extremely difficult and dangerous me, and in Phycological Trailblazer 1938, Sophie, her husband, and young son Klaus No. 28 were forced to flee Germany. Sophie, expecng a second child, was inially on her own. Her father Sophie C. Ducker had entrusted her with a small but very valuable collecon of stamps to use as possible collateral (Originally printed in the Phycological Newsleer. in her escape, but, as she later told me, all the 2008. Vol. 44 No. 1) stamps were taken from her at a border crossing. Another incident, a traumac event, that With the death of Sophie Ducker on 20 she also related to me of her escape was that May, 2004, in Melbourne, lost a major when her labor pains began, she was put into a contemporary figure, a person who contributed room all by herself, where she gave birth to a much to our understanding of marine , sea- daughter. She received no medical assistance, grasses and their pollinaon, horculture, and and the baby died soon aer birth. Separated the history of . On April 9, 1909, Sophie from her husband and her son, Sophie traveled Charloe von to “Persia” [Iran], Klemperer was born where she was in Berlin into a finally reunited with prominent Jewish her family. She family, in which her happened to be banker father had vising her parents sufficient leisure in Rhodesia, where me and resources they had escaped to spend much of to, when the War his non-banking fully broke out. She hours in was forced to accumulang very remain in Africa for old books. That love some me for books was employed as a passed down to governess on a Sophie. She was remote farm raised in Dresden, Sophie Ducker on a Sphagnum bog near Brighton, Michigan, looking aer 5 August, 1982. but with her father off children. In 1940 she to serve in the was able to book Austrian Army during World War I, normal life passage on an Italian ship headed from was non-existent. She was sent off to England to Mozambique to Persia, were her husband and complete her educaon (at the Cheltenham son were located. But while that journey was Ladies College), upon which she returned to underway, in June of 1940, entered the war, Germany. She had an abiding fascinaon with and the boat got chased by a Brish warship. The life and thus started advanced studies in ship that Sophie was on took refuge in botany, first with the freshwater phycologist R. southeastern Persia, and from that remote point H. Chodat in Geneva. This was pivotal training Sophie made a risky journey, partly on that opened up to her the world of algae. She camelback through bandit country, to reach the also studied in Stugart. But this educaon was relave safety of Tehran. In 1941, with the three interrupted in 1931, when she married Dr. Duckers sll in Persia, the Soviet Army invaded Johann Friedrich Ducker, an execuve officer the northern part of the country, and the Brish with the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg. forces invaded the south. Sophie‘s husband was With the emergence of the Nazi regime placed under arrest by the Soviet Army, but in Germany, the decade of the 1930s was an 1 first, Sophie did menial tasks such as washing glassware and preparing media, but gradually she was given more and more responsibilies, eventually becoming a co-author to several publicaons with Dr. McLennan. Sophie’s innate abilies and her enthusiasm for botany became obvious to everyone, and she was now even entrusted with academic responsibilies such as mentoring her own PhD students. She also transferred her aenon more to the marine algae as well as to sea-grasses Fig. 1. Sophie Ducker (second from le), with Murray Parsons, Irené despite the constant Novaczek, and Francis Magne, on foray to Queenscliff, Victoria, , discouragement and carping of her August, 1988 Department Head that there was no presge, future or road to according to son Klaus’ story (Ducker, 2004), his advancement in the study of such Mother was able to cajole the Brish authories inconsequenal organisms. Her interests were [she had a knack for that] in Tehran into very broad: systemacs, ecology, the relaonship arranging her husband’s release. Once set free of host and epiphyte or parasite, pollinaon from the Russians, Dr. Ducker, his wife Sophie ecology in sea-grasses, and eventually history. and young Klaus soon le on a boat, with very She was allowed to advise several graduate few possessions, headed for an unknown students over the years. These included Ian desnaon. They arrived in Australia just before