Mary Agnes Chase

Mary Agnes Chase (1869–1963) was an American botanist who specialized in agrostology, the scrutiny of grasses. Although lacking formal education following elementary school, Chase was skillful to rise through the ranks as a botanist at the United States Department of Agriculture, beginning as an illustrator below the protection of Albert Spear Hitchcock and eventually becoming a senior botanist, overseeing the USDA's Systematic Agrostology department. Chase conducted fieldwork abroad in Europe and South America and published several books, including the First Book of Grasses: The Structure of Grasses Explained for Beginners, which was well ahead translated into Spanish and Portuguese. Additionally, Chase was certified for her discharge duty as an agrostologist when numerous awards, including a Certificate of Merit issued by the Botanical Society of America in 1956. Chase was along with an active suffragist and took part in demonstrations organized by the Silent Sentinels, a group acknowledged by members of the National Woman's Party. Although Chase's participation in this hobby was not always capably received by her peers in the scientific community, she nevertheless remained energetic to the cause of women's suffrage.