Alice Eastwood
Alice Eastwood was born in Toronto, Canada in 1859. In her youth she experienced loss and much struggle, beginning with the passing of her mother when Alice was six years old. Her father, experiencing financial hardship and unable to care for his children, sent Alice to live with other family members and then to a convent. At fourteen, she moved back in with her father, who was now living in Denver. There she attended high school, graduating as the valedictorian of her class. Without means to attend college, Alice became a teacher at her alma mater. But in her spare time she explored botany, a love which developed from her time living with an uncle and from a priest at the convent, both of whom were amateur botanists. She studied from botany manuals, collected samples and set up exhibitions. Her knowledge led to opportunities and in the early 1890’s, after her collection was reviewed by the Curator of the Botany Department at the California Academy of Sciences, she received a job offer