Etheldred Benett

Who was Etheldred Benett?

Etheldred Benett was an early English geologist. Inspired from an early age by the knowledge of her relatives, 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 significant part in the development of geology as a field. 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.