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Memorial to Madeleine Alberta Fritz 1896-1990
Compiled, from material furnished by JO H N M O N TEITH
form er Curator, Royal Ontario Museum
Madeleine Alberta Fritz was bom along the Bay of Fundy in Saint
John, New Brunswick, Canada, on November 3,1896. The daughter of a
sea captain, as a child she sailed around the world with her
father. She often played by the shoreline, studying the tiny
creatures in the water— the beg inn ings o f her in terest in
fossil invertebrates. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from
McGill University in Montreal in 1919, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees
in 1923 and 1926, respectively, from the University of Toronto.
She was both Associate Director of the Royal Ontario M useum
(1936-1955) and C urator o f Invertebrate P alaeontology
(1955-1957) as well as professor o f paleontology in the Departm
ent of Geology of the U niversity o f Toronto (1956-1967). Since
1967 she had been professor em eritus in the D epartm ent o f G
eology and R esearch Associate in the Department of Invertebrate
Palaeontology in the Royal Ontario Museum.
Madeleine Fritz maintained her interest in fossil invertebrates,
especially Ordovician Bry- ozoa, until her death on August 20,
1990. She achieved world renown for her scientific papers on fossil
Bryozoa. So many Fritz-educated professors have taught in
paleontology departments o f universities around the world that she
has been called “the great-grandmother of Paleozoic Bryozoa.”
She felt fortunate to have had William Arthur Parks as her
mentor during her student days at the University of Toronto. She
also became closely associated with him at the Royal Ontario
Museum. Memories o f some of their fossil-collecting expeditions
were among the fondest of her career. She wrote a biography of
Parks which was published in 1971.
Madeleine Fritz was a member o f many geological and other
learned societies: she was a Fellow of both the Geological
Association of Canada and the Geological Society of America, a m em
ber of the Paleontological Society, and a mem ber o f the
Confederation o f U niversity W omen and the International
Federation of University Women Panel of Experts. She was the
recipient of several honors. Most notably, in 1942 she was the
second woman in Canada to be named a Fellow o f the Royal Society
of Canada; in 1967 she received the Centennial Medal of Canada.
Madeleine Fritz said in 1982 that she hoped her many papers had
given her fellow paleontologists “something to think about.” In an
interview for the University o f Toronto Archives Oral History
Programme, she said, “Drawing upon palaeontological history we
recall overspecialization among races of creatures was a prelude to
destruction or to a simpler form of life. Palaeontological history
may well be to a degree corroborated in the history of
mankind.”
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96 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF M. A. FRITZ
1923 The stratigraphy and palaeontology of Toronto and vicinity.
Part III, Gastropoda, Cephalopoda, and Vermes: Ontario Department
of Mines.
1925 The stratigraphy and palaeontology of Toronto and vicinity.
Part IV, Hydrozoa, Echino- dermata, Trilobita, and markings:
Ontario Department of Mines.
1926 The stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Workman’s Creek
section of the Cincinnatian series of Ontario: Royal Society of
Canada Transactions. Sec. IV.
1928 (with Parks, W. A.) Cephalopoda and Bryozoa from Ordovician
Black Shales: Royal Society of Canada Transactions, v. XXII,
Section IV.
1930 Two new species of fossils from the Palaeozoic rocks of
Ontario: Royal Canadian Institute Transactions, v. XVII, no. 38,
Pt. 2.
1932 Permian Bryozoa from Vancouver Island: Royal Society of
Canada Transactions, Sec. IV.1937 Mesoblastus haynesi (Clark) from
Mount Coleman, Alberta: Royal Canadian Institute
Transactions.------ Multisolenia, a new genus of Paleozoic
corals: Journal of Paleontology, v. II, no. 3.1938 (with Stewart,
G.A.) Type invertebrate fossils of North America (Devonian)—
Fenestrellinidae: Wagner Free Institute of Science.------ The
correlation of certain Devonian faunas of eastern and western Gaspé
with Appendix A,
Devonian Bryozoa of Gaspé: Bulletin of American Paleontology, v.
XXTV.------ Resemblance of the coral Multisolenia to Desmidopora:
Journal of Paleontology, v. 12,
no. 3.1939 Two unique Silurian corals: Journal of Paleontology,
v. 13, no. 5.------ Devonian fossil zones in wells from
southwestern Ontario: Geological Society of America
Bulletin, v. 50, p. 79-88.------ Outline of the history and
development of the Royal Ontario Museum of Palaeontology:
Contribution of the Royal Ontario Museum of Palaeontology, no.
1.1940 Aparchites canadensis, a new Devonian ostracode from the
Onondaga of Ontario: Journal
of Paleontology, v. 14.------ Devonian Bryozoa from Fortin and
Malbay Townships, Gaspé County, Quebec: Contribu
tion of the Royal Ontario Museum of Palaeontology, no. 4.1941
Baltic Ordovician fauna in Gaspé: Journal of Paleontology, v.
15.------ Fenestrellina multistriata, a new Devonian bryozoa from
Quebec: Journal of Paleontol
ogy, v. 15, no. 1.------ On Solenopora compacta (Billings) and
the new variety Solenopora compacta
ouareauensis, Plate III: Royal Canadian Institute
Transactions.1942 A Late Palaeozoic Stenoporid from British
Columbia: Royal Canadian Institute Transactions.1944 The Hull
bryozoan Escharopora hogbeni: Journal of Paleontology, v. 18.------
Upper Devonian Bryozoa from New Mexico: Journal of Paleontology, v.
