Florence Bascom loved working in the outdoors. "This is the life, to plunge into the welcome isolation of the field," she would say.
Florence, who would become known as the "first woman geologist" in the U.S., was born in 1862 in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where her father was a professor at Williams College, and her mother was a teacher and a suffragist. Both encouraged their daughter to pursue her education, which she did and excelled in.
In a time when most women didn't attend college, Florence entered the University of Wisconsin in 1877, where she would receive two bachelor's degrees and a Master of Science. In 1889, she began the Ph.D. program in Geology at Johns Hopkins. As was typical for that generation, women faced uniquely difficult and degrading circumstances as students. Among her challenges, Florence was required to sit in the corner of her classes, separated from the male students by a screen so to not distract them.
But she stayed in her studies and earned her degree in 1893, becoming the first woman to receive a Ph.D. degree from the institution and the second woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in geology.
After her Ph.D., Florence spent two years as an instructor and associate professor at Ohio State University. She then moved to Bryn Mawr College in 1895, where she founded the geology department, transforming it into one of the country's leading geology programs, focusing on lab and fieldwork. Here, Florence balanced her time as a geologist with being a dedicated educator. She was known for her high standards and played a significant role in training the next generation of American female geologists. Many of her students went on to have successful careers. As she wrote,
"When any woman manifests an interest in the science [of geology] I am always glad to tell her of its possibilities and she makes her own choice. Not only must a girl have the mental aptitude for scientific research, but also physical strength and great physical courage. Then too she must be strong in the conviction that it is the work she really wants to do."
In recognition of her pioneering work, Florence received numerous accolades and honors throughout her career. She was elected as the first female officer of the Geological Society of America in 1924 and later became the society's first female president in 1930.
After a long career, Florence passed away in 1945 at age 82.
Sources:
Creator/Photographer: Camera Craft Studios, Minneapolis / Smithsonian Institution Archives Collection: Science Service Records, 1902-1965 (Record Unit 7091) / "Florence Bascom2." Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Florence_Bascom2.jpg
"Florence Bascom." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Bascom
Glorfeld, Jeff. "Florence Bascom, rock star." Cosmos Magazine, https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/the-life-of-florence-bascom-a-pioneering-rock-star/
Ogilvie, Ida H. “Florence Bascom: 1862-1945.” Science, vol. 102, no. 2648, 1945, pp. 320–21. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1673368. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.
Rock Stars - "A Life of Firsts: Florence Bascom" by Jill Schneiderman. The Geological Society of America, https://rock.geosociety.org/net/gsatoday/archive/8/7/pdf/i1052-5173-8-7-8.pdf
"The Stone Lady, Florence Bascom." National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/people/the-stone-lady-florence-bascom.htm