Harriet Bell Merrill in the Amazon

Collections_sitting woman with rifle surrounded by five men in jungle

Collections_exhibition title wall to right, view of gallery

Collections_view down gallery, display cases with objects

Collections_19th century sepia photograph showing display cases with specimens

Collections_microscope on right with attachments, meteorite on left

Collections_six mounted bird specimens arranged in group

Collections_open wood box with watercolors, color swatches

Harriet Bell Merrill in the Amazon

16" x 24"

2020

photograph

Only a few women were asked to join the Wisconsin Academy in the early years of the organization, and those who were tended to be in the arts and humanities. An exception is Harriet Bell Merrill, a zoologist, explorer and teacher who became a member in 1884.

Merrill was fascinated by the study of zooplankton and their role in freshwater ecology. She became a skilled researcher, well able to collect, prepare, draw and identify these tiny animals. Despite ongoing health problems, Merrill decided to make a trip on her own to Buenos Aires in 1902 to do zooplankton research in the Amazon. This photograph shows Merrill, accompanied by local guides, deep in the Amazonian jungle.

history of natural history, Wisconsin history