Marjorie Carr
(1915-1998)

Died aged c. 83

Dr. Archie and Marjorie Carr worked to preserve the environment. Born in 1909, Dr. Carr was a graduate research professor at the University of Florida and an internationally known biologist and environmentalist. He published numerous scientific papers and was the author of Travels of a Naturalist in Africa, High Jungles and Low, The Windward Road and A Naturalist in Florida. He also authored the Time-Life books, The Reptiles and The Everglades. Among the honors he received were the O’Henry Memorial Award for Short Story Writing and the John Burroughs Medal for Nature Writing. Dr. Carr died in 1987. Born in 1915, Marjorie Carr graduated from the Florida State College for Women and received her Master’s degree in Zoology from the University of Florida in 1942. She was the first woman wildlife specialist hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fish and Wildlife. While her children were growing up, she worked to beautify the town of Micanopy to reflect its heritage. She was the founder of Florida Defenders of the Environment, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Building in Tallahassee is named in her honor. Marjorie Carr died in 1998.

OpenPlaques

Marjorie Harris Carr (March 26, 1915 – October 10, 1997) was an American scientist and environmental activist, well known for her conservation work in Florida. She was born in Boston and grew up in southwest Florida, where her parents taught her about native flora and fauna. After earning a Master of Science degree from the University of Florida in 1942, she went on to establish and lead several conservation efforts in the state, including co-founding the Alachua Audubon Society in 1960 and co-founding Florida Defenders of the Environment in 1969. Her work with Florida Defenders of the Environment — which continued until her death in 1997 — to preserve the Ocklawaha River Valley helped halt construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which is now a public conservation and recreation area named in her honor in 1998. She was inducted in the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1996. She was married to herpetologist Archie Carr from 1937 until his death in 1987; they had five children.

DbPedia

Wikidata Wikipedia