Margaretta Morris

Margaretta Hare Morris
Margaretta Hare Morris, c. 1840s
Born3 December 1797
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Died29 May 1867(1867-05-29) (aged 69)
Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
OccupationEntomologist
Known forBeing one of the first two women elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science; being the second woman elected to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia Discovering new species of the Hessian Fly
FamilyLuke Morris (father)

Ann Willing (mother)

Abigail Morris (sister)

Ann Morris (sister)

Thomas Morris (brother)

Elizabeth Carrington Morris (sister)

Susan Morris (sister)

Margaretta Hare Morris (December 3, 1797  May 29, 1867) was an American entomologist. Morris is known for her work with agricultural pests, specifically the Hessian fly, cicadas, and the Colorado potato beetle. Her observations on water beetles were also included in Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, despite not being credited due to Darwin’s misogynistic beliefs. She and the astronomer Maria Mitchell were the first women elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1850. She was also the second woman elected to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1859, after Lucy Say.