Frances Wieser Explained

Frances Wieser
Other Names:Frances A. Wieser, Francesca Wieser
Birth Name:Francisca Wieser
Birth Date:1869
Birth Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Death Date:January 15, 1949
Death Place:Washington, D.C, U.S.
Resting Place:Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, D.C
Nationality:American
Occupation:Scientific illustrator, drafter, artist, photographic assistant
Employer:United States Geological Survey,
United States National Museum

Francisca Wieser, also known as Frances A. Wieser,[1] [2] or Francesca Wieser (–) was an American scientific illustrator, drafter, artist, and photographic assistant.[3] She worked for the United States Geological Survey, and the United States National Museum (now the National Museum of Natural History) from 1911 to 1929[4] with the title of "paleontologic draftsman".[5] She was known for her drawings of fossils.

Biography

Francisca A. Wieser was born on in Washington, D.C., in the United States. She was the daughter of German immigrants, her mother was Sophia Ailer (née Seitz),[6] and her father was a war veteran (1st Maryland Cavalry in the Union Army during the American Civil War) and a visual artist, Louis Wieser (1836–1904).[7] Her younger sister Florence Wieser (1877–1949) also worked as an illustrator and artist at the United States Geological Survey.[8] From early childhood she had a love of creating art.

She served as an artist and illustrator to several departments and for several people, including Ray S. Bassler, and Charles Doolittle Walcott.[9] Wieser used a combination of a microscope and drawing, camera lucida,[10] to record fossils that were millions of years old,[11] and was recognized for her ability to capture details of fossils by drawing rather than relying on photography.[12]

Death and legacy

Wieser died on January 15, 1949, in Washington, D.C., at St. Elizabeths Hospital, a psychiatric hospital where she was a resident.[13]

In 1904, the Cythere francisca or C. francisca fossil was named in her honor by the Maryland Geological Survey.[14] In 1911, Ray S. Bassler named the Sceptropora francisca or S. francisca fossil in her honor.[15]

Publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: April 2, 1916 . Reconstructs Fossils A Hundred Million Years Old for the Government . 2022-04-30 . Newspapers.com . Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) . 56 . en.
  2. News: January 17, 1949 . Wiener, Frances A. . A-10 . Evening Star . Obituary.
  3. Book: The Role of Women in the History of Geology . 2007 . Geological Society of London . 9781862392274 . 103 .
  4. Web site: November 4, 1917 . Turns Artist Pen From Science to War Work . 2022-04-30 . Newspapers.com . Evening Star . 25 . en.
  5. News: Dille . Marie . October 26, 1916 . Women Who Lead The Way - Frances Wieser - Paleontologic Draftsman . Fall River Globe . May 5, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: 1908-11-23 . Funeral For Mrs. Wieser . 22 . Evening Star . 2022-04-30.
  7. News: 1904-03-09 . Death of Louis Wieser . 2 . Evening Star . 2022-04-30.
  8. News: 1906-06-12 . Woman's World Miss Florence Wieser, a Talented Artist Connected with the Geological Survey . 6 . Reading Times . 2022-05-01.
  9. F. L. K. . Review of Early Fossil Brachiopods . 1914 . 93. Springer Nature . 62–63 . English.
  10. Book: United States National Museum . Proceedings of the United States National Museum . Smithsonian Institution . United States. Dept. of the Interior . 1878 . Washington : Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] . Smithsonian Libraries . 499.
  11. News: Padgett . Edward . 1916-07-30 . Women who do unusual work for Uncle Sam . 33 . The Journal and Tribune . 2022-05-07.
  12. News: 1924-11-07 . Unusual people . 8 . Battle Creek Enquirer . 2022-05-07.
  13. Web site: 2019 . Frances A Weiser in the District of Columbia, U.S., Glenwood Cemetery Records, 1854-2013 . Ancestry.com . District of Columbia, Glenwood Cemetery Records, 1854-2013 . Res. of St. Elizabeth Hospital.
  14. Book: Reports Dealing with the Systematic Geology and Paleontology of Maryland. . 1904 . Johns Hopkins Press . Maryland Geological Survey . 110–111 . en.
  15. Book: Bassler, Ray Smith . Bulletin 77, The Early Paleozoic Bryozoa of the Baltic Provinces . 1911 . U.S. Government Printing Office . Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Francisca Wieser (illustrations) . 978-0-598-37126-3 . 154–155 . en.

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