Mary Agnes Chase

Mary Agnes Chase (1869–1963) was an American botanist who specialized in agrostology, the study of grasses. Although lacking formal education taking into account elementary school, Chase was skilled to rise through the ranks as a botanist at the United States Department of Agriculture, beginning as an illustrator under the sponsorship 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 complex translated into Spanish and Portuguese. Additionally, Chase was credited for her exploit as an agrostologist afterward numerous awards, including a Certificate of Merit issued by the Botanical Society of America in 1956. Chase was in addition to an swift suffragist and took portion in demonstrations organized by the Silent Sentinels, a group standard by members of the National Woman's Party. Although Chase's participation in this commotion was not always without difficulty received by her peers in the scientific community, she nevertheless remained in action to the cause of women's suffrage.