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Posted by: Cynthia Smith
Florence Bascom broke barriers in the 19th century as a leading geologist of her time. This post discusses her life and career with the United States Geological Survey including the geologic maps she made which are in the Geography and Map Division collections.
Posted in: 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, Biography, Women's History
Posted by: Meagan Snow
Learn about the early history of the Women's Bureau, including the maps they produced to make the case for establishing standards for women in the workplace.
Posted in: 20th century cartography, American History, Women's History
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
This post describes a manuscript globe of Mars that was created during the early 20th century by the self-taught Danish astronomer Emmy Ingeborg Brun.
Posted in: 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, Biography, Women's History
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
Women have made significant contributions to the field of cartography throughout history. In celebration of Women’s History Month I have chosen to write about the noted 19th century cartographer, educator, and historian, Eugenia Almira Wheeler Goff. Eugenia Wheeler was born in 1844 in North Clarkson, New York. Her family moved to Winona, Minnesota when she …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, Biography, Women's History
Posted by: Carissa Pastuch
Gertrude Lowthian Bell (1868–1926) was a British archaeologist, explorer, and diplomat. Proficient in French, German, Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic, and an avid reader and writer, she traveled widely and was able to engage with native populations because of her ability to communicate in many languages and openness to experiencing unfamiliar traditions. She found the Middle …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, Exploration, Women's History
Posted by: Julie Stoner
As I was organizing globes in our stacks several weeks ago, a note on two of the boxes caught my eye. It said, “This globe sphere was produced by Gilman Joslin, but the significance of this work relates to the mounting which was invented by Ellen Eliza Fitz. Ellen Eliza Fitz patented a mount for …
Posted in: 19th century cartography, American History, Women's History
Posted by: Julie Stoner
This is a guest post by Iris Taylor, a senior cataloging specialist in the Geography and Map Division. It is a common belief that you can acquire inspiration from a variety of people, places, or things. Seanna Tsung, a Library of Congress staff member, recently uncovered a unique collection of maps in the Geography and …
Posted in: 20th century cartography, African American History, Biography, Guest Posts, Women's History
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
Below is an image of an embroidered map from the collections of the Geography and Map Division. The name of the embroiderer, Sophia Mason, is stitched at the bottom of the map; the year 1802 is printed beneath her name. From the 18th to the early 19th century, American and British school girls received their …
Posted in: 18th century cartography, 19th century cartography, Women's History
Posted by: Cynthia Smith
The map above shows the voting status for American women in 1914. Sadly, after of years of fighting for voting rights most American women had only partial suffrage or no suffrage at all. The exhibit Shall Not Be Denied opened June 4, 2019 at the Library of Congress. It explores the struggles that American women …
Posted in: American History, Events, Women's History