Ella Church Strobell

Ella Church Strobell (1862–1920) was an American cytologist and zoologist.

Biography

Ella Church Strobell was born on June 26, 1862.[1] She was educated privately by tutors.

In 1917, she bequeathed several famous paintings by John Vanderlyn and miniature portraits by Louisa C. Strobel to the Metropolitan Museum. She is a descendant of Daniel Strobel Jr., Anna Church Strobel, and Elizabeth Maria Church, the sitters featured in the works of art.[2] Strobell died in 1920.[3]

Career

Ella Church Strobell was a cytologist and a member of the Society of Zoologists.[1] She worked in the United States with her lab partner Katharine Foot, of whom much more is known. The majority of their papers were published in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Their partnership began in 1896 and continued until Strobell after their last publication in 1917.[3] It is assumed that the pair privately funded their research since they were never formally employed.

Strobell and Foot are best known for their studies of the egg of Allolobophora foetida, mainly due to the innovated research techniques they developed in the process. They invented a method to make very thin samples of material at low temperatures so that they could be viewed under a microscope. In addition, they were some of the first to photograph their samples rather than drawing them based on what they saw under the microscope.[4]

They performed additional notable research on the role of chromosomes in hereditary, sex-linked characteristics. This research was conducted in New York City using earthworms.[5] Strobell and Foot strongly opposed Stevens and Wilson's theory that chromosomes exist as individual structures because they appeared too variable in shape and size. Although they were ultimately wrong, their photographs of chromosomes helped to advance the field.[3]

In 1914, the pair went to England and worked with entomologist Harry Eltringham of New College Oxford to continue work on the crossbreeding of Hemiptera.[5]

Even after her death, Ella Church Strobell was able to support Katharine Foot's research through a legacy that funded 2 years of study on the life cycle of a louse for the American Red Cross.[5]

Publications

Metropolitan Museum of Art bequest

image title painter date accession number The Met url
Portrait of Daniel Strobel, Jr. John Vanderlyn ca. 1799 17.134.1 MET
Portrait of Elizabeth Maria Church John Vanderlyn 1799 17.134.2 MET
Portrait of Mrs. Daniel Strobel, Jr. (Anna Church Strobel) and Her Son, George John Vanderlyn 1799 17.134.3 MET
Portrait of Sarah Russell Church (daughter of Edward Church) John Vanderlyn 1799 17.134.4 MET
Self-portrait Louisa C. Strobel ca. 1830 17.134.5 MET
Portrait of Mrs. Daniel Strobel Jr. (Anna Church) John Vanderlyn ca. 1830 17.134.6 MET
Portrait of Daniel Strobel, Jr. John Vanderlyn ca. 1830 17.134.7 MET
Portrait of a Man Jean-Pierre-Frédéric Barrois ca. 1790 17.134.8 MET

See also

References

  1. Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy (16 Dec 2003). Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science. Routledge. p. 1248.
  2. Avery, Kevin (2002). "John Vanderlyn". American Drawings and Watercolors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1: 116–119.
  3. Kass-Simon, Gabriele (1993). Women of Science: Righting the Record. Indiana University Press. pp. 227.
  4. Oakes, Elizabeth (2007). Encyclopedia of World Scientists. Infobase Publishing. p. 241.
  5. Creese, Mary (1 Jan 2000). Ladies in the Laboratory. Scarecrow Press. p. 104.
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