When it comes to the annoying blood sucking parasite known as the lowly flea, there is little that Miriam Rothschild did not know. Much of what we know about the flea can be attributed to the work of Dame Miriam Rothschild, who was, for many years, one of the leading authorities on this bloodsucking parasite.
Born Mariam Louisa Rothschild on August 5, 1908 in Ashton Wold, East Northamptonshire, England, fleas were in her lineage so to speak. Rothschild’s father, Charles Rothschild, was a banker that was known for having identified over 500 new species of fleas. The home educated Rothschild showed her own interests in discovering more about the world of insects and parasites when at age four she began collecting ladybird beetles. By the age of 17 the home schooled Rothschild would chose to go to school for the first time and attended evening classes in zoology at Chelsea College of Science and Technology. Although she lacked a formal education, Rothschild received a series of honorary doctorates from eight different universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.
As an author, Rothschild wrote books about her father and her uncle as well as a book titled Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos which was a successful book on parasites. The title of Rothschild’s parasite book referred to three distinct types of parasite: external parasites (fleas), internal parasites (flukes), and others (cuckoo being a ‘brood parasite’). In addition to her books, Rothschild wrote over 300 papers on subjects that included entomology and zoology. While Rothschild is best known for her research on fleas, she worked widely in the fields of entomology and botany.
Rothschild is rumored to have once said; “I must say, I find everything interesting”. And indeed she must have, for it was Rothschild who discovered how fleas jump. She also studied, with Nobel Prize laureate and chemist Tadeus Reichstein, how butterflies make themselves toxic through their choice of food. Her research on the bright coloration of butterflies and their toxicity lead Rothschild to find that other species had evolved to mimic the warning colors.
Still, it was the lowly flea for which Rothschild was best known for. Rothschild’s flea collections, a six volume catalog of her father’s collection of 30,000 specimens, made her the authority on fleas that other experts consulted. Rothschild’s flea collection can now be viewed at the Natural History Museum in London.
While she was viewed as an expert on them, fleas were not the only thing in Rothschild’s life. Rothschild had a decently sized family, having married Captain George Lane, MC in 1943, and with him had six children; two sons and four daughters. Their marriage was dissolved in 1957.
During World War II, Rothschild worked to convince the British authorities to admit more Jews from Nazi Germany and worked to assist in cracking the Nazi’s codes. At one point during World War II, Miriam Rothschild provided shelter to nearly 50 Jewish children.
Throughout her life Miriam Rothschild would stand up for many things that she felt strongly for, including; better treatment for laboratory animals, free milk for school children and equal rights for gay people.
In talking about Mariam Rothschild, the London Times once said, “Imagine Beatrix Potter on amphetamines.” The world could use more energetically enthusiastic learners such as Dame Miriam Rothschild, ready to prove wrong those who would say that a person must hold formal education to make a significant difference in the world.
Dame Miriam Louisa Rothschild
5 August 1908 – 20 January 2005
