Jane Stephens

Jane Stephens was an Irish zoologist who was considered a leading authority on sponges in Ireland with specialised knowledge in other marine life who identified and named oversponges new to science. From 1905 to 1920 she was employed in the Natural History Division of the National Museum of Ireland working primarily on the collections of marine invertebrates, including taking part in the Clare Island Survey. Robert Lloyd Praeger testified to her knowledge of and work with Irish sponges stating that Most of what we know of this group, whether marine or freshwater, in Ireland, or off the Irish coasts, is due to her work.

Stephens was born in Dublin in 1879, the sixth child of Quakers Albert and Jane Stephens. Her elder sister, Laura Stephens, was a talented linguist working as a translator in a government department. She attended Alexandra College excelling in her studies as well as hockey and lawn tennis. She then went on to be the second woman to be awarded a degree in the Royal University of Ireland in 1903, receiving secondclass honours in geology and biology.

Source: Wikipedia