How did post-World War I reconstruction affect the work of European botanists? Botanist Mary Agnes Chase recorded her thoughts on that and more during her trip to western Europe in 1922. Traveling for the United States Department of Agriculture, her main task was collecting and exchange materials and specimens for the United States Department of Agriculture. This chronological, typewritten journal describes her experiences, observations and reflections as she traveled to herbariums across western Europe. Details include her thoughts about the sea voyage and later train travel, people she encountered and colleagues, the state of the herbariums she visited, the lingering aftermath of World War I; and opinions on Prohibition and Woodrow Wilson.
Join us in transcribing this journal and discover her unique and thoughtful perspective on life in the early 1920's.
How did post-World War I reconstruction affect the work of European botanists? Botanist Mary Agnes Chase recorded her thoughts on that and more during her trip to western Europe in 1922. Traveling for the United States Department of Agriculture, her main task was collecting and exchange materials and specimens for the United States Department of Agriculture. This chronological, typewritten journal describes her experiences, observations and reflections as she traveled to herbariums across western Europe. Details include her thoughts about the sea voyage and later train travel, people she encountered and colleagues, the state of the herbariums she visited, the lingering aftermath of World War I; and opinions on Prohibition and Woodrow Wilson.
Join us in transcribing this journal and discover her unique and thoughtful perspective on life in the early 1920's.
Mary Agnes Chase (1869-1963) began working for the USDA as a botanical artist in 1903 and eventually retired as a senior botanist in 1939. She was a leading grass specialist of the time, as well as an active participant in social and political causes including the woman’s suffrage movement – involvement that nearly cost Chase her job. As a female scientist, she overcame many barriers through her work.