Elizabeth Letson Bryan (April 9, 1874February 28, 1919) was an American

malacologist Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

and director of the museum of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, now the

Buffalo Museum of Science The Buffalo Museum of Science is a science museum located at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Buffalo, New York, United States, northeast of the downtown district, near the Kensington Expressway. The historic building was designed by August Ese ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. She was one of the first female

museum directors A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

in the United States.

Early life and education

Elizabeth "Jennie" Letson was born on April 9, 1874, in

Griffins Mills, New York Griffins Mills is a hamlet in the town of Aurora in Erie County, New York, United States. It lies on the West Branch of Cazenovia Creek in the area once known as West Aurora. Griffins Mills was founded in the early 19th century at the site of a mi ...

. She was the only child of Augustus Franklin Letson (1841-1900) and Nellie Webb Letson (1850-1924). Her mother was an 8th-generation direct descendant of

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

colonist William Bradford, who came to North America on the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

''. Bryan attended schools in

. At an early age, she became interested in natural history, particularly

conchology Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...

. After graduating, Bryan continued her education at 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 natu ...

after receiving the Jessup fellowship. She spent two years working with

Henry Augustus Pilsbry Henry Augustus Pilsbry (7 December 1862 – 26 October 1957) was an American biologist, malacologist and carcinologist, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a cent ...

. Later, Bryan studied at the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1906,

Alfred University Alfred University is a private university in Alfred, New York. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The Inamori School of Engineerin ...

conferred upon her the honorary degree of

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

Career

At the age of 18, Bryan started working at the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences in 1892, where she would remain for 17 years. At first, she volunteered to clean the museum and arrange the library. She eventually rose to the position on Director of the Museum of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences in 1899. Elizabeth married

William Alanson Bryan William Alanson Bryan (23 December 1875 - 18 June 1942) was an American zoologist, ornithologist, naturalist and museum director. Life and work Bryan was born on a farm in New Sharon, Iowa. After his education, and his zoology studies, he gradua ...

on March 16, 1909, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Buffalo, New York. They moved to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

in May 1909, where her husband was a professor at the

College of Hawaii A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

. She worked as the librarian at the college. While living in Hawaii, she continued to collect marine shells and assist her husband with his research publications. Bryan was a member of the American Anthropological Society, the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, ...

, the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

, the

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

of Pennsylvania, the New York State committee for the

Women's Out-of-door Art League A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as " women's rights" to denote female humans rega ...

, the

American Civic Association The American Planning and Civic Association (APCA) was an American organization for improving living conditions in the United States, with an emphasis on improving the physical and structural growth of communities. Its purpose was briefly state ...

, the

Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland is a British-based society concerned with the study of molluscs and their shells. It was founded in 1876, and is one of the oldest such societies in the world. It is a registered UK charity ( ...

, the Buffalo Society, and the

Mayflower Society The General Society of ''Mayflower'' Descendants — commonly called the Mayflower Society — is a hereditary organization of individuals who have documented their descent from at least one of the 102 passengers who arrived on the ''Mayflower'' ...

of New York State.

Death

Bryan died at 11:20 PM on February 28, 1919, in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

of heart disease. Her mentor,

Henry A. Pilsbry Henry Augustus Pilsbry (7 December 1862 – 26 October 1957) was an American biologist, malacologist and carcinologist, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a cent ...

wrote her obituary in '' The Nautilus'', a journal of malacology.

Species named in honor of Elizabeth Letson

*''Amnicola letsoni'' (Walker, 1901) *''Tellina (Arcopagia) elizabethae'' (Pilsbry, 1917) type number 80253 stored at Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia *''Turbonilla (Evaletta) elizabethae'' (Pilsbry, 1917) type number 117596 at Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia

Publications

*Sinstral ampullaria (1897) *''Description of a New Tethys (Aplysia)'' (1898) *''Post-pliocene fossils of the Niagara river gravels'' (1901) *''Check List of the Mollusca of New York'' (1905) *''A Partial List of the Shells Found in Erie and Niagara Counties and Niagara Frontier'' (1909)

Species named by Elizabeth Letson

*''Tethys pilsbryi'' (Letson, 1898)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letson Bryan, Elizabeth Jane 1874 births 1919 deaths People from Erie County, New York 19th-century American zoologists 20th-century American scientists 19th-century American women scientists American women curators American malacologists Conchologists