Gertrud Theiler

Gertrud Theiler (11 September 1897 – 2 May 1986) was a South African parasitologist and teacher most noted for her work with nematodes and ticks.

Early life

Born on 11 September 1897 in Pretoria, South Africa, Theiler graduated from Pretoria High School for Girls and spent a year at Rhodes University College in Grahamstown, South Africa, before transferring to South African College in Cape Town, where she graduated in 1918 with a Bachelor of Science degree.

The argasid tick Argas theilerae (Hoogstraal and Kaiser, 1970), "Theiler's African white-backed vulture argasid," the ixodid ticks Rhipicephalus gertrudae (Feldman-Muhsam, 1960) and Sharifiella theilerae (Hoogstraal 1953), and the parasitic wasp Hunterellus theilerae were named to honour Theiler for her many contributions to tick research.

Personal

Theiler was the youngest daughter of Sir Arnold Theiler , founder and first director of the Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, and his wife, Emma Sophie Jegge; She was a sister of virologist Max Theiler, who was awarded the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for development of the yellow fever vaccine.