Susan Hallowell facts for kids
Susan Hallowell (born 1835, died 1911) was an American scientist who studied plants, known as a botanist. She was also a professor of botany at Wellesley College.
Early Life and Education
Susan Hallowell loved learning throughout her life. After graduating from Colby College, she quickly started her career as a teacher. She was a leader in opening up higher education for women.
Hallowell became the first woman allowed into the plant science classes and labs at the University of Berlin. This was not easy to achieve. When she arrived in Europe, she found that many universities did not accept women.
She taught at Bangor High School for over 20 years. During this time, she kept learning on her own. To gain more knowledge, she worked in Boston with famous botanists Asa Gray and Louis Agassiz.
Teaching at Wellesley College
By 1875, Henry Durant, who started Wellesley College, knew about Hallowell's work. He asked her to lead the Natural History department. She then split this into two new departments: zoology (animal studies) and botany (plant studies).
Hallowell created the first Botany Department at Wellesley. In 1877, she became its first leader and professor. The many plant science courses she created stayed mostly the same. They only needed updates when new scientific discoveries were made. She also built a large plant science library. At the time, only the best universities in the U.S. had better ones.
It is said that she helped her students grow. For example, she encouraged her student Margaret Clay Ferguson to study botany. Hallowell gave Ferguson a teaching job in 1893. She then made Ferguson the head of the Botany Department in 1894. Later, Ferguson helped create the college's arboretum (tree garden) and botanic garden. She also oversaw the building of the 1925 greenhouse complex. These are now called the Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses.
In 1902, when Miss Hallowell was 67 years old, she retired from teaching. From then on, she was an Emeritus Professor of Botany at Wellesley. This means she kept her title even after retiring.
Susan Hallowell was a member of the Torrey Botanical Society. This group was important in starting the New York Botanical Garden.
