Eva Crane

Eva Crane, born Ethel Eva Widdowson (12 June 1912 – 6 September 2007), was a British researcher and author on the subjects of bees and beekeeping. Trained as a quantum mathematician, she changed her field of interest to bees, and spent decades researching bees, traveling to more than 60 countries, often in challenging conditions.

Early life Eva Crane was born Ethel Eva Widdowson in Dulwich in London to Harry and Rose (née Elphick) Widdowson on 12 June 1912. Her father, Thomas Henry (known as Harry), was from Grantham in Lincolnshire and moved to Battersea as a grocer's assistant and eventually owned a stationery business, whilst her mother Rose, originally from Dorking, worked as a dressmaker. Her sister, Elsie Widdowson, five years her senior, grew up to be one of the most influential nutritionists of the twentieth century. The family was Plymouth Brethren.

Education and career Eva and Elsie attended Sydenham County Grammar School for Girls and both won prizes and scholarships. Eva attended King's College London, where she was one of only two women then studying mathematics at the University of London, completing her degree in two years, then earned a master's degree in quantum mechanics. She became a member of the British Beekeepers Association and quickly became the secretary of its research committee. In 1949 she founded the Bee Research Association which later became the International Bee Research Association.

Crane wrote over 180 papers, articles, and books, many when she was in her seventies and eighties.

Eva Crane died at the age of 95 in Slough, United Kingdom.

The New York Times reported that "Dr. Crane wrote some of the most important books on bees and apiculture" and noted "Her older sister, Elsie Widdowson, who never retired either, helped revolutionize the field of nutrition, showing similar energy chasing seals on ice floes to study their eating habits."