Anna Boleslavovna Missuna (12 November 1868 – 2 May 1922) was a Russian-born Polish geologist, mineralogist, and paleontologist. She was a chemistry professor at the Moscow Highest Women's Courses, and taught petrography, paleontology, historical geology, and historical geography. Her research focused on finite

moraines A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris ( regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sh ...

in Poland, Lithuania, and Russia, glacial features in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, and the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

corals of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. She published in Russian and German.

Early life

Missuna was born in the Vitebsk Region (then part of the Russian empire, now part of Belarus). Her parents were Polish. She was educated in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, where she learned to speak German, and in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where she had a scholarship for higher education from 1893 to 1896. She pursued further study in mineralogy with

Vladimir Vernadsky Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (), also spelt Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadsky (; – 6 January 1945), was a Russian, Ukrainian, and Soviet mineralogist and geochemist who is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radio ...

and crystallographer

Evgraf Fedorov Evgraf Stepanovich Fedorov (, – 21 May 1919) was a Russian mathematician, crystallographer and mineralogist. Fedorov was born in the Russian city of Orenburg. His father was a topographical engineer. The family later moved to Saint Petersb ...

Career

Her first geology article appeared in 1898, a study of the crystalline forms of

ammonium sulfate Ammonium sulfate (American English and international scientific usage; ammonium sulphate in British English); (NH4)2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen a ...

, co-authored with L. V. Yakovleva, published in the journal of the Moscow Naturalist Society. She worked often with V. D. Sokolov on the study of

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

deposits. She wrote scientific articles about finite

in Poland, Lithuania, and Russia, glacial features in

and

, and the

corals of

. She published articles and monographs in both Russian and German. From 1907 to 1922, Missuna was a chemistry professor at her alma mater, the Moscow Highest Women's Courses, assisting V. D. Sokolov. She also taught petrography, paleontology, historical geology, and historical geography. Missuna died in May 1922, aged 53 years.

References

1868 births 1922 deaths 19th-century Polish geologists Geologists from the Russian Empire Polish women geologists Polish paleontologists Women paleontologists {{authority control