18.------ Bryozoa indicate Middle Devonian age for Gaspé Sandstone:
Royal Society of Canada
Transactions, v. 38, sec. IV.1946 On the Meraspid Period of
Isotelus maximus Locke: Royal Society of Canada Transac
tions, v. 40, sec. IV.------ Permian (?) Bryozoa from Sustut
Lake, British Columbia: Journal of Paleontology, v. 20.------ A
Rhopalonaria in the Dundas Formation at Toronto: Journal of
Paleontology, v. 20.1947 Cambrian Bryozoa: Journal of Paleontolgy,
v. 21.------ Story of ancient life: Royal Ontario Museum Pamphlet
series, no. 1.1948 Cambrian Bryozoa more precisely dated: Journal
of paleontology, v. 22.1949 Life before Cambrian: Geological
Association of Canada Proceedings, v. 2.
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MEMORIAL TO MADELEINE ALBERTA FRITZ 97
1950 Multisolenida, a new order of the Schizocoralla: Journal of
Paleontology, v. 24.1951 Genus Trachytoechus from the Helderberg of
Schoharie, New York: Wagner Free Insti
tute of Science.------ The Pelecypod genus Vlasta in the
Ordovician of North America: Journal of Paleontol
ogy, v. 25.1953 (with Cranswick, J. Stuart) Lower and Middle
Devonian of James Bay Lowland: Geologi
cal Association of Canada Proceedings, v. 6, pt. 1.1954
Rhopalonaria lambtonensis: Journal of Paleontology, v. 28.1955
(with Howell, B. F.) An Upper Cambrian coral from Montana: Journal
of Paleontology,
v. 29.1956 Story of ancient life: Toronto: University of Toronto
Press.------ (with Waines, R. H.) Stromatoporoids from the Upper
Abitibi River Limestone: Geologi
cal Association of Canada Proceedings, v. 8, pt. 1.1957 (with
Lemon, R. R. H. and Norris, A. W.) Stratigraphy and Palaeontology
of the Williams
Island Formation: Geological Association of Canada Proceedings,
v. 9.------ Bryozoa (mainly Trepostomata) from the Ottawa Limestone
(Middle Ordovician) of the
Ottawa-St. Lawrence Lowland: Geological Survey o f Canada
Bulletin, no. 42.1958 (with Cranswick, J. Stuart) Coral fauna of
the Upper Abitibi River Limestone: Geological
Association of Canada Proceedings, v. 10.1959 Meraspid period
(Degree 3) of Pseudogygites latimarginatus (Hall): Contribution of
the
Department of Geological Science, University of Toronto,
June.------ (with Howell, B. F.) Cambrotrypa montanensis, a Middle
Cambrian fossil of possible
coral affinities: Geological Association of Canada Proceedings,
v. 2.1961 A new Bryozoan genus from Lake Hazen, northeastern
Ellesmere Island: Geological
Association of Canada Proceedings, v. 13.1963 An early Middle
Pennsylvanian bryozoan fauna from the Banff area, Alberta: Bulletin
of
Canadian Petroleum Geology, v . l l , no. 1.1964 IScutellum
regale sp. nov. Fritz, from the Silurian of the Hudson Bay area:
Geological
Association of Canada Proceedings, v. 15, pt.2.1965 A bryozoan
fauna from the Middle Ordovician of Mendoza, Argentina: Journal of
Paleon
tology, v. 39, no. 1.1966 Diplotrypa schucherti, a new bryozoan
species from the Long Point Formation (Ordovi
cian), western Newfoundland: Journal of Paleontology, v. 40, no.
6.1970 Pennsylvanian bryozoa (Ectoprocta) from the Tellevak
Limestone of northwestern
Ellesmere Island: Geological Society of Canada Bulletin
187.------ Redescription of type specimens of the bryozoan
Hallopora from the Upper Ordovician of
the Toronto region, Ontario: Geological Association of Canada
Proceedings, v. 21.1971 William Arthur Parks, Ph.D., LL.D., F.R.S.
1868-1936: Royal Ontario Museum Life Sci
ence Miscellaneous Publication.------ The Trepostomatous
bryozoan Stigmatella catenulata diversa (Parks and Dyer, 1922);
a
synonym for Mesotrypa diversa (Parks and Dyer): Royal Ontario
Museum Life Science Occasional Paper, no. 18.
1972 The rise and fall of the fossil dynasties: Rotunda,
Bulletin of the Royal Ontario Museum, v. 5, no. 1.
1973 Redescription of type specimens of bryozoan Stigmatella
from the Upper Ordovician of the Toronto region, Ontario: Royal
Ontario Museum Life Science Contribution, no. 87.
1975 Redescription of type specimens of the bryozoan Heterotrypa
from Upper Ordovician rocks of the Credit River valley, Ontario,
Canada: Royal Ontario Museum Life Science Contribution, no.
101.
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1975 A debt to prehistory: Rotunda, Bulletin of the Royal
Ontario Museum, v. 8, no. 3.1976 Redescription of type specimens of
species of the bryozoan genera Monticulipora,
Mesotrypa, Peronopora, and Prasopora, from the Upper Ordovician
rocks of Toronto and vicinity, Ontario, Canada: Royal Ontario
Museum life Science Contribution, no. 107.
1977 Redescription of type specimens of species of the bryozoan
genera Atactoporella, Homotrypa, and Homotrypella from the Upper
Ordovician rocks of the Credit River valley, Ontario, Canada: Royal
Ontario Museum Life Science Contribution.
98 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
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