Anna Parker Fessenden (April 8, 1896 – May 3, 1972) was an American botanist and mathematics educator.

Anna Parker Fessenden
A young white woman with dark hair dressed back to the nape, wearing a white blouse (might be an academic gown)
Anna Parker Fessenden, from the 1918 yearbook of Smith College
BornApril 8, 1896
DiedMay 3, 1972
Occupation(s)Botanist, math educator

Early life and education edit

Anna Parker Fessenden was born in Thomaston, Maine, and raised in Mattapan, Massachusetts, the middle of three daughters of William S. Fessenden and Alida Mary Mehan Fessenden.[1] Her mother was assistant principal of Sandwich High School.[2]

Fessenden graduated from Girls' Latin School in 1914,[3][4] and graduated from Smith College in 1918.[5] As a college student, she was active in the Smith College Unitarian Club,[6] and she edited and wrote for the Smith College Monthly.[7] She earned a master's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1920.[1] Her master's thesis, under advisor Josephine Tilden,[8] was titled "Observations on Two Rare Australian Algae, Myriocladia Sciurus, Harvey and Bactrophora Irregularis, N. SP."[9]

Career edit

Fessenden taught botany at Vassar College,[10] Wellesley College[11][12] and at the University of Minnesota.[13] She and Josephine Tilden co-authored an article on brown algae from Australia.[14] She taught mathematics at Needham High School in Massachusetts for 36 years, and was a director of math programs for the Needham school district. She retired from teaching in 1962.[1]

Fessenden was an active member of several clubs including the Audubon Society, and a trustee of the Thomaston Historical Society.[1]

The standard author abbreviation Fess. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[15]

Personal life edit

Fessenden died in 1972, aged 76 years, in Camden, Maine. Her grave is with her parents' graves, in Sandwich, Massachusetts.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Noted Math and Science Teacher Dies in Camden". The Bangor Daily News. 1972-05-04. p. 24. Retrieved 2021-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Sandwich High Alumni to Meet". The Boston Globe. 1920-06-13. p. 55. Retrieved 2022-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Girls Present 'Iphigenia'". Boston Evening Transcript. 1913-05-01. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Girls' Latin High". Boston Evening Transcript. 1914-06-19. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Smith College (1918). Class of 1918. Smith College. p. 51 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "New England Girls Chosen". The Boston Globe. 1916-06-19. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Fessenden, Anna Parker (January 1918). "The Beacon". Smith College Monthly. 25: 176–177.
  8. ^ Horsfield, Margaret (June 13, 2016). "The Enduring Legacy of Josephine Tilden". Hakai Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  9. ^ Fessenden, Anna Parker. "Observations on Two Rare Australian Algae, Myriocladia Sciurus, Harvey and Bactrophora Irregularis, N. SP." (1920).
  10. ^ College, Vassar (1920). General Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York. p. 11.
  11. ^ College, Wellesley (1921). Annual Reports [of] President and Treasurer. p. 63.
  12. ^ "Reception Held at Wellesley College". The Boston Globe. 1920-10-05. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ University of Minnesota (1922). Bulletin. p. 59.
  14. ^ Tilden, Josephine E.; Fessenden, Anna Parker (1930). "Bactrophora irregularis, a New Brown Alga from Australia". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 57 (6): 381–388. doi:10.2307/2480641. JSTOR 2480641.
  15. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Fess.