Agnes Fry | |
|---|---|
 Image from a Fry family album | |
| Born | 25 March 1869 Highgate |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, bryologist |
| Father | Sir Edward Fry |
| Relatives | Joan Mary Fry, Roger Eliot Fry, Isabel Fry, Margery Fry, Ruth Fry |
Agnes Fry FRAS (25 March 1869 - 15 August 1958) was a British bryologist, astronomer, botanical illustrator, writer and poet, who donated Failand House's Estate to the National Trust.
Fry was born on 25 March 1869, [1] in Highgate. [2] Her father was Sir Edward Fry, the jurist, and the family were prominent Quakers connected to Fry's Chocolate. [2] One of nine children, [3] Fry had two brothers and six sisters:
In his diaries Ernest Satow recorded that of Edward Fry's daughters, Agnes was "the deaf but interesting and learned one". [4]
Edward Fry encouraged the education of his daughters, in particular he encouraged an interest in natural sciences. [2] Fry collaborated with her father on several scientific works, including the botanical illustrations for British Mosses. [5] They co-authored The Mycetozoa, published in 1899, [6] which ran to a second edition in 1915. [7] In his introduction to The Liverworts he praised her "zealous cooperation" in their research. [8] She collected a large number of specimens, in particular from the family's estate at Failand. Specimens she collected there included: Physarum viride, Fuligo septica, Chondrioderma spumarioides, Lamproderma irideum and Dictydium umbilicatum. [6] She was an early member of the British Mycological Society. [2] She was also a member of the Bristol Naturalists' Society. [7]
Agnes Fry was an amateur astronomer, joining the British Astronomical Association on 29 November 1905. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society on 14 February 1919 on the recommendation of W F Denning. [9]
Fry was also a collector of embroidery, particularly that produced by 'peasant' communities from around the world. In 1949 she donated her collection of 260 pieces to Bristol Museum. Her friends and relatives donated pieces to the collection, and she also commissioned pieces from local craftspeople through her network of acquaintances. [10] When she donated the collection the also gave £50 to fund its display, which she stipulated should have "good illumination as needlework requires narrow inspection". [10]
Fry was a member of the Eugenics Society and corresponded with them, in particular around the question of how to prevent people with disabilities from marrying. [11]
From the 1930s, Fry lived at Home Farm on the Failand Estate. [12] She planted two oak trees there: the first to commemorate the silver jubilee of George V and Queen Mary (in 1935); the second to mark the coronation of George VI (in 1937). [12] In 1958 the 393 acre Failand House Estate was donated to the National Trust. [13] The house had been the Fry family's summer home. [14] [15] Fry died on 15 August 1958.
• Model of the Solar System, JBAA 19 (1908), p. 21 [20]
• Correspondence: A Hanging Sundial, JBAA 19 (1909), p. 404 [21]
• Correspondence: Iridescent Colours on Clouds, JBAA 25 (1914), p. 101 [22]
• The Green Flash, JBAA 39 (1928), p. 61 [23] & 39 (1929), p. 167 [24]
• The Illumination of the Dark side of Venus, JBAA 44 (1934), p. 284 [25]
• The Precious Things put Forth by the Moon, JBAA 51 (1941), p. 319 [26]
Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin was an astronomer of French and Huguenot descent who was born in Cushendun, County Antrim, Ireland. He was educated in England at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Cambridge. After a spell teaching at Lancing College he found permanent employment at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1891. He joined the Royal Astronomical Society in 1888 and was its president from 1929-1931. In 1895 he joined the British Astronomical Association and was president from 1904-1906 and directed its comet section 1898-1901 and 1907-1938.
George Mitchell Seabroke FRAS was an English amateur astronomer. By profession he was a solicitor.
Sir Thomas Barlow, 1st Baronet, was a British royal physician, known for his research on infantile scurvy.
Agnes Mary Clerke was an Irish astronomer and writer, mainly in the field of astronomy. She was born in Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland, and died in London.
Arthur Stanley Williams was an English solicitor and amateur astronomer. He dedicated himself to the telescopic observation of the planets. He also was enthusiastic about yachting, winning the Challenge Cup in 1920.
William Herbert Steavenson FRAS was an English amateur astronomer.
William Bennett Munro was a Canadian historian and political scientist. He taught at Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology. He was known for research on the seigneurial system in New France and on municipal administration in the United States.
Sir Edward Fry, was an English Lord Justice of Appeal (1883–1892) and an arbitrator on the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Joan Mary Fry was an English Quaker campaigner for peace and social reform.
Sara Margery Fry was a British prison reformer as well as one of the first women to become a magistrate. She was the secretary of the Howard League for Penal Reform and the principal of Somerville College, Oxford.
Reverend William Frederick Archdall Ellison FRAS(28 April 1864 – 31 December 1936) was an Irish clergyman, Hebrew scholar, organist, avid amateur telescope maker, and, from 1918 to 1936, director of Armagh Observatory in Armagh, Northern Ireland. He was the father of Mervyn A. Ellison, the senior professor of the School of Cosmic Physics at Dunsink Observatory from 1958 to 1963.
The Liverpool Astronomical Society was founded in 1881 in Liverpool, England, as a society to promote and coordinate amateur astronomy.
Anna Ruth Fry, usually known as Ruth Fry, was a British Quaker writer, pacifist and peace activist.
The Astronomical Society of India (ASI) is an Indian society of professional astronomers and other professionals from related disciplines. It was founded in 1972, with Vainu Bappu being the founder President of the Society, and as of 2010 has a membership of approximately 1000. Its registered office is at the Astronomy Department, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. Its primary objective is the promotion of Astronomy and related branches of science. It organises meetings, supports and tries to popularise Astronomy and related subjects and publishes the Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India.
Mary Acworth Evershed was a British astronomer and scholar. Her work on Dante Alighieri was written under the pen name M.A. Orr.
Alice Grace Cook (18 February 1877 - 27 May 1958), known as Grace Cook or A. Grace Cook was a British astronomer. Cook lived in Stowmarket, Suffolk. After she died she was remembered by her colleagues as a skilled and dedicated observer. In September 2021 it was announced that a new school in the town was to be named after Grace Cook. The school will be run by the Orwell Multi Academy Trust. In March 2023 minor planet 2000 EY156 was named Gracecook in her honour.
Gulielma Lister was a British botanist and mycologist and was considered an international authority on Mycetozoa.
Isabel Fry was an English educator and social activist.
Orwell Park was an estate in the village of Nacton in Suffolk developed by Edward Vernon, who lived there from 1725 until he died in the mansion on 30 October 1757. It was further developed by George Tomline during the late nineteenth century. It has been the premises for Orwell Park School since 1936. In contains several Grade II listed buildings.
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