Elke Mackenzie

Elke Mackenzie
Mackenzie in 1944
Born	Ivan Mackenzie Lamb (1911-09-11)11 September 1911 Clapham, London, UK
Died	18 January 1990(1990-01-18) (aged 78) Braintree, Massachusetts, US
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Edinburgh University
Scientific career
Fields	Lichenology
Institutions	British Museum (Natural History) National University of Tucumán National Museum of Canada Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany
Doctoral students	Vernon Ahmadjian Royall T. Moore
Author abbrev. (botany)	I.M.Lamb

Elke Mackenzie (11 September 1911 – 18 January 1990), born Ivan Mackenzie Lamb, was a British polar explorer and botanist who specialized in the field of lichenology. Beginning her education in Edinburgh, Scotland, Mackenzie later pursued botany at Edinburgh University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1933 and a Doctor of Science in 1942. In the two years she was involved in Operation Tabarin, a covert World War II mission to Antarctica, she identified and documented many lichen species, several of them previously unknown to science.

Over the course of her career in academia, Mackenzie held positions at the British Museum, National University of Tucumán, National Museum of Canada, and the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany at Harvard University. In 1971, Mackenzie transitioned, renaming herself to Elke Mackenzie and faced institutional prejudice as a result. After retirement, her later years were marred by poor health. Despite facing adversity, her legacy is preserved in the names of two genera and numerous species named in her honour. Mackenzie's contributions to polar exploration earned her polar medals from both the Britain and the United States.