Erminnie Adele SmithBorn 26 Apr 1836; died 9 Jun 1886 at age 50.Erminnie Adele Platt Smith was an American anthropologist (née Platt) was the first woman to specialize in ethnographic field work. At first, her interest was as a geologist, studying mineralogy and crystallography. By about age 40, shefounded the Aesthetic Society and held parlor meetings at her home about science, literature, and art. When these grew to a crowd of up to 500 members, she moved the meetings to a church hall. Speakers included eminent persons, such as Thomas Edison and Oscar Wilde. After hearing of the emerging field of anthropology, she took to it with a passion for documenting legends and language of the Iroquis Indians. Her work and scientific papers were of the highest quality, and she managed to preserve much information on the Iroquois culture. Of her books, the best known is Myths of the Iroquois (1883). She died when 50 years old.« |
