Florence Bascom The geologist that led the way Despite her fragile exterior, that of a muse of Romanticism, Florence Bascom was a modern and singular woman. In fact, she completely shattered the glass ceiling of the American scientific societies, opening a window for all of us women geologists who came after. Florence was the daughter of a suffragist and vocational guide andwas born in the green town ofWilliamstown (Massachusetts) on 14th July 1862. As a child, Florence exhibited a remarkable aptitude for studying and observation and a natural curiosity for nature. At 25 years old, she was already a graduate in arts and letters, and in sciences, and had a Master of Science degree in geology from the University of Wisconsin. All these successes were accomplished despite numerous difficulties, as she was forbidden to access the library or attend certain classes that were exclusively for men. Florence Bascom was so passionate about Earth sciences that she wanted to go even further. She obtained a PhD in geology in 1893 from Johns Hopkins University, receiving tuition behind a screen so that she would not distract her classmates. Her thesis was significant, and she overturned the findings of numerous previous investigations. Florence not only set in motion new techniques in the study of rocks (petrography), but also reclassified a handful of rocks and minerals that were not what they seemed to be. Florence’s dissertation was so brilliantly presented that she was chosen as a member of the Geological Society of America, only the second woman to achieve this status. However, other barriers remained for her to break down. Her remarkable advances in the fields of crystallography, mineralogy and petrography draw the attention of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) who, for the first time in their history, signed up a woman. Miss Bascom ‘ rolled up her skirts ’ to study the outcrops of the Appalachian Mountains, the Atlantic coast of North America and the intriguing hydrothermal deposits of Yellowstone, leading cutting-edge research teams. Her scientific work was such that the publication American Men of Science regarded her as a four-star geologist in 1906. But Florence’s most important defining feature was her ‘ godmothering ’: her determination to train future women geologists and expand the American field by planting the first seeds of what would be a brilliant generation of women. At the dawn of the 20th century, Florence Bascom set in motion this chain that continues to be built step by step, combining the experience of the pioneers with the dreams of the novices. Her name remains for posterity in a beautiful crater of Venus, in an asteroid currently orbiting the Solar System and within the cold waters of a glacial lake in Wisconsin. The fascination of any search after truth lies not in the attainment … but in the pursuit. 16
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