Anna Marie Farnsworth

Anna Marie Farnsworth
Farnsworth, from the 1915 yearbook of the University of Central Missouri
Born(1895-07-19)July 19, 1895
La Tour, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJune 8, 1991(1991-06-08) (aged 95)
Holden, Missouri, U.S.
OccupationsChemist, college professor

Anna Marie Farnsworth (July 19, 1895 – June 8, 1991), usually known as Marie Farnsworth, was an American chemist. She is considered "a pioneer in archaeological science and materials analysis."

Early life and education

Farnsworth was born in La Tour, Missouri, the daughter of Isaac Girdner Farnsworth and Frances Edna Davis Farnsworth. Her father was a banker. She attended the University of Central Missouri and graduated from the University of Chicago in 1918. She earned a Ph.D. in chemistry there in 1922, with a dissertation titled "The Equilibrium of Carbon Dioxide with Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen in the Corona Discharge." She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi honor societies. Her sister Goldena Farnsworth was head of the physics department at Hollins College in Virginia.

Career

Farnsworth taught for a year at Iowa State University after graduate school. From 1924 to 1928 she was a chemist with the United States Bureau of Mines, at the bureau's Nonmetallic Minerals Experiment Station in New Jersey. She taught chemistry at New York University from 1926 to 1935. In 1927, she and Emma P. Carr were named to the faculty of the American Chemical Society's Institute of Chemistry, a summer educational program at Penn State.

In the 1930s, after an extended trip in Europe, Farnsworth went to work as a researcher at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University. She joined Theodore Leslie Shear's archaeological investigation in Greece in 1937 and 1938, on a grant from the American Philosophical Society. She returned to research chemistry during World War II, and worked for the Metal & Thermit Corporation (also known as M&T Chemicals) in New Jersey, from 1941 to 1961. "One has to make a living," she explained in a 1986 interview, "and you couldn’t make as much money in archaeology as you could in chemistry".

Her archaeological interests remained, and she spent time in Greece when she could, studying and analyzing ancient pottery clays and glazes, and publishing her findings as an independent scholar. In 1980, she received the first Pomerance Award from the Archaeological Institute of America. She taught chemistry for archaeologists at University of Missouri from 1965 to 1968.

Publications

Farnsworth's work was published in scientific journals including Economic Geology, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, Journal of the American Chemical Society, The Journal of Chemical Physics, Analytic Chemistry, Technical Studies in the Field of the Fine Arts, Archaeology, Hesperia, Journal of Chemical Education and American Journal of Archaeology.

