Florence Bascom, geologist, holding a compass
Florence Bascom Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Women's History Archives at Smith College
Florence Bascom
Florence Bascom was one of the first female geologists in the United States and her fellow scientists thought she was one of the nation’s most important geologists. She lived from 1862 until 1945 and is well known for her work at Bryn Mawr College where she taught for many years.
Bascom studied mineral crystals by looking at them with a microscope. She also studied metamorphic rocks, how mountains form, and how rocks from mountain erode into sand.
At the time she went to college, it wasn’t easy for a woman to go to study for advanced degrees in the United States. But that didn’t stop Florence Bascom! She earned two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in geology from Johns Hopkins University. She was the second woman to ever earn a Ph.D. in geology in the United States.
Florence started teaching geology at Bryn Mawr, a women’s college, in 1895. She collected minerals, rocks, and fossils for the college and taught hundreds of students over the years, many of whom became successful geologists too!
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