Arabella Burton Buckley
Secretary and author. A secretary to Charles Lyell and a writer on natural history.
Sources: Freeman, R. B. 1978
(See the bibliography for full references to sources)
Further information
Arabella Burton Buckley (1840-1929) was the daughter of Reverend J. W. Buckley of St. Mary's, Paddington. She was a secretary to English geologist Charles Lyell until his death in 1875. While a secretary for Charles Lyell, Buckley gathered scientific information, some of which was used by Charles Darwin. Before using Buckley's observations in his published materials, Darwin wrote Lyell to verify the manner in which Buckley should be cited. In addition to providing Darwin with her scientific observations, Buckley also provided Darwin with edits. Upon Lyell's death Darwin wrote Buckley to express his condolences.
Buckley was a scientific populariser: she lectured on scientific matters and published educational materials for children, including The Fairyland of Science (1879), Through Magic Glasses and Other Lectures, A Sequel to 'The Fairy-Land of Science' (1880), Life and her Children (1881), Winners in Life's Race, or, The Great Backboned Family (1882), and A Short History of Natural Science and of the Progress of Discovery from the Time of the Greeks (1882). Some of Buckley's materials were self-illustrated. Notably, a few of her publications promoted evolutionism. In a May 1871 Macmillans article Buckley argued that evolution theory and a belief in God were not inherently antagonistic.
Primary Sources:
Darwin Correspondence Database,
https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry-9868 accessed on Wed Feb 20 2013
Darwin Correspondence Database,
https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry-4794 accessed on Wed Feb 20 2013
Macmillan's magazine, 1859-190724. 139 (May 1871): 45-51. [Wellesley attribution: Buckley, Arabella B].
Secondary Sources:
The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century, edited by Marilyn Ogilvie and Joy Harvey. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Saurians: A Historical Perspective, edited by R. T. J. Moody, E. Buffetaut, D. Naish, and D. M. Martill. London" Geological Society, Special Publication 343, 2010.
Victorian Science in Context, edited by Bernard Lightman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.