Myra Keen | |
---|---|
Born |
Angeline Myra Keen May 23, 1905 Colorado Springs, Colorado |
Died | January 4, 1986 Santa Rosa, California |
(aged 80)
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | |
Occupation |
Angeline Myra Keen (1905–1986) was an American malacologist and invertebrate paleontologist. She was an expert on the evolution of marine mollusks. With a PhD in psychology. Keen went from being a volunteer, identifying shells at Stanford, and having no formal training in biology or geology, to being one of the world's foremost malacologists. She was called the "First Lady of Malacology".
Myra Keen was born on May 23, 1905 in Colorado Springs, Colorado to parents Ernest Byron and Mary Thurston Keen. Pursuing being a concert pianist was Myra's first goal even before pursuing earth sciences, classical music was one of her greatest joys and particularly enjoyed Brahms. Initially Myra was thinking of pursuing entomology but her squeamish stomach did not serve her well. She finally turned to psychology as her field of study. Keen attended Colorado College and graduated in 1930 with a degree in psychology. Shortly after she decided to continue her education when she won a fellowship to Stanford University in 1931, completing her Masters. Keen went on to complete her PhD in psychology, attending the University of California, Berkeley in 1934.
While studying at Berkeley, Keen became interested in seashells, which she collected during trips to Monterey in the summer. The discovery of these sea shells sparked Keen's interest in Malacology, and she spent the following summer in Monterey collecting different specimens and sea shells. Struggling to find a job, Keen started volunteering at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station, identifying seashells for the geology department and working under Ida Shepard Oldroyd. Keen was able to establish a connection with Oldroyd, who at the time was the curator of shell collections at Stanford University. The volunteer position was her first time studying mollusks, aside from previous classes in geology, biology and statistics.