Conservationist.
Born at Winnipeg on 23 July 1915, daughter of Constance Mary Milroy (1893-1939) and William Arthur Murphy, she was passionately interested in nature, wildlife conservation, and international travel, and has been described as a well-known Canadian collector with an extensive library. She once survived a plane crash en route to Antarctica, but her main focus was Africa, where she participated in thirteen safaris, as well as two expeditions to study wild bats, which she helped to fund. In 1967, a research expedition with Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) took her to Malagasy off the east coast of Africa. In 1970, she was again part of a field research team, led by Dr. Randolph Peterson of the ROM, that discovered a new species of bat in Cameroon, which was named Glauconycteris curryae in her honour. Later, she helped to fund the construction of the Bat Cave at the ROM for educating children. On 27 December 1937, she married Peter Duncan Curry with whom she had four children. She died at Novato, California on 21 January 2004.
Marriage and death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 24 January 2004.
The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals, Beolens, Watkins, and Grayson.
African Chiroptera Report 2007.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 31 March 2020
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