Price, Robert King, Peter Saenger, Margaret Japan entered the War. It was in Australia, more Clayton, Vicki Brown, Serena Canterford, and specifically Melbourne, where they seled, Cameron McKonchie. She had fruiul established roots, and were later to become collaboraons on such diverse topics as Australian cizens, although husband Fritz’s pollinaon in sea-grasses and disncve red qualificaons and doctorate were never algal pigments with colleagues in the School of recognized in that country and he never Botany such as Bruce Knox, Kingsley Rowan, and achieved the status there that he would have John Pet. Like many of the talented Australian had he elected to remain in Germany and woman botanists of her era, such as Isabelle abandon his “Jewish” wife as he was ordered to Cookson, Ethel McLennan, Margaret Blackwood, do by the Nazis. and Gretna Weste, Sophie was a vicm of a It was only aer Sophie’s son was raised repressive “glass ceiling” at Melbourne that she made the decision to resume the University for none of these talented sciensts pursuit of a botanical career, even though she were ever elevated to full professorships and had no graduate degree. Her first employment indeed were granted only the rank of reader was in the Botany School at ‘Melbourne Uni’, (i.e., Associate Professor) in their last year before where she worked in the fungal lab of Dr. Ethel rerement. Her interest in green algae McLennan, who proved to be an encouraging resulted in several papers, including not just a mentor (Ducker, 1988b 1995a). The focus of monograph of Chlorodesmis (Ducker, 1967) but McLennan’s lab was to establish and maintain also the first publicaon on the use of numerical cultures of fungi, especially Penicillium, as a in an algal (Ducker et al., 1965). resource for obtaining anbiocs in Australia. At 2 She had several solo-authored and co-authored me a small vial of a wet-preserved papers on various green algal genera and also on delesseriacean alga that she had “secreted” out of mostly arculated Corallinaceae, of Madagascar in 1974. It was just a fragment, including a monograph of the Australian but in studying that small scrap I was able to endemic genus Metagoniolithon (Ducker, determine that it was the totally obscure species 1979b). Her fluency in several languages gave Delesseria ferlusii Hariot, the original 18th her a facility to carry out her research in the Century collecon having been made at Fort history of phycology, with an emphasis on Dauphin, Madagascar. But I also later realized Australia. She dealt with contribuons by the that it had to be an undescribed genus that I was French (1979a), the Germans (1981, b, c), and pleased to name Duckerella. Her Madagscar trip the Austrians (1990a), as well as producing more also resulted in the descripon of a totally new general historical treatments (1981a, 1990b). But genus and species of gigarnalean algae of the it was , of Trinity College, Dublin, obscure family Acrotylaceae which Gerry Kra , that she was especially drawn to (1972, named Ranavalona (aer both the collecon 1977, 1992, 2002). A visit to Harvard University locality, Cape Ranavalona, and a famous early resulted in her discovering a treasure-trove of queen of the southern region) duckerae (Kra, leers wrien by Harvey to Asa Gray and his wife 1977). Sophie’s Madagascar trip was not without Emma Gray (and to others), allowing Sophie to considerable personal dangers. Madagascar was edit a handsome volume of these then governed by a series of unstable le-wing correspondences (Ducker, 1988a). Her chapter dictatorships. Life and safety for the very few on the history of Australia phycology (done with intrepid vising westerners could be very Roberta Cowan) in the recent book “Algae of uncertain. Awaing departure with a large Australia: Introducon” is a very rich source of collecon of marine algae, she was told that all informaon and a fing final contribuon from would have to be le behind and that the her (Cowan & Ducker, 2007). penales for aempng to smuggle out even the I first met Sophie Ducker as a grad smallest amount of natural resources would be student in the mid-1960s, when she spent some severe. Rering to the ladies’ room, Sophie me in the Dept of Botany and of the picked out the cream of her collecons University of California, Berkeley, consulng with (including the “Delesseria” and Ranavalona), Drs G. F. Papenfuss and P. C. Silva. Some me secreted the specimens in her brazier, and later (in 1981) I spent