Geneva Sayre (June 12, 1911, Guthrie Center, Iowa – May 26, 1992, Northhampton, Massachusetts) was an American bryologist and bibliographer. She "pioneered bibliographical and historical bryology, a new field in the study, evaluation, and organization of the literature of bryology."

Biography

Sayre graduated in 1933 with a bachelor's degree from

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

, where she was taught botany by Henry Conard. She graduated in 1935 with an M.A. from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

and in 1938 with an Ph.D. at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, where she worked as an instructor until 1940. At Russell Sage College, Sayre was a faculty member from 1940 to 1972, when she retired as professor emerita. In 1972 she became a research associate at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

's Farlow Library and Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany. There she trained curatorial assistants in the conservation and systematization of cryptogamic collections and scientifically inventoried 19th-century bryological collections. In 1981 a volume in honor of her 70th birthday was published by the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany. In 1981 her friends and colleagues established the Geneva Sayre Fund to support visiting scholars studying at the Farlow Herbarium. As a bryologist, Sayre was a leading expert on the moss genus '' Grimmia''. In order to clarify the taxonomic nomenclature of the mosses, in 1959 she privately published ''Dates of Publications Describing Musci, 1801-1821''. She was the president of

American Bryological and Lichenological Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was original ...

from 1951 to 1953. In 1983 the

International Association of Bryologists The International Association of Bryologists (IAB), established in 1969, is a professional association promoting bryology (the study of mosses, liverworts and hornworts) globally for both amateurs and professionals. IAB was established in 1969 at ...

awarded the Hedwig Medal to Sayre (and to Yoshinori Asakawa) for lifetime achievement in bryology. At the end of WW II she organized the sending of food, clothes, money, books, and scientific equipment to distressed bryologists in Germany and other European countries.

Selected publications

* 106 pp. * 102 pages * iii+117 pages

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayre, Geneva 1911 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American botanists American bryologists American women botanists People from Guthrie Center, Iowa Grinnell College alumni University of Wyoming alumni University of Colorado alumni Russell Sage College faculty American women academics 20th-century American women scientists Women bryologists