Marika, or Marianne as she introduced herself to me when we first met, is one of my oldest and dearest friends in Canada. We met in the fall of 1966 in the Chemistry Department at Loyola College in Montreal, she had just begun working for Dr Nogrady, a fellow Hungarian, as a research assistant, and I had just started working as a laboratory instructor supervising organic chemistry labs. Loyola at that time was a Jesuit run 4-year college for men, and there were very few women who were not secretaries or office staff. We shared the problems of being isolated professional women in science, working mothers with young children – Vicky is between my daughters in age. We were both immigrants, and had experienced discrimination against married women in the workplace, and the problems of qualifications from another country, although we came from very different places. I came from Tasmania, while she left Hungary following the 1956 uprising, after completing a Diploma of Industrial Chemistry at the Polytechnical College of Chemistry in Budapest. She had worked in laboratories in Montreal while completing her BA at night school at what was then Sir George Williams University (now Concordia), with concentrations in English and French literature.
There were many upheavals and changes in the political and educational scene in Montreal during the late 60’s, and as time passed and our children grew, she became increasingly frustrated with the role of research assistant, where one’s contribution to a project may be substantial but the principal investigator receives the recognition. – and one may not be able to pursue good research ideas.
She was interested in anthropology and had applied and been accepted into a masters program when life intervened in 1969 in the form of Mark. She had introduced me to espresso coffee, and regularly made espresso in a little pressure machine in the basement kitchen, and quite suddenly she went off espresso coffee – I was not surprised when she finally admitted she was pregnant.
So graduate school was put on hold, and she was at home while Mark was a young child. During this time she found creative outlets through pottery and her passion for birding. I still have some of her hand built pots, when she was experimenting with form and glazes. She actively pursued her interest in birding, a lifelong passion, and completed Cornell University’s certificate in Ornithology in 1979.
Marika returned to work at Loyola in 1974, first as a research assistant and then as a laboratory instructor for General Chemistry, but did not give up on the notion of graduate school.. Although our careers took different paths, and I remained at Loyola then Concordia, we neither of us wanted to become “Mrs Godblesshers” referred to in Vivian Gornick’s book on Women in Science, content to mind laboratories for years. A chemistry colleague Michael Hogben who was involved in Interdisciplinary Studies at Loyola at the time suggested she check out the History of Science program at University of Montreal. She had found her field, and enrolled in the Institut d’histoire et de politique des sciences, where she was able to combine her interest in the scientific contributions of amateurs and her love of ornithology, completing an M.Sc in 1980: “La professionalisation de l’ornithologie Américaine 1870 –1979”. This was tough, and a real triumph, as much of the reading and seminars were in French, (a third language) and all theses at Université de Montréal must satisfy their language watchdog before submission, but this experience enhanced her French/english bilingualism. She was hooked on research, received a doctoral fellowship, and moved to McGill for her PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science program, expanding on the work she had begun in ornithology, on professionalisation of this field science, the role and contributions of amateurs, and issues of colonialism and science, receiving her degree in 1985 for her thesis:”From Natural History to Avian Biology: Canadian Ornithology 1860-1950”.
The work for her graduate degrees required extensive archival research across Canada, and interviewing those involved in ornithology who were still alive and their descendents for insights and information. These field trips for research were combined with the family summer camping holidays. David was then teaching high school in the PSBGM, and this pattern of travel and research has continued across the years – summer camping trips and travel destinations built around visits to archives and libraries and interviews with people relevant to the current research project across Canada, in the US, and on trips to UK, Sweden , and more recently sabbatical leaves in Australia and New Zealand.
In 1985 she received a research grant from SSHRC as an independent researcher to work on a scientific biography of William Rowan, a British trained ornithologist who came to Canada to establish the Zoology Department at the University of Alberta - she had become very interested in his experimental work on bird migration and the problems he encountered as a field researcher in the course of her doctoral research, and writing his scientific biography was a project dear to her heart.
However, research grants do not provide income to the individual, and there was a dearth of academic positions available in the 80’s. It was also very difficult at that time (before e-mail and the internet) to be an independent researcher without an institutional affiliation to provide a base, access to libraries and archives, colleagues for discussion and collaboration etc. She did complete the biography “Restless Energy – A Biography of William Rowan, 1891—1957” which was published with a SSHRC publication grant in1993.
Meanwhile a change of direction in her research interests took place. Marika and I regularly walked and talked in Hampstead, a mazelike suburb of Montreal, near their where she lived; I always got lost, but she knew every bird likely to be spotted en route. On one of these walks we realized that there was potential money for research in Canadian Women and Science under the umbrella of SSHERC’s new Women and Work program, and that she was eminently qualified to apply for it. Margaret Rossiter’s book on American (meaning US) Women Scientists had come out in 1982, but there was little historical information about Canadian women natural scientists at that time, although she had come across women naturalists in her graduate work. She received a SSHRC PDF in 85-86 to work on History of Canadian Women in Science, which she spent in the History Department at McGill, and in 1986 obtained the first of two SSHRC major strategic grants covering 1986-92 for Women and Scientific Work, as an Independent Scholar. She still wanted an institutional affiliation and I introduced her to Arpi Hamalian, the Principal of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University, who suggested that she become a Research Fellow of the Institute, which was the start of her association with the Institute.
Women and Scientific Work in Canada has been one of the main themes of her research, which has branched in many directions, including oral histories of living Canadian women scientists, archival work on earlier women scientists, their lives and struggles, interviews with their descendents, and examining how they pursued their scientific interests despite barriers. More recently her work has expanded to women and the environment and issues related to the transfer and recognition of First Nations environmental knowledge, and the cultural parallels between the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian experience, all having been former British colonies.