a sabbacal at Melbourne returned inmidaon for inmidaon as she Uni interacng much with her and with old sailed majescally through customs. friends and colleagues such as Gerry Kra, Rick A year later, in 1982, on her way to Wetherbee, Carrick Chambers, and Tim Entwisle. aend the First Internaonal Phycological I was housed in a rather spartan “faculty flat” at Congress in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, one of the “colleges” (student resident halls), Sophie came through Ann Arbor and stayed with and Sophie oen checked to make sure that I me. I can’t recall where the idea came from, but was geng along ok, loaning me books to read I decided to drive her up to a very picturesque and her spare “telly”. She also invited me several Sphagnum bog just west of Brighton, Michigan, a mes to have dinner with her at her home on perfect place to see sundews and pitcher , Percy Street in the suburb of Balwyn. I recall how as well as to make Sphagnum “squeezings” for she would go out into her backyard and bring in acid-loving desmids. Sophie quickly ventured out ripe vegetables and fruits like pomegranates and on the bog and although by then in her early citrus to add to the meal. Her home was also a 70s, she totally delighted in jumping up and rich library full of choice items that she was later down, as if she were on a maress. It was a to bequeath to the University of Melbourne genuine quaking bog aer all, and she remarked special-collecons Library. It was during that that it was her first me on such a Sphagnum sabbacal stay that Sophie kindly turned over to bog since she had le Germany almost 45 years

3 Fig. 1. Duckerella ferlusii (Hariot) M.J. Wynne. Specimen collected by Sophie Ducker in Madagascar. before. At that First Congress Sophie had been the Berlin Wall separang East from West Berlin invited to give a special lecture covering the rich came down, that some of her father’s precious history of collecng done at Port Phillip Heads, library surfaced. In 1991 Sophie aended an south of Melbourne, a classic site that was aucon of those incunabula at one of the visited by such luminaries as William Harvey, famous instuons (Sotheby’s or Chrises’) in Ferdinand von Mueller, Rev. John Bracebridge London. Wilson, A. H. S. Lucas, Josephine Tilden, Lily On another occasion, it came to my Newton, Ferguson Wood, Mary Pocock, and G. F. aenon that a copy of Samuel G. Gmelin’s Papenfuss. That lecture, which was both (1768) Historia Fucorum was available at an informave and entertaining, was published the anquarian bookshop in Ann Arbor. It was an next year in Phycologia (Ducker, 1983), and it is amazingly clean copy, selling for $350. I owned a sll a “good read” as Sophie’s keen interest in very dog-eared copy of the book. But I contacted the side of science comes abundantly Sophie to find out if she was at all interested. through. At the me of the Third Internaonal She did not have it in her library, and she said on Phycological Congress, held in Melbourne, the phone “Buy it for me!” So I quickly returned Australia, Sophie was in the thick of the to the shop and bought it for Sophie to add to collectors on an organized foray to Queenscliff, her collecon. Port Phillip Heads, giving out her ideas of the As I said at the me that I described the names of species that folks brought to her to new genus Duckerella (Fig. 2) (Wynne, 1982), it idenfy (Fig. 1). was named to honor “the undaunted spirit” of Sophie Ducker was an avid collector and Sophie Ducker. I came to realize that that phrase reader of books, traits inherited from her aptly summarized her enre life. She could be bibliophile father. The family home in Dresden irascible and demanding at mes, but had its own library, in which Sophie’s father had underneath that exterior was a most generous accumulated the largest private collecon of soul, one movated by her high standards and “incunabula” in the world [books printed also never deterred by the many hardships and pre-1500]. These books were later to disappear at mes extreme challenges that came her way. when the Nazis took over the city and burned She’ll always be remembered as a unique down the home. It was only aer 1989, when “trailblazer” and a role model, someone who

