Annie Montague Alexander

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Annie Montague Alexander (1901)

Annie Montague Alexander (born December 29, 1867 in Honolulu , Hawaii , † September 10, 1950 in Berkeley , California ) was an American paleontologist and philanthropist .

She collected a large number of fossils on worldwide expeditions, supported the University of California, Berkeley with extensive donations and founded the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) and the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) on the local campus . Several fossils and living organisms are named after her.

Live and act

Annie (right) and her parents and siblings (ca.1882)

Annie Montague Alexander was born in Honolulu in 1867 as the third child of entrepreneur Samuel Thomas Alexander and his wife Martha Cooke Alexander. She had three siblings: Wallace, Juliette and the younger Martha. Her father ran sugar cane plantations in Hawaii and was one of the two founders of Alexander & Baldwin .

Alexander was initially tutored by a governess . Then her schooling began at the private Punahou School in Honolulu. In 1882 she moved to Oakland , California, where she attended public schools. From 1886 to 1888 she attended La Salle Seminary in Auburndale , Massachusetts . She then studied art in Paris , but soon had to give up because of her poor eyesight. Training as a nurse also failed for this reason.

From 1888 Alexander undertook extensive trips through Europe, Africa and the Pacific Islands . At first she often traveled with her father, until he was killed in an accident in 1904 while on a trip to Victoria Falls. During these trips Annie developed an interest in the fauna and flora of the countries visited and collected samples. In 1899 she embarked on the first expedition with like-minded friends.

In 1901, Alexander heard lectures from the American paleontologist John Campbell Merriam (1869–1945) at the University of California, Berkeley. His explanations about extinct mammals and reptiles aroused her interest and she offered to finance his next expedition if she could take part in the archaeological field work in return. Dr. Merriam agreed, and that same year Alexander took part in his fossil digs in Oregon . In 1902 and 1903 she accompanied him on expeditions to Shasta County , California. On their last tour together to the West Humboldt Range in Nevada in 1905, they made important discoveries, including the best-preserved ichthyosaur in North America.

In 1906, Alexander began to support the University of California, Berkeley with monthly donations to promote research there in the field of paleontology. That same year, in a letter to Merriam, she first mentioned her idea of ​​setting up a museum with vertebrate exhibits on campus. She hoped that this would support research by the university's palaeontology staff and draw public attention to endangered wildlife, with the museum focusing on vertebrates from the west coast of North America. Her bears were particularly dear to her heart, for which she had amassed the largest private collection in the United States by 1914. In 1908 the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology was opened. Alexander invested a total of over $ 750,000 in its expansion and donated 20,564 zoological and fossil specimens that she had collected or purchased herself. She also influenced the election of the first director, Joseph Grinnell (1877–1939), and took an active part in organizing the museum for three decades.

In 1908 Alexander planned an expedition to Alaska and was looking for a female travel companion. The then 29-year-old Louise Kellogg (1879-1967), a teacher from Oakland and cousin of Martin Kellogg , joined her. This was the beginning of a 42 year relationship between the two women, both personally and scientifically. Kellogg accompanied Alexander on their travels and supported them in collecting and documenting the finds. In Oakland, women continued to live in separate houses and were discreet about their relationship. In 1911, however, they bought a farm on Grizzly Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta , where they spent part of the year together. Among other things, the farm gained national fame through the sale of asparagus. It was continued until Alexander's death and is now part of a nature reserve.

In 1920 Merriam left the University of California to become President of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, and the paleontology faculty was merged with the geology department. This development did not correspond to Alexander's ideas, so that in 1921 they arranged the establishment of a museum of paleontology, which was independent of the geology department. In 1934 she set up a foundation that ensured the museum's financial livelihood. She repeatedly influenced the university management, including appointing well-known palaeontologists. She set up fellowships for the museums she initiated and, in addition to her zoological exhibits, also donated 17,851 plant-based exhibits for the university's herbarium .

Alexander remained active in field work well into old age. She celebrated her 80th birthday during an expedition in the Sierra de la Laguna in Baja . However, at the age of 81, she suffered a stroke that debilitated her, and she passed away a few months later. Louise Kellogg continued the expeditions until her death 17 years later. Alexander's estate is in the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley, and her field notes in the archives of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.

Honors

Two mammals, two birds, six fossils and two plants were named in honor of Annie Montague Alexander. These include the plesiosaur Hydrotherosaurus alexandrae , the grass Swollenia alexandrae and the ancient camel Alticamelus alexandrae .

A lake in Alaska - Lake Alexander - also bears her name. In 1907, Alexander had led the Alexander Alaska Expedition leading there .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Keir Brooks Sterling, Richard Harmond, George A. Cevasco, Lorne F. Hammond: Biographical dictionary of American and Canadian naturalists and environmentalists. Greenwood, 1997, ISBN 978-0313230479 , p. 16.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Biography University of California Museum of Paleontology
  3. ↑ Biography Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
  4. ^ Annie Alexander and Louise Kellogg Hidden History of the Berkeley Campus, Archives of University of California, Berkeley
  5. ↑ Barbara Morgan: Alexander, Annie Montague (1867–1949) Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia, Melrose, Massachusetts, 2002.
  6. ↑ US Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Alexander (Alaska)

Web links

Commons : Annie Montague Alexander  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Alexander, Annie Montague
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American philanthropist and paleontological collector
DATE OF BIRTH December 29, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Honolulu
DATE OF DEATH September 10, 1950
Place of death Berkeley , California