Whitney, Elsie Gibson

Biographical History

Elsie Julia Gibson Whitney collected plants in Alaska with her husband, Alvin G. Whitney. Whitney was born March 15, 1885 in Vermont. She graduated with an A.B. from Syracuse University, and earned her M.A. in Botany at the University of Michigan in 1929. On July 28, 1912, Elsie Gibson married Alvin Goodnow Whitney in Washington, D.C. Later that year, the couple moved to Alaska where they were employed by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries and took part in a biological survey of the Islands. During October, 1912 to July, 1914, the two collected specimens on the Pribilof Islands. In 1928, the Whitneys moved to Albany, New York. Both husband and wife took jobs at the New York State Museum, and Elsie served as the Assistant State Botanist. During the 1930’s and 1940’s she worked as the Secretary for the American Fern Society. Whitney died on April 6, 1970.

Source

McCormick, Carol Ann. (2011). "Elsie Julia Gibson Whitney." The University of North Carolina Herbarium. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/Collectors/Whitney_Elsie_Gibson.htm

Related entities

Whitney, Alvin G.: Spouse and co-collector

Birth Date

1885

Death Date

1970

Topic

Form/Genre

Personal name