Joan Beauchamp Procter

Joan loved snakes and lizards.

She even kept a pet crocodile at school! Joan grew up to be a great scientist. She worked at a big museum and a zoo.

She helped make homes for reptiles. She used special glass to let in sunlight. This light helped the animals stay healthy.

Joan was also a great artist. She made models of rocks and pools. These helped the animals live in a natural way.

She designed a special house for reptiles. It was the first building like it in the world. People still use it today.

Joan worked hard to learn about animals. She was a very smart leader.

Joan Procter was a famous scientist. She studied reptiles and amphibians. These are animals like snakes, lizards, and frogs.

Joan loved animals from a young age. She kept snakes and lizards as pets. She even took a young crocodile to school! Even though she was often sick, she worked very hard. She studied how animals live and grow.

Joan worked at the British Museum. Later, she became the first female Curator of Reptiles at London Zoo. A curator is a person in charge of a collection. She was a leader in her field. She also wrote many papers about animals.

Joan was a great artist too. She made models of rocks and pools. These models helped her design better homes for animals. She designed the Reptile House at London Zoo. It was the first building of its kind. It used a special glass called Vita-glass. This glass lets in ultraviolet light. This light helps reptiles make Vitamin D to stay healthy. Her designs were very smart and natural. Many people still use her building today.

Joan Beauchamp Procter was a brilliant British scientist. She was a herpetologist, which means she studied reptiles and amphibians.

Her work helped people understand how these animals live. She was a leader in her field. She also worked as an artist. Her skills helped her design better homes for animals in zoos. She was the first woman to be the Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoo.

Joan's work often involved making things look natural. She was a talented modeller and draughtswoman. She built small scale models of tanks and rock structures. These models showed how the real enclosures would look. She used her art to design rockwork and pools for animals. This helped create habitats that looked like the wild. Her designs even included natural-looking back-scenes for the displays.

Joan's interest in nature began when she was a young girl. She lived in London and loved her family's large gardens. She kept many snakes and lizards as pets. One of her pets was a large Dalmatian lizard. She even brought a young crocodile to her school!

Even though she had many health problems, she never stopped learning. She studied hard despite her chronic illnesses.

She spent much of her career at two important places. First, she worked at the British Museum (Natural History). She started there as a volunteer in 1916. She worked under George Albert Boulenger, who was the Keeper of Reptiles. Later, she moved to the Zoological Society of London. In 1925, she became the Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoo.

She also studied an East African tortoise with a flexible shell.

Joan's most famous work is the Reptile House at the London Zoo. She designed the floor plan and the exhibit details. It was built between 1926 and 1927. This was the first building of its kind in the world. It used a special material called Vita-glass. This glass lets in ultraviolet light from the sun. This light is very important for reptiles. It helps them make Vitamin D to stay healthy.

Her building is still used today.

Joan Beauchamp Procter was a distinguished British zoologist and herpetologist. Herpetology is the scientific study of reptiles and amphibians.

Throughout her career, she made significant contributions to taxonomy, which is the science of naming and classifying living things. She also improved how zoos care for animals through innovative enclosure designs. Although her life was cut short by chronic intestinal illness, her scientific impact was immense. She worked at the British Museum (Natural History) and later became the first female Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoo.

Procter's scientific journey began with a deep personal interest in nature. Growing up in London, she spent much of her time in large family gardens. By the age of ten, she was already keeping various snakes and lizards as pets. One of her most notable companions was a large Dalmatian lizard. At age sixteen, she even brought a young crocodile to her school. These early experiences helped her develop a specialized knowledge of British reptile species. Despite facing frequent interruptions from ill-health, she remained a dedicated student of the natural world.

Her professional career was shaped by her mentor, George Albert Boulenger. Boulenger was the Keeper of Reptiles and Fishes at the British Museum (Natural History). In 1916, Procter began working under his direction as a voluntary assistant. She lacked formal university qualifications, but her talent was undeniable. At nineteen, she published her first scientific paper regarding variations in the pit-viper species *Lachesis atria*. In 1917, she was elected as a Fellow of the Zoological Society (FZS). When Boulenger retired in 1920, Procter took sole charge of the museum's reptile collection.

Procter was a prolific researcher who studied animal anatomy and classification. She published many papers on the habits of reptiles and amphibians. One of her most interesting studies focused on an East African tortoise, *Malacochersus tornieri*. She discovered that this tortoise has a flexible carapace, which is its upper shell. This unique physical trait allows the tortoise to hide inside narrow rock crevices. Her taxonomic work was so highly regarded that she was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. She also maintained a wide network of professional correspondence with scientists globally.

Beyond pure science, Procter was an accomplished draughtswoman and modeller. She used these artistic skills to bridge the gap between biology and zoo design. She created detailed scale models of aquarium tanks and complex rock structures. These models helped planners visualize how enclosures would look in real life. She also designed rockwork and pools for various zoo habitats. Her ability to combine scientific accuracy with artistic flair allowed her to create environments that felt natural. This work was essential for the modern development of zoo exhibits.

In 1925, Procter transitioned from the museum to the Zoological Society of London. She was appointed Curator of Reptiles, succeeding Edward G. Boulenger. One of her greatest achievements was the design of the new Reptile House, built between 1926 and 1927. This was the first purpose-built building of its kind in the world. While an architect handled the external Italianate features, the internal structure was entirely her design. It was a revolutionary space that prioritized the biological needs of the animals. The building remains in use at the London Zoo today.

The Reptile House introduced several important technological advancements to animal husbandry. Most notably, Procter pioneered the use of 'Vita-glass' in the enclosures. This special glass allowed natural ultraviolet light to pass through into the habitats. This light is vital because it enables reptiles to synthesize Vitamin D. Without this process, reptiles cannot maintain healthy bones and overall well-being. Her design philosophy ensured that the animals were not just on display, but were also biologically supported. This integration of science and engineering changed how zoos function.

Procter's legacy is found in both her scientific papers and her physical structures. She designed other notable areas, such as the rockwork for Monkey Hill and the Antelope Paddock. Her work helped transform zoos from simple collections of animals into sophisticated centers for biological study. Even though she struggled with her health, she achieved a level of professional recognition rarely seen for women of her era. She remains a central figure in the history of herpetology and zoo architecture.