Biographical entry Crespin, Irene (1896 - 1980)

Summary

Irene Crespin was Commonwealth palaeontologist from 1936. She travelled widely in Australia and to Java and Sumatra carrying out important research. Crespin collected fossils for analysis and studied rock and sediment formations. She chaired the Canberra branch of the Territories Division of the Geological Society of Australia in 1955 and was president of the Royal Society of Canberra in 1957. Both institutions granted her honorary life membership in appreciation of her work.

Details

Events

1919

Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA) completed at the University of Melbourne

1927 - 1936

Career position - Assistant Commonwealth Palaeontologist

1936 - 1961

Career position - Commonwealth Palaeontologist

1953

Award - Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal received

1956

Award - Royal Society of New South Wales Clarke Medal received

1960

Award - Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of Melbourne

1961

Life event - Retired

1962

Award - Award of Merit received from the Commonwealth Professional Officers' Association

1969

Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

1973 -

Career position - Honorary member of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

Published resources

Book Sections

• Bartlett, Margaret, 'Irene Crespin (1896-1980) micropalaeontologist', in Heather Radi (ed.), 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology, Women's Redress Press Inc, Sydney, 1988. Details
• Bartlett, Margaret, 'Crespin, Irene (1896-1980), Geologist and Micropalaeontologist', in John Ritchie (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 13, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1993, pp. 532-533. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130593b.htm. Details
• Crespin, Irene, 'Chapman, Frederick (1864-1943), palaeontologist', in Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 7, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1979, p. 612. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070621b.htm. Details

Edited Books

• Radi, H. (ed.), 200 Australian Women: a Redress Anthology, Women's Redress Press Inc, Sydney, 1988, 268 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Crespin, Irene, 'Recollections on the Growth of Commonwealth Interest in the Geological Sciences', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, vol. 2, no. 2, 1972, pp. 29-46. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9720220029.htm. Details
• Flesch, Juliet and McPhee, Peter, '150 Years, 150 Stories: Irene Crespin', Uni News, vol. 11, no. 23, 2002, p. 4. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Crespin, Irene', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-461523. Details

See also

• Alexander, John A. (ed.), Who's Who in Australia 1944, vol. 12, The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, Melbourne, 1944, 906 pp. Details
• Flesch, Juliet and McPhee, Peter, 150 years, 150 stories: brief biographies of one hundred and fifty remarkable people associated with the University of Melbourne, Department of History, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 2003, 168 pp. Details