Early life and education Beatrice Lindsay was born on 3 October 1858 in
Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, to William Lindsay and Anne Lindsay (). Lindsay matriculated at
Girton College, Cambridge, in 1880. She studied the
Natural Sciences Tripos, receiving a Class II in Part I in 1883 and a Class III in the
Moral Sciences Tripos in 1884.
Scientific career and writing In 1885, Lindsay published "On the Avian Sternum" in the
Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. The paper argued that the keel of
carinate birds was not
homologous with reptilian elements. She later wrote two
popular science books:
An Introduction to the Study of Zoology (1895), a general guide to zoology, and
The Story of Animal Life (1902), part of the
Library of Useful Stories series. In
An Introduction to the Study of Zoology, Lindsay wrote that the bodies of animals used for dissection should be treated with reverence and referred to
Darwin's fieldwork as a model for studying animals outside laboratories.
Vegetarianism Lindsay became a
vegetarian around 1875 and joined the
Vegetarian Society in 1880. In 1885, she was appointed editor of the society's publication,
The Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger, becoming the first woman to hold the post. During Lindsay's editorship, the journal introduced a Ladies' Page, a supplementary children's magazine titled
The Daisy Basket, and a Christmas annual,
Almonds and Raisins, which she also edited. Lindsay also contributed a recurring column titled
New Foods, which introduced readers to imported and less familiar ingredients such as yams, pine nuts, and coconut oil. The column used taxonomy, anatomy, and botany in its explanations of foods and diet.
Later life and death Lindsay later moved to the
Isle of Man. She died in
Onchan on 16 December 1917, aged 59. == Publications ==