its emphasises on the importance of science, especially biology, as well as classics, history and literature. The school records refer to Honor Fell’s ferrets, which populated the garden. In 1916 she went to Madras College, St. Andrews. Later, in 1918, she began undergraduate study in zoology at the University of Edinburgh, advised by Francis Albert Eley Crew. Crew recommended Fell as a summer researcher to Cambridge pathologist Thomas Strangeways, who was working in the then-new field of tissue culture. When Fell graduated in 1922 and found no open scientific positions in Edinburgh, she began work full-time as a research assistant to Strangeways. She earned a Ph.D. in 1924 entitled Historical studies on the gonads of the fowl and a D.Sc in 1932.
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