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Cynthia Longfield (16 August 1896 – 27 June 1991) was an expert on the dragonfly and an explorer. She was called "Madame Dragonfly" for her extensive work. She was passionately fond of dragonflies and her dominant area of interest was natural history. She travelled extensively and published The Dragonflies of the British Isles in 1937. She worked as a research associate at the Natural History Museum, London. Longfield was the expert on the dragonflies at the museum, researching particularly African species.
Early life
Cynthia Evelyn Longfield was born on on August 16th, on Pont Street, Belgravia, London. She was the youngest daughter of Montifort and Alice Longfield, of Castle Mary, Cloyne, Co. Cork. She joined the Army Service Corps during WWI, later moving to an aircraft factory on Fullham Road. She visited South America between December 1921 and March 1922. She traveled to the Andes and Lake Titicaca. In 1923 she traveled to Egypt, and in the same year answered an advertisement to join Evelyn Cheesman of London Zoo on a research trip to the Pacific, specifically the Galapagos Islands. They sailed aboard the St George, which left Dartmouth on April 9th 1924. She collected coleoptera and lepidoptera as an assistant to an entomologist, Cyril Collenette.
Death
After retirement from the NHM in 1957, she returned to Castle Mary, the family estate, in Cloyne, County Cork where she lived until her death. She died on 27 June 1991 and was buried in St. Coleman's Church of Ireland Cathedral, close to her home in Cloyne.
Works
- 1914. Royal Army Service Corps, driver (1914–1916)
- 1916. Aeroplane factory worker (1916–1918)
- 1924. St. George Expedition, Assistant Entomologist (unpaid)(1924–1925)
- 1936. Studies on African Odonata, with synonymy, and descriptions of new species and subspecies. Trans. R. ent. Soc. London 85(20): 467–498.
- (1936) Contribution à l'étude de la faune du Mozambique. Voyage de M.P. Lesne (1928–1929). 23e note – Odonata. Memórias e Estudos do Museu Zoológico da Universidade de Coimbra, 89: 1–2 . Insecta. C. Longfield.
- (1945) – The Odonata of South Angola. Arquivos do Museu Bocage, 16, Lisboa.
- (1955) – The Odonata of N. Angola. Publicações Culturais, Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang), Lisboa, 27: 11–63. Biologia. Entomologia. Angola.
- (1959) – The Odonata of N. Angola. Publicações Culturais, Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang), Lisboa, 45: 11–42. Entomologia. Angola.
- (1960) Dragonflies Corbet, P.S., Longfield, C.N. and Moore, N.W. New Naturalist No 41, Collins, London.
References
- ^ "Longfield, Cynthia (1896–1991)". Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. 1 January 2007. ISBN 978-1414418612. Retrieved 4 June 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - "The life of Madam Dragonfly". Irish times. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ Staff. "Cynthia Longfield". The New Naturalists Online. Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Hayter-Hames, Jane (1991). Madam Dragonfly : the life and times of Cynthia Longfield. Edinburgh : Pentland Press. ISBN 187279520X.
- ^ Ogilvie, Marilyn; editors, Joy Harvey (2000). The biographical dictionary of women in science : pioneering lives from ancient times to the mid-20th century. New York: Routledge. p. 801. ISBN 041592040X.
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External links
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