Florence Bascom
Encyclopedia
Florence Bascom was the first woman hired by the United States Geological Survey
. She was of Huguenot
and Basque
ancestry.
She was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts
on the 14th July 1862. She came from an academic background as her father, John Bascom
, was a professor at Williams College
and later President of University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the 1880s she received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. She received her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University
in 1893 and taught for two years at Ohio State university
before beginning her teaching career at Bryn Mawr College
in Pennsylvania
. She retired from Bryn Mawr in 1928.
A great deal of her work involved the crystalline rocks and geomorphology
of the Piedmont
. This led to an unusual, for the time, example of a scientific dispute solely among women. The two students of Florence Bascom's mentioned above came to a different conclusion than her regarding the age of Wissahickon schist/gneiss
. She contradicted them in a dispassionate way and the dispute is recorded as civil on the part of the three. That said by the 1930s it had broadened to most of those studying Appalachian geology and at times these individuals became more vehement than the original disputants.
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
. She was of Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
and Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
ancestry.
She was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,754 at the 2010 census...
on the 14th July 1862. She came from an academic background as her father, John Bascom
John Bascom
John Bascom was born on May 1, 1827 in Genoa, New York and was a graduate of Williams College with the class of 1849. He graduated from the Andover Theological Seminary in 1855. Besides the degrees he got in those places, he held many other scholarly and honorary degrees...
, was a professor at Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
and later President of University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the 1880s she received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. She received her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in 1893 and taught for two years at Ohio State university
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
before beginning her teaching career at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She retired from Bryn Mawr in 1928.
Work
She received her position at the USGS in 1896 and continued there until 1936. She also had three students who would also become members of the USGS. Two of those students, Eleanora Bliss and Anna Jonas Stose, were also important in other respects to her story. Bascom retired from teaching in 1928 but continued to work at the USGS until 1936.A great deal of her work involved the crystalline rocks and geomorphology
Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...
of the Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
. This led to an unusual, for the time, example of a scientific dispute solely among women. The two students of Florence Bascom's mentioned above came to a different conclusion than her regarding the age of Wissahickon schist/gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
. She contradicted them in a dispassionate way and the dispute is recorded as civil on the part of the three. That said by the 1930s it had broadened to most of those studying Appalachian geology and at times these individuals became more vehement than the original disputants.
Features named for her
- Bascom crater on Venus
- 6084 Bascom6084 Bascom6084 Bascom is a main-belt asteroid discovered on February 12, 1985 by C. S. Shoemaker and E. M. Shoemaker at Palomar. It is named for the American geologist Florence Bascom....
: An asteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
discovered in 1985.
Publications
- "The geology of the crystalline rocks of Cecil County" Maryland Geological Survey (1902)
- "The ancient volcanic rocks of South Mountain, Pennsylvania" Pennsylvania US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 136 (1896)
- "Water resources of the Philadelphia district" US Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper No. 106 (1904)
- "Geology and mineral resources of the Quakertown-Doylestown district, Pennsylvania and New Jersey" Edgar Theodore Wherry and George Willis Stose. US Geological Survey Bulletin No. 828 (1931)
- "Elkton-Wilmington folio, Maryland-Delaware-New Jersey-Pennsylvania" with B.L. Miller. Geologic atlas of the United States; Folio No. 211 (1920)