Mount Holyoke College. All rights reserved.
© 2004 Mount Holyoke College. All rights reserved.
Anna Haven Morgan was born on May 6, 1882 in Waterford, Connecticut to Stanley G. Morgan and Julia A. Douglass Morgan. She attended Williams Memorial Institute in New London, Connecticut and went to Wellesley College in 1902 before transferring to Cornell University, where she received a B.A. in 1906. She worked as an assistant and instructor in the Zoology Department at Mount Holyoke College from 1906-1909, then resumed her studies at Cornell and earned a Ph.D. in 1912. Around this time she changed her first name from "Anna" to "Ann." She returned to Mount Holyoke and was a professor of zoology until 1947, serving as chair of the Zoology Department from 1916-1947. Morgan did research and was a Visiting Fellow at other institutions including the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Harvard University, Yale University, and the Tropical Laboratory at Kartabo, British Guiana. Her teaching and research interests focused on aquatic biology and the habits and conditions of hibernating animals. She was also interested in ecological and environmental issues and was an active member of the National Commission on Policies in Conservation Education. Morgan wrote and illustrated three books: "Field Book of Ponds and Streams: an Introduction to the Life of Fresh Water" (1930), "Field Book of Animals in Winter" (1939) and "Kinships of Animals and Man" (1955). In 1949 she collaborated with "Encyclopedia Britannica" on an educational film entitled "Animals in Winter." She was one of three women among the two hundred and fifty people listed in the fifth edition of "American Men of Science" published in 1933. She was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Entomological Society of America, the American Society of Naturalists, the American Society of Zoologists, the American Association of Museums, the New York Herpetological Society, the Association of Social Hygiene, and the Sigma Xi Society. For many years she lived and traveled with Amy Elizabeth Adams, a 1914 graduate of Mount Holyoke who also was a member of the college's Zoology Department. Morgan died at age eighty-four on June 5, 1966 in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
The Ann Haven Morgan Papers include writings, correspondence, biographical information, and photographs. The material consists primarily of Morgan's writings and photographs of or by her. Her writings date from 1911-1955 and include her books as well as her scientific articles, some of them co-written with Mount Holyoke College students. The collection also includes her articles about zoologist Cornelia M. Clapp, the Mount Holyoke College Zoology Department and science curriculum, and the selection of Roswell Gray Ham as the school's first male president. Correspondence, 1924-1960, chiefly reflects Morgan's efforts to help former students, including Virginia F. Babcock and Mildred Trotter, find employment. Biographical information, 1930-1966, consists of newspaper articles, award and lecture announcements, and material relating to Morgan's death and funeral. It also contains an article about the Morgan Adams Graduate Fellowship for advanced study in the biological sciences that was established at Mount Holyoke with funds from her estate. Photographs, circa 1910-1955, chiefly consist of formal and informal pictures of Morgan alone or with Mount Holyoke College students and colleagues, including Cornelia M. Clapp and A. Elizabeth Adams. In addition, there are three photographs of the "Chemical Department" and "Physiological Department" at the Stazione zoologica di Napoli in 1924, two photographs taken by Morgan during a visit to the Rocky Mountains circa 1949, and slides of many of the photographs relating to her.
Material from this collection is available in an online digital format.
This collection is organized into four series:
unrestricted
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Ann Haven Morgan Papers, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA.
Arranged chronologically.
Unrestricted
Writings, 1911-1955, consist of books, journal and "Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly" articles, and laboratory manuals written by Morgan. Her scientific publications include the laboratory manuals entitled "Laboratory Studies in General Zoology" (1936, 1941, 1953) and articles concerning mayflies, "The Temperature Senses in the Frog's Skin" (1922), "Seasonal Conditions and Effects of Low Temperature in the Thyroid Glands of Amphibians" (1942), and other topics. Many of these articles were co-written by Mount Holyoke College students. Morgan's writings for the "Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly" consist of articles entitled "Zoology at Mount Holyoke College" (1921), "Science and the New Curriculum" (1930), "Cornelia Maria Clapp, March 17, 1849-December 31, 1934: An Adventure in Teaching" (1935), "Mount Holyoke's Next President" (1935), and a reflection on her retirement (1947). The series also includes copies of her books: "Field Book of Ponds and Streams" (1930), "Animals in Winter" (1939), and "Kinships of Man and Animals" (1955). There is an unpublished piece about her work with "Encyclopaedia Britannica" on a film version of "Animals in Winter" entitled "Notes on Collaboration Work with Film Service" (1949).
Arranged chronologically.
Unrestricted
Correspondence, 1924-1960, consists chiefly of letters by Morgan. The series includes her 1925 endorsement for "DUZ" soap and a letter from Stazione zoologica di Napoli, dated July 25, 1924, acknowledging her visit to the institution. Most of the letters, however, concern the placement of former students into job positions during the 1930s. One letter from 1927 is to Mildred Trotter, Class of 1920, and several letters from the early 1930s are to Virginia F. Babcock, Class of 1931. Other letters include one dated December 1936 from the American Woman's Association in New York City, on which Morgan served as the President of the Board of Governors, and another written in September 1960 regarding publicity material for the "McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology" that included articles by her.
Arranged chronologically.
Unrestricted
Biographical information chiefly consists of articles and newspaper clippings about Morgan's activities, the books that she wrote, and awards that she received. The series includes a 1933 "Time" magazine article about her selection as one of three women scientists listed in the fifth edition of the "American Men of Science" biographical directory. There is also an illustrated feature article from a 1945 issue of the Providence, Rhode Island "Sunday Journal" about a conservation workshop led by Morgan which gave elementary and high school teachers an opportunity to learn science projects that could be used in the classroom. The material also includes obituaries for Morgan and copies of the eulogies about her. In addition, the series contains an article about the establishment of the Morgan Adams Graduate Fellowship for advanced study in the biological sciences set up with funds from Morgan's estate.
Arranged chronologically.
Unrestricted
Photographs consists of portraits and snapshots dating from about 1910-1955. Many of these photographs are of Morgan alone or with Mount Holyoke College students in the field and in laboratories. Included are photographs of her with Cornelia M. Clapp in about 1913 and with A. Elizabeth Adams in 1923 and in the 1950s. There are also three photographs of the "Chemical Department" and "Physiological Department" at the Stazione zoologica di Napoli, 1924, a photograph of the Morgan and Adams home in South Hadley, Massachusetts in 1932, and two photographs taken by Morgan during a visit to the Rocky Mountains in about 1949. In addition, the series includes slides of many photograph relating to Morgan.