[1] Margaret Mary Smith was the daughter of Chisholm MacDonald and Helen Evelyn Zondagh.

Her father was a medical doctor and her mother a descendant of the Voortrekker leader Jacobus Johannes Uys.

From 1934 to 1936 she attended Rhodes University, where she achieved a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in physics and chemistry.

[2] On 14 April 1937 Margaret married her chemistry lecturer James Leonard Brierley Smith in Florida, Transvaal.

During 1938 and 1956, Margaret Mary Smith and her husband conducted fish collection expeditions along the South African coast.

In 1952, they found a rare coelacanth in the Comoros, only the second live specimen positively identified in modern history.

As well as being a co-author, Margaret produced many colour figures, and one of her first major solo works was the description and illustration of the common marine fishes of South Africa in the 16-volume set of "Ensiklopedie van die Wêreld".

The Institute was established to commemorate her husband James Leonard Brierley Smith and continue his work.

While retired, Margaret Smith received the Order for Meritorious Service, Class 1 (Gold) in 1987 from the state President, P. W.