Beryl Iris Brewin (10 September 1910 – 8 January 1999) was a New Zealand marine zoologist, specialising in ascidians (sea squirts).

Beryl Brewin
Brewin in 1963 or earlier
Born
Beryl Iris Brewin

10 September 1910
Died8 January 1999(1999-01-08) (aged 88)
Alma materUniversity of Auckland, University of Otago
Scientific career
FieldsAscidian zoology
InstitutionsUniversity of Otago
Thesis
  • Papers on the class Ascidiacea, and on other marine topics : comprising a thesis presented for the degree of D.Sc., University of New Zealand  (1958)

Academic career

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Brewin was born 10 September 1910 to parents Lucy and Frank Brewin.[1] She graduated from Auckland University College in 1931 with a Bachelor of Science in botany and zoology. This was followed by an MSc in botany in 1933.[2]

Brewin, described as a 'live wire', worked at the University of Otago Department of Zoology from 1936 to 1963.[3][4] She had reached senior lecturer level when she retired.[5]

Brewin submitted her Doctor of Science thesis, consisting of 18 papers published between 1942 and 1957 to the University of New Zealand in 1958.[6] According to GBIF, she named more than 80 species or genera from New Zealand and Australia.[7]

In 1954, Brewin was the second woman to be appointed to the Council of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, after her colleague Marion Fyfe, also from the Department of Zoology at Otago. Brewin served four years on the council.[4][8]

Brewin retired in 1963, and left nearly half a million dollars to the University of Otago in 1999, for the purposes of providing more comfortable accommodation for marine researchers at the Portobello marine laboratory.[9] She also bequeathed $1 million for the purchase of a research vessel, the 10 metres (33 ft) RV Beryl Brewin in her honour.[10]

In 2017, Brewin was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[4]

Selected species named by Brewin

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Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ Birth certificate 1910/22561, held by the Department of Internal Affairs
  2. ^ "Brewin, Beryl Iris, 1910–". Brewin, Beryl Iris, 1910– | Items | National Library of New Zealand | National Library of New Zealand. 1 January 1910. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  3. ^ Clarke, Ali (27 March 2016). "Scientific women". University of Otago 1869–2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Beryl Brewin". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  5. ^ Alison Clarke (2018), Otago: 150 years of New Zealand's first university, Wikidata Q63406621
  6. ^ Beryl Brewin (1958), Papers on the class Ascidiacea, and on other marine topics, OCLC 429722620, Wikidata Q104627173
  7. ^ "Search". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  8. ^ "150 Years of Discovery". www.tiki-toki.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  9. ^ Death certificate 1999/1210 held by Department of Internal Affairs
  10. ^ Friends, Alumni &. "A Legacy for Excellence". www.otago.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
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