Biography

South African botanist of the Western Cape. Margaret Levyns (née Michell) attended Cambridge University after excelling in her earlier education in South Africa. She had initially been concentrating on mathematics at the South African College, but found it impossible to compete with her contemporary, the mathematician J.H. Hofmeyr, and changed her focus to botany on the advice of Prof. Harold Pearson, the first director of Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens. It was therefore botany she studied at Cambridge before returning to South Africa in 1914. She soon went back to England to undertake studies in horticulture and genetics at the John Innes Institute, but when war broke out she had to leave her research for a while and worked in a munitions factory. Suffering from ill health during this period, Levyns decided to return to South Africa in 1916, a perilous journey to make at that time. Intending to continue her research at the new National Botanic Gardens, she was instead persuaded to take over lectures at the University of Cape Town following the death of her former mentor and botany professor, Pearson. She remained at the university for the rest of her career, officially retiring in 1945, but continued to work in the laboratory until the age of 80 and right up until her last days was working on botanical articles for the Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa.

Levyns' written output was enormous, amounting to more than 1,700 articles and books. Among them were a Guide to the Flora of the Cape Peninsula (1929, revised edition 1966) and major contributions to the Flora of the Cape Peninsula edited by Adamson and Salter. She was awarded a doctorate in 1933 for her monograph on the genus Lobostemon. She was one of the first female Fellows of the Royal Society of South Africa and in 1963 became the society's first female president. She was married to the public servant John Levyns, whom she preceded in death at the age of 85.

Sources:
Anon., 1975, "Death of Dr. M. Levyns: botanist, teacher, author", Veld & Flora, 61(3): 7.

Biography

South African botanist of the Western Cape. Margaret Levyns (née Michell) attended Cambridge University after excelling in her earlier education in South Africa. She had initially been concentrating on mathematics at the South African College, but found it impossible to compete with her contemporary, the mathematician J.H. Hofmeyr, and changed her focus to botany on the advice of Prof. Harold Pearson, the first director of Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens. It was therefore botany she studied at Cambridge before returning to South Africa in 1914. She soon went back to England to undertake studies in horticulture and genetics at the John Innes Institute, but when war broke out she had to leave her research for a while and worked in a munitions factory. Suffering from ill health during this period, Levyns decided to return to South Africa in 1916, a perilous journey to make at that time. Intending to continue her research at the new National Botanic Gardens, she was instead persuaded to take over lectures at the University of Cape Town following the death of her former mentor and botany professor, Pearson. She remained at the university for the rest of her career, officially retiring in 1945, but continued to work in the laboratory until the age of 80 and right up until her last days was working on botanical articles for the Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa.

Levyns' written output was enormous, amounting to more than 1,700 articles and books. Among them were a Guide to the Flora of the Cape Peninsula (1929, revised edition 1966) and major contributions to the Flora of the Cape Peninsula edited by Adamson and Salter. She was awarded a doctorate in 1933 for her monograph on the genus Lobostemon. She was one of the first female Fellows of the Royal Society of South Africa and in 1963 became the society's first female president. She was married to the public servant John Levyns, whom she preceded in death at the age of 85.

Sources:
Anon., 1975, "Death of Dr. M. Levyns: botanist, teacher, author", Veld & Flora, 61(3): 7.