Lucy Evelyn Cheesman (8 October 1881 – 15 April 1969) was a British entomologist and traveller. Between 1924 and 1952, Cheesman went on 8 solo expeditions in the South Pacific, and collected over 70,000 specimens, which she accompanied with sketches and notes. These are now part of the collections of the Natural History Museum in London. Cheesman published extensively about her work and travels. In 1955, she was appointed an OBE for her services to science. Biography Early life Lucy Evelyn Cheesman was one of five children of Florence Maud Tassell and Robert Cheesman, born 8 October 1881. Lacking both money and education, she worked for a time as a governess with the Murray-Smith family in Gumley, Leicestershire, but did not find it congenial work. She taught herself French and German by travelling in both countries. Interested in the natural world, Cheesman was unable to train for a career as a veterinary surgeon because the Royal Veterinary College did not accept women students in 1906. During World War I, she worked as a civil servant at the Admiralty, where her German was useful in identifying businesses that were German sympathizers, for the Neutral and Enemy Trade Index (NETI). Zoo, expeditions, museum After the war she met Harold Maxwell-Lefroy, professor of entomology at Imperial College of Science and honorary curator of the insect house at the London Zoological Gardens, and studied entomology. In May 1917, Evelyn took up the position of Assistant Curator of Insects at London Zoo. In 1919 she became a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London. In 1920 she was the first woman employed as a curator at London Zoo. In 1924 she was invited to join the St George zoological expedition to the Marquesas and Galapagos Islands as an entomologist, alongside Anglo-Irish explorer and entomologist Cynthia Longfield. The expedition was a private one, a mix of scientists and tourists with divergent aims and interests. Cheesman considered the expedition to be disorganised, and left it at Tahiti, along with Cyril Crossland. She was able to continue exploring and gathering specimens on her own with the help of £100 from her brother Percy, who sent her money after he heard rumours about the expedition's possible financial instability. From then on, Cheesman preferred to travel alone. In 1926, she resigned as Insect Curator and affiliated herself, unpaid, with the natural history department of the British Museum (now the