Reclaiming the memory of pioneer female geologists 1800–1929

Abstract

Abstract. Female earth scientists existed in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in a number exceeding what we generally imagine. In this paper I present information on 210 of them who were active from 1800 to 1929. These women often overcame great challenges to achieve their positions, sometimes only to have their work attributed to men they worked with or for. Gender discrimination made access to university difficult and access to scientific careers even harder. They found several ways to overcome these difficulties thanks to the support of their parents or to the more ambiguous support of husbands or academic male mentors, through staying single, and through teamwork and mentorship with other women. In the same way many past female artists have been recently rediscovered, women scientists are progressively being saved from the dustbin of history, a huge task that has already been undertaken by several researchers. In addition to the review of their research, a fresh contribution to this collective work in progress is made with the presentation of hydrogeologist Norah Dowell Stearns. Finally, some reflections and suggestions are included on how we could fight this oblivion to which their work, their personalities and modern research on them are subject to.

Foundational women in planetary geomorphology: Some contributions in fluvial, aeolian, and (cryo)volcanic subdisciplines

“…A less obvious bias in our work is a result of the available data records. A review of female Earth scientists (Vincent, 2020) concluded with three reasons why work by women scientists is not equitably known: (i) men took credit during their lifetimes; (ii) recognition during their lifetimes was not sustained by history for various reasons; and (iii) research on women scientists is not supported. These reasons were sometimes blatantly encountered in our search for information, such as the way in which Hertha Ayrton’s work was discredited during her time (reasons i and ii; Brandt, 2021; Jones, 2019; and references in both); less blatant examples would, by definition, be harder to detect.…”

“…Undeserved challenges to their participation notwithstanding, women have repeatedly made foundational contributions to planetary geomorphology. These contributions may go unnoticed for various reasons, as has been documented for terrestrial geologists of the 19th and early 20th centuries (Vincent, 2020). The resulting misimpression—that such individuals, if they existed at all, made only marginal contributions—has recently been shown to be incorrect in the subdisciplines of glaciology (Hulbe et al, 2010), loess studies (Fitzsimmons et al, 2018), terrestrial geomorphology (Sack, 2004) and throughout the geosciences (Vincent, 2020).…”

“…These contributions may go unnoticed for various reasons, as has been documented for terrestrial geologists of the 19th and early 20th centuries (Vincent, 2020). The resulting misimpression—that such individuals, if they existed at all, made only marginal contributions—has recently been shown to be incorrect in the subdisciplines of glaciology (Hulbe et al, 2010), loess studies (Fitzsimmons et al, 2018), terrestrial geomorphology (Sack, 2004) and throughout the geosciences (Vincent, 2020). More generally, women in science are found to be less credited than men because their work is less known, less appreciated, or more ignored (Ross et al, 2022), and women are less likely to be offered speaking opportunites at conferneces (Ford et al, 2018).…”

“…This focus allows us to draw on our scientific experience to highlight the work of these women scientists in their proper context. It also helped us navigate the historical lack of recognition that has obscured the record of contributions by women in the geosciences (Vincent, 2020). Our methodology entailed relying on professional connections, including through social media, to identify influential female scientists in our subdisciplines, and then seeking out historical records from technical journals and other published descriptions of their life and contributions.…”

Elinor Wight Gardner: Pioneer Geoarcheologist, Quaternary Scientist and Geomorphologist

“…Although Gardner is mentioned as an important geoscientist of the early-mid 20th century [13,14], she has largely remained an unsung pioneer. Her travels to unknown harsh places suggest that she was an intrepid traveler, keen to see new places, mount expeditions and make discoveries on her own; her maps and publications suggest that she was a meticulous observer and documentarian.…”