Elizabeth Philpot (1779 - 1857)

Born 5 Jul 1779 in London, England [uncertain]

Died 28 Jul 1857 at age 78 in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, United Kingdom

Biography

Elizabeth Philpot is Notable.

In 1805, Elizabeth Philpott moved with her sisters, Mary and Margaret, to Lyme from London. They shared a house there that was purchased for them by their brother, a London lawyer. The Philpot sisters became well known for their fossil collecting and for the home made medication that they made and distributed.^[1]

It was in Lyme Regis that Elizabeth would befriend Mary Anning. Anning was 20 years Elizabeth's junior and she encouraged Anning to read about geology and understand the science behind the fossils that were collected.^[1]

Elizabeth never married nor had any children.^[1]

Fossils

The Philpot sisters' extensive and meticulously labelled fossil collections was used for research by many geologists. All three sisters contributed to the collection but it was Elizabeth that corresponded with geologists such as William Buckland, William Coneybeare, and Henry De la Beche about the collection. In a famous paper written in 1824 by Buckland, he described an almost complete plesiosaur skeleton discovered by Anning in 1823 Conybeare mentioned examining a plesiosaur skull in the possession of "Miss Philpot".^[1]

In 1834, Buckland arranged for the Swiss palaeontologist, Louis Agassiz to work with Elizabeth and Mary to obtain and study fish fossils found in the region. They were able to show him 34 different species and he was so impressed by the knowledge of Philpot and Anning that he wrote in his journal: "Miss Philpot and Mary Anning have been able to show me with utter certainty which are the icthyodorulites dorsal fins of sharks that correspond to different types." He thanked both women for their help in his monumental book, 'Studies of Fossil Fish', and he named a fossil fish species, Eugnathus philpotae, after Philpot, and another two species after Anning.^[1]

Fossil Ink

Anning discovered what appeared to be a chamber containing dried ink inside a belemnite fossil. She showed it to Elizabeth who was able to revivify the ink by mixing it with water and use it to illustrate some of her own ichthyosaur fossils.^[1]

Legacy

• The sisters' important fossil collection ended up at the Oxford University Museum. The Philpot Museum, later renamed the Lyme Regis Museum, was built in Lyme Regis in honour of the sisters by their nephew, Thomas E D Philpot.
• In 2009, Tracy Chevalier wrote a historical novel entitled 'Remarkable Creatures' about Elizabeth and Mary Anning.^[1]

Vitals

Birth:

Date: 1780^[1]

Place: London, England

Baptized:

Date:

Place:

Death:

Date: 1857^[1]

Place: Lyme Regis, Dorset, England

Burial:

Date: August 1, 1857

Place: Lyme Regis, Dorset, England^[2][3]

Family

Father: John Philpot Esq, deceased at the time of Elizabeth's death

Mother:

Siblings:

1. Mary Philpot
2. Margaret Philpot
3. Unnamed brother Philpot

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} Wikipedia: Elizabeth Philpot
2. ↑ England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991 Name: Elizabeth Philpot Residence Place: Lyme Regis, Dorset, England Gender: Female Burial Date: 01 Aug 1857 Burial Place: Lyme Regis, Dorset, England Age: 77 Birth Date: 1780
3. ↑ England, Dorset, Parish Registers, 1538-1936 Name: Elizabeth Philpot Event Type: Burial Date: 01 Aug 1857 Event Place: Lyme-Regis, Lyme-Regis, Dorset, England Age: 77 Birth Year (Estimated): 1780

• Wikipedia: Elizabeth Philpot
• Census 1851: "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGN5-G21 : 9 November 2019), Elizabeth Philpot, Lyme Regis, Devon, England; citing Lyme Regis, Devon, England, p. 1, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
• Burial:
  • "England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JHYR-DMF : 14 March 2020), Elizabeth Philpot, 1857.
  • "England, Dorset, Parish Registers, 1538-2001", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VCR3-172 : 22 May 2020), Elizabeth Philpot, 1857.
• Death record attached.

See Also

• Remarkable Creatures website
• The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-29th Century. Marilyn Ogilvie & Joy Harvey. Routledge. 2003. pg 1018
• Lyme Regis Museum: Museum History