Mischievous Creatures: The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science with Catherine McNeur

In her new book, Mischievous Creatures, historian Catherine McNeur uncovers the forgotten lives and work of the sisters Margaretta Hare Morris and Elizabeth Carrington Morris, who were at the center of scientific conversations and debates in the nineteenth century. Margaretta, an entomologist, was famous among her peers and the public for her research on 17-year cicadas and other troublesome insects. Elizabeth, a botanist, was a prolific illustrator and a trusted supplier of specimens to the country’s leading experts. At this talk, McNeur will discuss the research involved in recreating the Morris sisters’ lives and the many ways that they have been erased from the history of science in the centuries since.

Catherine McNeur is the award-winning author of Mischievous Creatures: The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science (Basic Books, 2023) and Taming Manhattan: Environmental Battles in the Antebellum City (Harvard University Press, 2014). She is a Professor of History at Portland State University where she teaches courses on environmental history, public history, and the history of food.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Presentation begins at 7:00 p.m.

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