Alice Carter Cook (April 8, 1868 – June 14, 1943), (born Alice Carter), was an American

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and author whose plant collections are now held by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

and the

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natur ...

. Cook was the first woman to receive a PhD in botany from an American university.

Biography

Carter was born in New York City on April 8, 1868 to Samuel Thompson Carter and Alantha Carter (née Pratt). Her father was a clergyman in

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

. Carter studied at Mount Holyoke Seminary before enrolling at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

for her doctorate. She graduated in 1888, receiving the first doctorate in botany for a woman from an American University. Carter taught at Mount Holyoke for three years before attending

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

where she earned an M.S. in botany, in 1892. That same year, she married botanist Orator Fuller Cook. The couple later traveled on expeditions to Africa and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. Cook worked with botanist

Henrietta Hooker Henrietta Edgecomb Hooker (December 12, 1851 – May 13, 1929) was an American botanist and professor at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College). She was the second female doctoral graduate in botany at Syracuse University, whic ...

. Cook had two sons and two daughters; her son Robert Carter Cook became a geneticist and demographer. Cook died on June 14, 1943. Her plant collections were donated to the Smithsonian Institution and the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Publications

In addition to botanical publications, Cook contributed several articles to ''

Popular Science Monthly Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

'' and ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th centur ...

''. . Cook also wrote an

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, wh ...

profile of the indigenous native people of the Canary Islands, and published poems, short stories, and two plays.

References

External links

*
Alice Carter Cook Field Notes, 1893-1897
in the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Cook, Alice
''Index of Botanists''. Harvard University Herbaria
Cook, Alice Carter
''Global Plants'', JSTOR {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Alice Carter 1868 births 1943 deaths American botanists Syracuse University alumni Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni American women botanists Botanists active in Africa People from Lanham, Maryland Scientists from New York City Mount Holyoke College alumni Mount Holyoke College faculty American women academics