Beatrix Potter Facts
Beatrix Potter Facts
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| Interesting Beatrix Potter Facts: |
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| Beatrix Potter is perhaps one of the best known and most well-loved children's authors and illustrators in the world, with her original tales for children still in publication today. |
| What many do not remember is that Potter devoted herself to conserving the farmlands in the Lake District, and used the proceeds from her book sales to purchase farms that were in danger of becoming industrialized. |
| She was also a well-respected breeder of sheep on her own farm, and made contributions to supporting the gene pool for the breed. |
| She grew up in a wealthy family whose status came from business success, strong investments, and family members who served in Parliament. |
| While Potter did not attend a formal school, she was educated at home by different governesses who fostered her love of art, nature, and science. |
| Apart from her illustrated children's stories which always featured whimsical drawings of animals and plants, Potter was also respected for her scientific illustrations, especially in the fields of mycology of archaeology. |
| Her interest in mycology and specifically how fungi reproduced led her to create many detailed drawings of microscopic spores; this intense study and work led her to devise a theory of germination. |
| She eventually submitted a paper to the Linnean Society, "On the Germination of the Spores of the Agaricineae," which she was forced to submit under someone else's identity due to sexism within the Society. |
| She later withdrew the paper after learning some of her fungi samples had been contaminated. |
| The paper is still being studied, but the accompanying mycological illustrations are still examined by scientists today for their accuracy and detail. |
| These illustrations serve as an important identifying tool for classifying fungi. |
| Many of her illustrations were published in WPK Findlay's book, Wayside & Woodland Fungi. |
| The Linnean Society issued a post-humous formal apology to Potter in 1997 for its disregard of her paper due to her gender. |
| Focused on her work in conserving the countryside and in fell sheep breeding, Potter went on to win numerous breeding awards and eventually served as the first-ever female president of the Herdwick Sheepbreeders' Association. |
| In addition to being widely recognized for her willingness to research biological remedies in the sheep flock, Potter is also remembered for her important financial contributions to the Nursing Trust she established in the region to promote health and medicine. |
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