Grace Prestwich
Grace Prestwich (born Grace Anne Milne; 19 December 1832 – 31 August 1899) was a Scottish author and illustrator who helped popularize geology. She grew up in Scotland, learned to draw portraits in boarding school, and married George McCall in 1854. They had a son in 1855, but both her husband and child died within a few months in 1856. Afterward she cared for her uncle Alexander Falconer and joined his brother Hugh Falconer on a long tour of Italy and France in 1858, where they met the science writer Mary Somerville. Grace became Hugh Falconer’s assistant, secretary and hostess until his death in 1865, helping collect fossils and draw specimens during their travels.
In 1870 she married Sir Joseph Prestwich, a geologist; they had no children. In the 1870s she began writing fiction and popular geology articles for magazines such as Every Girl's Magazine and Good Words, explaining the history of geology and the evidence for or against major ideas. She also produced accessible versions of her husband’s scientific papers and wrote travel accounts. Grace played an active role in the early days of Somerville Hall (later Somerville College) at the University of Oxford, established in 1879.
Grace Prestwich died in 1899 after several years of ill health. The Geological Society noted that only her gender prevented her from becoming a Fellow. After her death, her sister published a collection of her essays.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:11 (CET).