Walcott, Mary Morrie (1860-1940)

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Walcott, Mary Morrie (1860-1940)

American artist and naturalist. Born Mary Morris Vaux on July 31, 1860, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died Aug 22, 1940, in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada; dau. of George Vaux and Sarah Humphreys (Morris) Vaux (both Quakers); sister of George Vaux Jr.; graduate of Friends Select School of Philadelphia, 1879; m. Charles Doolittle Walcott (secretary of Smithsonian Institution), June 30, 1914 (died 1927).

Became 1st woman to climb Mount Stephen (1900); moved to Washington, DC, upon marriage (1914); published her wildflower paintings in North American Wild Flowers (1925); joined the Society of Woman Geographers (1926) and was elected national president of the Society (1933); appointed by President Calvin Coolidge to her deceased brother's seat on the Board of Indian Commissioners (1927), serving until 1932; contributed paintings to Illustrations of North American Pitcher Plants (1935).

See also Women in World History.

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