4 never gave up. At this me, just a year shy of the 1981. A. Wheeler & J. H. Price (eds). Society for centennial of her birth, we have happy the Bibliography of , London. Pp. memories of Sophie C. Ducker and are grateful 43-51. for her uncounted contribuons to phycology ______. 1983. Port Phillip Heads: a phycological saga. and the history of science. Phycologia 22: 431-443. ______. 1984. Harvey, William Henry. In: Diconary of Australian Arsts. J. Kerr (ed.). Power Instute of Cowan, R. A., & S. C. Ducker. 2007. A history of Fine Arts, Sydney. Pp. 340-341. systemac phycology in Australia. In: Algae of ______. 1985. James Fleming: the first gardener on the Australia: Introducon. (P. M. McCarthy & A. E. River Yarra, Victoria. J. Soc. Bibliogr. Nat. Hist. 13: Orchard, eds.) Australian Biological Resources 123-140. Study, Canberra; CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. ______. 1986. Lucas, Arthur Henry Shakespeare. In: Pp. 1-65. Diconary of Australian Biography. B. Nairn & G. Ducker, K. 2004. Planted new roots, then seeds of Serle (eds), vol. 10, pp. 163-4. Melbourne thought. 4 pp. University Press, Melbourne. Ducker, S. C. 1958, A new species of Basicladia on ______. (ed.) 1988a. The Contented Botanist: Leers of W. Australian freshwater turtles. Hydrobiologia 10: H. Harvey about Australia and the Pacific. Leers 157-174. of W.H. Harvey about Australia and the Pacific. ______. 1965. The structure and reproducon of the Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. green alga Chlorodesmis bulbosa. Phycologia 4: ______. 1988b. Ethel McLennan 1891-1983 botanist. In: 149-162. 200 Australian women, a Redress anthology (H. ______. 1966. An earlier name for the green alga Radi, Ed.). Women’s Redress Anthology. hp:// Chlorodesmis bulbosa. Phycologia 5: 245-246. www.200australianwomen.com/names/147.html ______. 1967. The genus Chlorodesmis (Chlorophyta) in ______. 1990a. Early Austrian influence on Australian the Indo- Pacific region. Nova Hedwigia 13: botany. In: History of Systemac Botany in 145-182, pls 26-43. Australasia. P. S. Short (ed.). Australian Systemac ______. 1969. Addions to the genus Chlorodesmis. Botany Society Inc., Melbourne. Pp. 297-304. Phycologia 8: 17-20. ______. 1990b. History of Australian marine phycology. In: ______. 1972. Harvey, William Henry. In: Australian of Marine Plants. M. N. Clayton & R. J. Diconary of Biography. D. Pike (ed.), vol. 4, King (eds). Longman Cheshire, Melbourne. Pp. 1851-90, pp. 357-358. Melbourne University 415-430. Press, Melbourne. ______. 1991. Ronald Campbell Gunn’s visit to Port Phillip ______. 1977. W. H. Harvey’s Australian algae. 26: in 1836,. In: Aspects of Tasmanian Botany - A 166-68. tribute to Winifred Curs, M. R. Banks, S. J. Smith, ______. 1979a. History of Australian phycology: the A. E. Orchard & G. Kantvilas (eds). Royal Society of significance of early French exploraon. Brunonia , Hobart. Pp. 201-212. 2: 19-42. ______. 1992, Harvey, William Henry. In: The Diconary of ______. 1979b. The genus Metagoniolithon Weber-van Australian Arsts. J. Kerr (ed.) Oxford University Bosse (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta). Australian Press, Melbourne. P. 351. Journal of Botany 27: 67-101. ______. 1995a. McLennan, Ethel Irene. In: Heritage: The ______. 1981a. A history of Australian marine phycology. Naonal Women’s Art Book. J. Kerr (ed.). G + B In: Marine botany: an Australasian perspecve. Arts Internaonal Limited. An Art & Australia M. N. Clayton & R. J. King (eds), Longman Book, Australia.. Pp. 178-179, 400. Cheshire, Melbourne. Pp. 1-14. ______. 1995b. W.H. Harvey in New South Wales. Leers ______. 1981b. Australian phycology: the German by the phycologist W.H. Harvey, wrien in New influence. In: People and Plants in Australia. D. J. South Wales in 1855. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Carr & S. G. M. Carr (eds). Academic Press, Wales 115: 213-223. Sydney. Pp. 116-138. ______. 2000. Alex S. George, William Dampier in New ______. 1981c. History of Australian phycology: early Holland: Australia’s first natural historian. German collectors and botanists. In: History in the Hawthorn: Blooming Books, 1999. William Service of Systemacs: papers from the Dampier, A new voyage round the world: The conference to celebrate the centenary of the Brish Museum (Natural History) 13-16 April, 5 journal of an English buccaneer. London: plants and animals. Mem. Natl. Mus. Victoria 32: Hummingbird Press, 1998, Hist. Rec. 93-128. ______. 2002a, Fleming, James. In: The Oxford Kra, G. T. 1977. Studies of marine algae in the lesser- Companion to Australian Gardens. R. Aitken & M. known families of the Gigarnales (Rhodophyta). Looker (eds). Australian Garden History Society & I. The Acrotylaceae. Aust. J. Bot. 25: 97-140. