Born: 29 December 1867, United States
Died: 10 September 1950
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is republished from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
There is a curious fascination for me in attempting something where the chances for success are but the very slightest. It is the mark of the dreamer.
Annie Montague Alexander was an intrepid explorer, a crack shot, photographer, world traveler, paleontologist, field biologist, natural historian, philanthropist, conservationist, and required ceaseless utility from all her activities. Born in Hawaii to a missionary family in the profitable sugarcane industry, Annie had the resources and familial encouragement to take the unconventional path of an independent woman who made vast contributions to the fields of science, natural history, and conservation. Most notable among her accomplishments was her 50 year involvement with the University of California, Berkeley where she took classes in paleontology, financed and led numerous field work expeditions, and founded and funded the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (1908) and the Museum of Paleontology (1921). Annie never married but her spirit for adventure and industrious contribution to the natural sciences was matched and supported by her partner of 42 years, Louise Kellogg (1897 – 1967). In 1908, Annie recruited Louise as her traveling companion on a summer expedition to Alaska in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety on a trip staffed by men. Within a few short years Annie and Louise became inseparable. Together the women contributed approximately 7,000 specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians in addition to almost 18,000 botanical specimens to the Berkeley museums through personal collecting efforts by field expedition or through purchase. Their partnership extended beyond scientific endeavors to include ranching, asparagus farming, and philanthropy. Annie was driven to document the beauty and diversity of a landscape which, by the end of her life, was rapidly diminishing. She subscribed to the idiom that “It is better to wear out than to rust out,” and true to this sentiment she was industrious and in the field annually until her death at 82.
The following is republished from the National Park Service. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
Philanthropist, zoologist, paleontologist, and heiress Alexander established the University of California Museum of Paleontology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. In the summer of 1921, based on John Muir’s small collection of fossils, Alexander and her partner Louise Kellogg initiated a fossil expedition to Petrified Forest. Their findings would inspire further research partnerships with the University of California in Berkeley.
IW note: Alexander may be one of the earliest LGBTQIA+ paleontologists in the US. Although never open about her sexuality, she spent the last decades of her life living with her close companion Louise Kellogg.