Blackwood, Beatrice (1889–1975)

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Blackwood, Beatrice (1889–1975)

British social anthropologist. Born Beatrice Mary Blackwood, May 3, 1889, in London, England; died 1975; dau. of James Blackwood (publisher); sister of Mary French; graduated from Somerville College at Oxford, 1912, but did not receive BA and MA until 1920, when Oxford granted women their degrees; Oxford University, BSc in embryology, 1923; never married.

Became assistant to Arthur Thomson at anatomy department of Oxford University (c. 1920); performed archaeological research in France and England; served as demonstrator and lecturer in ethnology at Oxford (1923–59); in US, performed psychological tests to research intelligence (1920s); as one of 1st women to perform field research in Melanesia, studied 2 communities in Solomon Islands (the Petats and Kurtatchi, 1929–30), and published the results in Both Sides of Buka Passage (1935); served as assistant curator at Pitt Rivers Museum and as founding editor of museum publication series.