Chemistry

Archaeological studies

Personal life

Farnsworth moved to Kansas City in 1979, and died in 1991, at the age of 95, at a nursing home in Holden, Missouri. She donated many of her samples and research materials to the Smithsonian Institution.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nodarou, Eleni; Daleziou, Eleftheria (2025), Déderix, Sylviane; Bastide, Maguelone (eds.), "Anna Marie Farnsworth (1895–1991): A pioneer in archaeological science and materials analysis", Pencil and Dust: Women who shaped archaeology in Greece and the Greek world, Suppléments du BCH, Athènes: École française d’Athènes, pp. 127–134, doi:10.4000/15xg3, ISBN 978-2-86958-704-5, retrieved 2026-10-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rodriguez, Dana (2024-01-11). "Ladies Who Lab: Lesser-Known Women in Science, 1920–1970". Science History Institute. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  3. ↑ University of Central Missouri, The Rhetor (1915 yearbook): 38; via Ancestry.
  4. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie. "The Equilibrium of Carbon Dioxide with Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen in the Corona Discharge." PhD diss., The University of Chicago, 1925.
  5. ↑ University of Chicago, Cap and Gown (1919 yearbook): 65.
  6. ↑ University of Chicago, Cap and Gown (1921 yearbook): 31.
  7. ↑ "Rites Wednesday for Goldena Farnsworth". The Clinton Eye. 1966-05-03. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-10-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Chemistry Triumphs Win Women Posts on International Faculty". The Berkshire Eagle. 1927-06-17. p. 27. Retrieved 2026-10-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 3 Rix, Henri (1986-07-15). "Lab in the digs; Chemist one of the first to bring her skills to archaeology". The Kansas City Star. pp. 25, 28. Retrieved 2026-10-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Lynn, Bob (2025-10-14). "Anna Marie Farnsworth: The Chemist Who Decoded Ancient Athens Through Spectroscopic Analysis". Vox Meditantis. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  11. 1 2 Bowles, Oliver; Farnsworth, Marie (1925-12-01). "Physical chemistry of the calcium sulphates, and gypsum reserves". Economic Geology. 20 (8): 738–745. doi:10.2113/gsecongeo.20.8.738. ISSN 1554-0774.
  12. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie (September 1925). "The Hydration of Anhydrite". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 17 (9): 967–970. doi:10.1021/ie50189a037. ISSN 0019-7866.
  13. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie (May 1927). "An X-Ray Study of Limes Having Different Plasticities 1". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 19 (5): 583–588. doi:10.1021/ie50209a022. ISSN 0019-7866.
  14. 1 2 Wendt, Gerald L.; Farnsworth, Marie (1925-10-01). "The Equilibrium of Carbon Dioxide with Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen in the Corona Discharge". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 47 (10): 2494–2500. doi:10.1021/ja01687a010. ISSN 0002-7863.
  15. 1 2 West, W.; Farnsworth, Marie (1933-06-01). "The Vibration Spectra and Structure of the Cyanogen Halides". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 1 (6): 402–405. doi:10.1063/1.1749308. ISSN 0021-9606.
  16. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie.; Pekola, Joseph. (1954-04-20). "Determination of Small Amounts of Tin with Dithiol". Analytical Chemistry. 26 (4): 735–737. doi:10.1021/ac60088a037. ISSN 0003-2700.
  17. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie.; Pekola, Joseph. (1959-03-01). "Determination of Tin in Inorganic and Organic Compounds and Mixtures". Analytical Chemistry. 31 (3): 410–414. doi:10.1021/ac60147a025. ISSN 0003-2700.
  18. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie. "Infra-red absorption of paint materials." Technical Studies in the Field of the Fine Arts 7, no. 2 (1938): 88-98.
  19. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie. "The corrosion and cleaning of ancient bronzes." Archaeology 2, no. 1 (1949): 19-21.
  20. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie; Smith, Cyril Stanley; Rodda, J. L. (1949). "Metallographic Examination of a Sample of Metallic Zinc from Ancient Athens". Hesperia Supplements. 8. American School of Classical Studies at Athens: 126–452. doi:10.2307/1353889. ISSN 1064-1173. JSTOR 1353889.
  21. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie; Simmons, Ivor (1960). "A Unique Cement from Athens". Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. 29 (1). The American School of Classical Studies at Athens: 118–122. doi:10.2307/147335. ISSN 0018-098X. JSTOR 147335.
  22. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie (February 1951). "Ancient pigments: Particularly second century B.C. pigments from Corinth". Journal of Chemical Education. 28 (2): 72. doi:10.1021/ed028p72. ISSN 0021-9584.
  23. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie (1951-07-01). "Second Century B. C. Rose Madder from Corinth and Athens". American Journal of Archaeology. 55 (3): 236–239. doi:10.2307/500972. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 500972.
  24. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie; Wisely, Harriet (1958-04-01). "Fifth Century Intentional Red Glaze". American Journal of Archaeology. 62 (2): 165–173. doi:10.2307/502352. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 502352.
  25. 1 2 Farnsworth, Marie; Perlman, I.; Asaro, Frank (1977-10-01). "Corinth and Corfu: A Neutron Activation Study of their Pottery". American Journal of Archaeology. 81 (4): 455–468. doi:10.2307/503278. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 503278.
  26. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie (1924). Effects of Temperature and Pressure on Gypsum and Anhydrite. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines.
  27. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie (1927-06-01). "The Re–Use of Plaster of Paris Molds1". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 19 (6): 714–717. doi:10.1021/ie50210a024. ISSN 0019-7866.
  28. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie (1928). The Theory and Technique of Quantitative Analysis. J. Wiley.
  29. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie (1928-03-10). "Women in Chemistry". Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, News Edition. 6 (5): 3–4. doi:10.1021/cen-v006n005.p003 (inactive 15 October 2026). ISSN 0097-6423.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of October 2026 (link)
  30. ↑ "Women Chemists Are Increasing". Springfield Weekly Republican. 1925-11-05. p. 10. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
  31. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie (1980). Cadmium chemicals. Internet Archive. New York, NY : International Lead Zinc Research Organization.
  32. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie (January 1960). "Draw Pieces as Aids to Correct Firing". American Journal of Archaeology. 64 (1). The University of Chicago Press: 72–75. doi:10.2307/502424. JSTOR 502424.
  33. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie; Simmons, Ivor (1963-10-01). "Coloring Agents for Greek Glazes". American Journal of Archaeology. 67 (4): 389–396. doi:10.2307/501622. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 501622.
  34. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie (July 1964). "Greek Pottery: A Mineralogical Study". American Journal of Archaeology. 68 (3). The University of Chicago Press: 221–228. doi:10.2307/502385. JSTOR 502385.
  35. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie; Immerwahr, Sara A. (1966). "The Use of Tin on Mycenaean Vases". Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. 35 (4). The American School of Classical Studies at Athens: 381–396. doi:10.2307/147567. ISSN 0018-098X. JSTOR 147567.
  36. ↑ Farnsworth, Marie (January 1970). "Corinthian Pottery: Technical Studies". American Journal of Archaeology. 74 (1). The University of Chicago Press: 9–20. doi:10.2307/502899. JSTOR 502899.
  37. ↑ "A. Marie Farnsworth (obituary)". The Kansas City Star. 1991-06-11. p. 13. Retrieved 2026-10-16 – via Newspapers.com.