Margaret Mary Smith

Margaret Mary Smith (née MacDonald; 26 September 1916 in Indwe, Cape Province, South Africa – 8 September 1987), was an ichthyologist, accomplished fish illustrator, and an academic.

Early life Margaret Mary Smith was the daughter of Chisholm MacDonald and Helen Evelyn Zondagh. Her father was a medical doctor and her mother a descendant of the Voortrekker leader Jacobus Johannes Uys. She was the youngest of three children. She also attended the Grahamstown Training College School of Music and obtained her University Teachers' Licentiate in Music for singing in 1936.

Career In 1937, after she obtained her degree, she was hired as a senior demonstrator in chemistry at Rhodes University. She tutored students in physics and chemistry and in 1945 she taught physics at St. Andrew’s College. They had one son named William. He is the renowned South African television science and mathematics teacher William Smith.

Besides physics and chemistry, Margaret had an interest in ichthyology, the study of fish. During 1938 and 1956, Margaret Mary Smith and her husband conducted fish collection expeditions along the South African coast. In 1952, they found a rare coelacanth in the Comoros, only the second live specimen positively identified in modern history. The first specimen had been discovered in 1938 by a colleague of James named Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer. Margaret made the illustrations and paintings for their manuscript. Margaret, produced 685 paintings for the first edition of the book.

On 30 April 1982 Margaret Smith retired as director of the J.L.B. Smith Institute. She had served on the Senate and Faculty of Science of the University from 1968 to 1982. She left behind the largest collection of southern African marine fishes in the world. While retired, Margaret Smith received the Order for Meritorious Service, Class 1 (Gold) in 1987 from the state President, P. W. Botha.

The Margaret Smith Library is named in honour of the first Director of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, now the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) at Rhodes University. Built in 2001, The Margaret Smith Residence, a women’s hostel at Rhodes University honours her contribution to the university and to international science.