LI^fNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. 6 1 



[Owing to the iUiiess of the author, this obituary notice could not 

 be inserted in the usual pi ace.^ 



Kate Marion Hall. — The story of the late Kate Mai-iou Hall, 

 F.L.S., F.Z.!S., who was for years Curator of the Stepney Borough 

 Museum, and one of the founders of the School Nature Study 

 Union, id the comparatively uneventful story of a woman whose 

 life was full of interest and beauty, because of her intense love of 

 Nature ; and who devoted herself during the best years of her life 

 to sharing the pleasure her knowledge and studies gave her, with 

 the meu, women and children of crowded Whitechapel. 



Born in August 1861, Miss Hall was the daughter of the late 

 Mr. Harry Hall, of Newmarket, the well-known animal painter, 

 and of Ellen Payne his wife. She was educated at Highfield 

 School, Heudon, under Miss Metcalfe. After her father's death 

 in 1881 shecame to London and she attended classes at University 

 College, but did not take a degree because she never succeeded in 

 mastering Latin. Later on, her love and sympathy for working 

 people took her to Toynbee Hall, where she began an association 

 with Canon and Mrs. Baruett that lasted for many years. About 

 1893 she was appointed Curator of the Borough of Stepney 

 Museum at Whitechapel — the first woman to hold such a position 

 in England. It was on the 1st June, 1905, that she was elected 

 a Fellow of the Linnean Society, of which she was very proud. 

 She remained at Whitechapel until 1909, when she retired to New 

 Place, Lingfield, and died there on April 12, 1918. 



Brought up by a father whose love for animals must have been 

 an inspiration and au education to her, the girl from her earliest 

 days displayed the power of exact observation that was later on to 

 make her such au admirable instructor. " I cannot remember the 

 time," she writes in her delightful book 'Nature Rambles iu 

 London,' " when I did not know the names of common trees. 

 We lived with these trees, year by year, and season by season, 

 tender the finest plane I have ever seen I read my story books, 

 and when wearied with these, amused myself by discovering what 

 intruders had taken shelter beneath the flakes of its bark." 



She was fortunate in being able to pass on to all the 

 grown up people and children who loved to visit the Museum, 

 something of her own enthusiasm for the fascinating story of 

 plant and animal life. The collection — which developed from the 

 Toynbee Hall collection — received on transference to its new 

 home some valuable additions, including rare specimens from New 

 Zealand which had been presented to Queen Mary, then Duchess 

 of York, when she visited that country. Mr. Sydney Hall, the 

 artist of the ' Graphic,' had accompanied the royal party on that 

 tour, and it was perhaps through him that the Duchess became 

 interested in his sister's work. Tears before the idea proved so 

 welcome at the British Museum, Miss Hall had instituted 

 " museum talks," which were much appreciated by the visitors. 

 She gave mauy weekly lectures; .nid Lord Avebury was one of 



