Marion Isabel Newbigin was a Scottish geographer, biologist and academic author. She was noted for her book Animal Geography, a key work inthe field of animal geography/zoogeography, and as editor of the Scottish Geographical Magazine.
While a student in London, Newbigin began conducting research, based at the laboratories of the Royal College of Physicians. Her research was wide ranging and included the colouration of plants and animals, especially marine species. Her findings were published in journal articles, which she authored individually or with collaborators, most notably N.D. Paton. Later she studied and reported on the large collections of marine organisms collected by the Challenger expedition, and undertook further research, expanding her natural history knowledge at the Marine Biological Station Millport. She brought her work and the published literature on marine organisms' colouration together in Colour in Nature and Life by the Sea Shore, which were praised as both scientifically rigorous and remarkably accessible. These early works of hers remained widely read for many years after their publication. After completing her degrees in London, Newbigin returned to Edinburgh, where she took up her mentor Thomson's position as lecturer of biology and zoology at the School of Medicine for Women. She was highly regarded by her students and those who saw her public lectures. She continued to lecture at various institutions, and later in her life devoted much of her time to writing geography textbooks. In 1902, she was employed as editor of the Scottish Geographical Magazine and held the position for 32 years until her death in 1934. During her time as editor she helped shape geography as a new and developing academic discipline of geography. She used her platform amply write popular articles on various aspects of geography. As editor, and in various institutional roles, she mentored and encouraged an entire generation of British geographers. She contributed numerous academic works, and unusually even for her time, her geographical interests were wide-ranging, covering essentially every subfield of geography. Her most prominent work was Animal Geography and others on animal geographies and other areas at the intersection of biology and geography. However she also wrote about political geography, travel, and cartography, among other topics. Among the recognition she received was the Livingstone Gold Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, the Back Award of the Royal Geographical Society and the presidency of the geographical section of the British Association.
Later life
At Chamberlain Road, Edinburgh she lived for many years with her sisters Hilda and Alice, as well as Maude once the latter retired. It was there that she died on 20 July 1934.