In 1988 she began teaching part-time in the Women’s Studies program at the Simone de Beauvoir, developing a course in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives of Women, Science and Technology. On one of our walks when discussing the problems she encountered in finding reading material for her course, asking for preprints of papers and conference presentations from colleagues working in this area in Canada, I suggested the solution was for her to create a book. So she solicited a series of essays, which she edited and “Despite the Odds: Essays on Canadian Women and Science” was published in 1990.
She spent a year at Carlton University as Visiting Scholar in their Women’s Studies program then in 1991 became Principal of the S de B and director of the Women’s Studies program for the next four years. During this time she provided dynamic leadership to the Institute, introducing innovations in the curriculum and teaching methods, actively encouraging research seminars and fostering collaborations with colleagues in other departments. She herself was actively involved in collaborations with colleagues at on oral histories, feminist research methods, and feminist biography . She also gained experience in academic administration.
In 1995 the opportunity to become Professor and Chair of Women’s Studies at the new UNBC in Prince George provided a fresh challenge and a secure tenured academic position. It was a major move, supported by David, who was able to take retirement from the school system where he had taught for more than 30 years. At UNBC she had the opportunity to shape and teach in their Women’s studies program, develop a graduate programme, and supervise graduate students. She loved teaching and working with her graduate students on their research projects. Her outstanding contribution to UNBC has been recognized when she was made Professor Emerita following her retirement in 2002, and the move to Victoria.
Marika was a highly productive and well funded scholar recognized in her fields by her peers. She was elected for three terms as President of the Canadian Science and Technology Historical Association, from 1993-1999, and President of the Women’s Studies Association 1999-2000. In addition to her own books, she has contributed more than 20 book chapters to other collections, written numerous peer reviewed journal articles, made contributions to Oxford Companion to Canadian History, the Biographical Dictionary of North American environmentalists, the New Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, as well as writing many reviews of books in history of science, women and science, and ornithology, and serving as a consultant to several museums and Science Centers.
She believed in sharing the ideas and insights which she developed, and as well as regular conference presentations, for the past twenty years she has been an invited speaker several times a year to a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary gatherings.
There were always multiple projects on the go, and most recently, despite her illness, since retirement she had finally completed and submitted for publication the book synthesizing years of her historical work on Canadian women scientists in academia.. She received the first reviews of the manuscript “Overlooked Dimensions: Women and Scientific Work at Canadian Universities1884-1980” suggesting some revisions late this summer, but sadly was not able to complete them. It is my hope that her book will be published, and this valuable work not lost.
Marika’s path from research assistant in chemistry to eminent scholar in History of Science and Women’s Studies would not have been possible without the love and support of David and her children, Vicky and Mark. David’s Yorkshire skepticism, dry wit and endless patience kept her grounded, and provided encouragement through all the difficult times and frustrations. He has driven countless miles across the years enabling her research on a shoestring while sharing her love of nature and photographing birds. He has been, she always told me, the best editor of her writings, ensuring clarity and clear use of language – if David did not understand, the text needed change.
For me, Marika has been a wonderful, vibrant, warm and colorful friend, who has given me support and encouragement for more than forty years. She left us too soon, but has touched the lives of all her many friends and colleagues who are gathered here today for this celebration. She has given us all so much, and her life has had a ripple effect on our lives. For me, titles of her books in many ways reflect her life – she herself was full of Restless Energy and her career is an example to us all of what can be accomplished in scholarship and creativity Despite the Odds.
Mary Baldwin
Marika's sister Gyongyi raising her glass
A full house
Looking at pictures from throughout Marika's lifeAinley began teaching at Concordia in 1988 and was the principal of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute from 1991 to 1995. She then served as professor and chair of women's studies at the University of Northern British Columbia. She continued to teach at UNBC until 2002 and became Professor Emeritus in 2005.
Among the many friends she made at Concordia, Susan Hoecker-Drysdale said this in a recent email: "She was not only a superb person, dear wife and mother, a highly creative artist and photographer, but a great friend to many many people, a dedicated mentor, teacher, researcher, administrator. She bridged the gap between the community and the academy, especially with Native women, in Montreal and British Columbia."
Hoecker-Drysdale contributed to the book Ainley edited in 1989. Against the Odds: Essays on Canadian Women in Science was one of two books Ainley published on the history of science in Canada with Véhicule Press.
Another colleague from the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Barbara Meadowcroft, added, "Marika had a gift for friendship. Through her several moves, her circle of friends just kept growing. She kept in touch with all of us in Montreal and never forgot a birthday."
Ainley's varied career began in her native Hungary where she studied industrial chemistry in the ’50s. In Montreal, she registered in English and French literature at Sir George Williams University and earned her BA in 1964. She then earned both her MA and PhD studying the history of science, and eventually returned to teach at Concordia.
While committed to unearthing the often neglected history of women in the pure sciences, Ainley pursued varied interests. She studied pottery in Montreal in the 1960s and turned to painting in recent years. Her work is currently being exhibited at a gallery in Victoria. She was an avid birder and a lifelong naturalist.
Ainley passed away peacefully in Victoria surrounded by her husband David, daughter Vicky, and son Mark, with her sister Gyongyi on the phone. Those who would like to know more about Ainley and her family can visit marikaainley.blogspot.com/
A celebration of Ainley's life is being organized on October 18, 2 to 5 p.m. at Goward House in Victoria. A Montreal celebration of her life will be held at a later date, watch news@concordia or the Simone de Beauvoir Institute website for details. Donations in her name can be made to Victoria Hospice Society, 1952 Bay Street, Victoria.
This photo of Marika and David was taken on their Alaska cruise one month ago today.
We are so glad that they were able to go on this trip and have such a great time.
