Quaker scientists Archives

Gulielma Lister: The Queen of Slime Molds

Queen of Slime Molds Today is the birthday of the original Queen of Slime Molds, Gulielma Lister, who was born on this day in 1860. Gulielma was born into a Quaker family in England, and her family and friends called her Gulie. Her mom and dad were a classic match of opposites. Her mother was…

America’s First Bug Whisperer: The Birth of Thomas Say

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. June 27, 1787 On this day, the naturalist Thomas Say drew his first breath in this world – a man destined to revolutionize how Americans understood the crawling, buzzing creatures that shared their…

Sarah Martha Baker: Listening to the Universal Chorus

A small brown songbird perched on a branch, singing with its beak open against a softly blurred light background.

by Sarah Martha Baker The universe is always singing, And we must learn to listen, So that our heart may join the universal chorus. Notes: Today’s Unearthed Words are by Sarah Martha Baker, who was an English botanist and ecologist. Baker studied brown seaweeds and zonal patterns on the seashore.…