Wilman, Maria (1867–1957)

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Wilman, Maria (1867–1957)

South African botanist and geologist. Born April 29, 1867, in South Africa; died Nov 9, 1957.

An expert on the plants, tribes and archaeology of South Africa, was educated at Good Hope Seminary in Cape Town and Newnham College, Cambridge (1885–88); worked as an assistant at South African Museum in Cape Town; as the 1st director of the Alex McGregor Memorial Museum in Kimberley (1908–46), built collections, had 7,000 plants placed in the herbarium (5 were named after her), and nurtured a famous rock collection; elected life member of Royal Society of South Africa. Writings include The Rock Engravings of Griqualand West and Bechuanaland (1933), Preliminary Checklist of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Griqualand West (1946) and (ed.) The Bushmen Tribes of Southern Africa (1942).