Mary Jobe Akeley
Encyclopedia
Mary Jobe Akeley was an explorer and naturalist and the wife of Carl E. Akeley. She is famous as one of the earliest women explorers in Africa where she helped her husband hunt and photograph animals during their natural history
studies. She is the author of Carl Akeley’s Africa, published in 1929, Lions, Gorillas and Their Neighbors, published in 1932 and Congo Eden published in 1950. Mount Jobe in Canada
was renamed in her honor to acknowledge her exploration efforts in the Rocky Mountains
.
and graduated from Scio College
, Ohio. After graduation she taught at a public school until 1901 when she joined Bryn Mawr College
. She later transferred to Columbia University
, New York
where she received her Master of Arts degree in 1909 after which she joined Hunter College
as faculty in History.
in 1914, and in 1915 discovered and mapped the then unnamed and unexplored Mount Sir Alexander locally known as Big Ice Mountain, making two unsuccessful attempts to ascend the peak. She was nominated as a fellow of The Royal Geographic Society of London
and was awarded a membership in the American Geographical Society
for her work in this period. Mount Jobe was renamed in her honor by the Geographic Board of Canada in 1925.
In 1914, she purchased a 45 acre parcel of land in Mystic
, Connecticut
to setup Camp Mystic – a summer camp for girls. The camp was conducted annually from 1916 and served as an introduction for girls to the outdoors. The camp frequently hosted renowned explorers who spoke of their adventures and travels to the girls. In 1930, the camp was closed due to the Great Depression
. The tract of land that housed Camp Mystic is now open to the public as a Peace Park.
. She travelled to the Belgian Congo
with him in 1926 to collect specimens for the American Museum of Natural History, New York. She and her husband studied Gorilla
s near Mount Mikeno and surveyed the region for the possibility of setting up a Gorilla sanctuary. When Carl Akeley died in 1926 during the expedition, she continued and lead the expedition, mapping regions of the Belgian Congo, Kenya
, Uganda
and Tanzania
or Tanganyika
as it was known then. Upon her return to the United States, she was appointed as adviser and actively raised funds for the Great African Hall of African Mammals in the American Museum of Natural History. In 1936, when the hall opened, it was renamed Akeley Hall in honor of her husband. In 1928 she was invited by Albert I of Belgium
to enlarge the Albert National Park since renamed Virunga National Park
, which she and her husband had worked to setup at Mount Mikeno. While there, she realized the danger that modern day hunting and cultural influences posed to the African wildlife and tribal customs and crusaded for the establishment of game preserves and worked to safeguard the tribal customs of the pygmies. In 1935, she led an expedition through the Transvaal
, Portugese East Africa and Kruger National Park
to study the wildlife and the Zulus and Swazi people. In 1947, the Belgian Government requested her to revisit Africa to survey the wildlife sanctuaries in the Congo. She filmed several critically endangered
African mammals on this trip to raise awareness about wildlife conservation
before returning to the United States. She died of a stroke in July 1966 at Camp Mystic aged 80.
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
studies. She is the author of Carl Akeley’s Africa, published in 1929, Lions, Gorillas and Their Neighbors, published in 1932 and Congo Eden published in 1950. Mount Jobe in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
was renamed in her honor to acknowledge her exploration efforts in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
Childhood and Education
Mary Lenore Jobe Akeley was born to Richard Watson and Sarah Jane Pitts Jobe in 1886. She grew up on her parents’ farm in Tappan, OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and graduated from Scio College
Scio College
Scio College was an institution of higher education in Ohio in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Parts of it merged into Mount Union College, while its pharmacy school merged with what would become the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy....
, Ohio. After graduation she taught at a public school until 1901 when she joined 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....
. She later transferred to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where she received her Master of Arts degree in 1909 after which she joined Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
as faculty in History.
Explorations in Canada & Camp Mystic
In 1913, while at Hunter College, the Canadian Government commissioned her to study the customs and history of Eskimos and Indian tribes in the Canadian Northwest. While studying and photographing the native tribes in the region, she explored regions of the Canadian Rockies and mapped the Fraser RiverFraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
in 1914, and in 1915 discovered and mapped the then unnamed and unexplored Mount Sir Alexander locally known as Big Ice Mountain, making two unsuccessful attempts to ascend the peak. She was nominated as a fellow of The Royal Geographic Society of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and was awarded a membership in the American Geographical Society
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the world...
for her work in this period. Mount Jobe was renamed in her honor by the Geographic Board of Canada in 1925.
In 1914, she purchased a 45 acre parcel of land in Mystic
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
to setup Camp Mystic – a summer camp for girls. The camp was conducted annually from 1916 and served as an introduction for girls to the outdoors. The camp frequently hosted renowned explorers who spoke of their adventures and travels to the girls. In 1930, the camp was closed due to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The tract of land that housed Camp Mystic is now open to the public as a Peace Park.
Marriage and travels in Africa
In 1924, she married Carl Ethan Akeley, the naturalist and taxidermist, a year after his divorce from Delia AkeleyDelia Akeley
Delia Julia Akeley , commonly known by her nickname, Mickie, was an American explorer. She was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, a daughter of Patrick and Margaret Denning, Irish immigrants....
. She travelled to the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
with him in 1926 to collect specimens for the American Museum of Natural History, New York. She and her husband studied Gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s near Mount Mikeno and surveyed the region for the possibility of setting up a Gorilla sanctuary. When Carl Akeley died in 1926 during the expedition, she continued and lead the expedition, mapping regions of the Belgian Congo, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
or Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
as it was known then. Upon her return to the United States, she was appointed as adviser and actively raised funds for the Great African Hall of African Mammals in the American Museum of Natural History. In 1936, when the hall opened, it was renamed Akeley Hall in honor of her husband. In 1928 she was invited by Albert I of Belgium
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
to enlarge the Albert National Park since renamed Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park
The Virunga National Park , formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7800 square km National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori...
, which she and her husband had worked to setup at Mount Mikeno. While there, she realized the danger that modern day hunting and cultural influences posed to the African wildlife and tribal customs and crusaded for the establishment of game preserves and worked to safeguard the tribal customs of the pygmies. In 1935, she led an expedition through the Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, Portugese East Africa and Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers and extends from north to south and from east to west.To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is...
to study the wildlife and the Zulus and Swazi people. In 1947, the Belgian Government requested her to revisit Africa to survey the wildlife sanctuaries in the Congo. She filmed several critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
African mammals on this trip to raise awareness about wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation is the preservation, protection, or restoration of wildlife and their environment, especially in relation to endangered and vulnerable species. All living non-domesticated animals, even if bred, hatched or born in captivity, are considered wild animals. Wildlife represents all...
before returning to the United States. She died of a stroke in July 1966 at Camp Mystic aged 80.