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Pp. 221-222. Maroske, S. 2004. Sophie Ducker’s contribuons to the ______. 2002b. Hannaford, Samuel. In: The Oxford . Australian Systemac Botany Companion to Australian Gardens. R. Aitken & M. Newsleer 120: 20-22l. With a complete Looker (eds). Australian Garden History Society, compilaon of the publicaons by Sophie C Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Pp. 288-289. Ducker: hp://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/ ______. 2002c. Harvey, William Henry. In: The Oxford ducker-sophie- publicaons.html Companion to Australian Gardens. R. Aitken & M. McConchie, C.A., S. C. Ducker & R. B. Knox. 1982. Biology Looker (eds). Australian Garden History Society, of Australian seagrasses: floral development and Oxford University Press, Melbourne. P. 290. morphology in Amphibolis (Cymodoceaceae). ______, N. J. Foord, & R. B. Knox. 1977. Biology of Australian Journal of Botany 30: 251-264. Australian seagrasses: the genus Amphibolis C. ______, ______, ______& J. M. Pe,1982. Pollen wall Agardh (Cymodoceaceae). Australian Journal of structure and cytochemistry in the seagrass Botany 25: 67-95. Amphibolis griffithii (Cymodoceaceae). Annals of ______. & R. J. King. 1970. Marine algae of the Victorian Botany (Oxford) 50: 729-732. coast, Victorian Year Book 84: 39-43. Pe, J. M., S. C. Ducker, & R. B. Knox. 1981a. Submarine ______& R. B. Knox. 1976. Submarine pollinaon in pollinaon. Scienfic American 224 (3): 92-101. seagrasses. Naturwissensch. 263: 705-706. ______, C. A. McConchie, S. C. Ducker, & R. B. Knox. 1980b. ______& ______. 1978. Alleloparasism between a Unique adaptaons for submarine pollinaon in seagrass and algae. Naturwissenschaen 65: seagrasses. Nature 286: 487-489. 391-392. ______, ______, ______, & ______. 1983a. Reproducon ______& ______. 1984. Epiphysm at the cellular level in seagrasses: pollinaon in Amphibolis with special reference to algal epiphytes. In: antarcca. Proc. Roy. Soc. London, Ser. B., Biol. Cellular interacons. H.-F. Linskens & J. Heslop- Sci. 219: 119-135. Harrison (eds). Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Price, I. R. & S. C. Ducker. 1966. The life history of the Heidelberg. Pp. 113-133. brown alga Splachnidium rugosum. Phycologia 5: ______& ______. 1985. Pollen and pollinaon: a 261-273. historical review. Taxon 34: 401-419. Rowan, K. S. 1984. A tribute to Dr Sophie C. Ducker. ______, J. D. Le Blanc, & H. W. Johansen. 1976. An Phycologia 23: 1-2. ephiphyc species of Jania (Corallinaceae: Saenger, P. & S. C. Ducker. 1971. The morphology and Rhodophyta) endemic to southern Australia. development of Lenormandia prolifera (C.Ag.) Contr. . Austral. 17: 1-8. J.Agardh (Amansieae, Rhodomelaceae). ______, J. M. Pe, & R. B. Knox. 1978. Biology of Australian Journal of Botany 19: 51-62. Australian seagrasses: Pollen development and ______, ______, & K. W. Rowan. 1971. Two species of submarine pollinaon in Amphibolis antarcca Ceramiales from Australia and . and Thalassodendron ciliatum (Cymodoceaceae). Phycologia 10: 105-111. Australian Journal of Botany 26: 265-285. ______, K. S. Rowan, & S. C. Ducker. 1968. The lipid-soluble ______, W. T. Williams, W.T. & G. N. Lance. 1965. pigments of the marine red alga, Lenormandia Numerical classificaon of the Pacific forms of prolifera. Helgoländer Wiss. Chlorodesmis (Chlorophyta). Australian Journal of Meeresuntersuchungen 18: 549-555. Botany 13: 389-399. ______, ______, & ______. 1969. The water-soluble Hoek, C., van den, S. C. Ducker, & H. B. S. Womersley. 1984. pigments of the red alga, Lenormandia prolifera. Wirockiella salina Chapman (Cladophorales, Phycologia 7: 59-64. Chlorophyceae), a mat and ball forming alga. Woelkerling, W. J. & S. C. Ducker. 1987. Lesueuria Phycologia 23: 39-46. minderiana gen. et sp. nov. (Corallinaceae, King, R. J., H. J. Black, & S. C. Ducker. 1971. Interdal Rhodophyta) from southern and western ecology of Port Phillip Bay with systemac list of Australia. Phycologia 26: 192-204.

6 Wynne, M. J. 1982. Duckerella, a new genus of Delesseriaceae (Rhodophyta) from Madagascar. Phycologia 21: 236-242.

I am very grateful to Dr. Gerald T. Kra for reading over a dra of this essay and his checking the accuracy of some of the facts and offering many improvements.

Michael J. Wynne University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

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