{{short description|US herpetologist and naturalist (1882–1864)}} {{Infobox person | name = Anna Allen Wright | image = Anna Allen Wright.jpg | birth_name = Anna Maria Allen | birth_date = {{Birth date|1882|03|04}} | birth_place = Buffalo, New York | death_date = {{Death date and age|1964|12|05|1882|03|04}} | death_place = Ithaca, New York | alma_mater = Cornell University | occupation = Herpetologist | notable_works = ''Handbook of Frogs and Toads: The Frogs and Toads of the United States and Canada'' (1933); ''The Handbook of Snakes'' (1957) | spouse = Albert Hazen Wright | relatives = Arthur A. Allen (brother) }}
'''Anna Allen Wright''' (née '''Anna Maria Allen'''; 4 March 1882 – 5 December 1964)<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=W.J., Jr. |author-link=species:William John Hamilton, Jr. |date=1965 |title=Mrs. Anna A. Wright |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1441264 |journal=Copeia |volume=1965 |issue=1 |pages=124–124 |issn=0045-8511}}</ref> was an American herpetologist, and a recognized authority on the ecology and natural history of amphibians and reptiles.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada by Albert Hazen Wright {{!}} Paperback |url=https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501702532/handbook-of-snakes-of-the-united-states-and-canada/ |access-date=2024-08-23 |website=Cornell University Press |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Life == Anna Maria Allen was born in Buffalo, New York, on 4 March 1882.<ref name=":4" /> She graduated from Cornell University in 1909, where she was elected to Sigma Xi.<ref name=":4" /> Her brother, Arthur A. Allen was an ornithologist.<ref name=":4" />
In 1910, she married Albert Hazen Wright.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Frederick Rowe |url=https://archive.org/details/manwhosavedseatu0000davi/mode/2up |title=The Man who Saved Sea Turtles: Archie Carr and the Origins of Conservation Biology |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-531077-1}}</ref> They collaborated on natural history projects, writing and illustrating several books in the ''Handbooks of American Natural History'' series, published by Cornell University's Comstock Press.<ref name=":0" /> Their ''Handbook of Frogs and Toads: The Frogs and Toads of the United States and Canada'' was published in 1933, the first in Comstock's Handbook series.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/oapen-20.500.12657-62162/page/53/mode/2up |title=Cornell University Press, Est. 1869 – Our First 150 Years |date=2019 |language=English}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Albert Hazen |author-link=Albert Hazen Wright |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780801482328/page/n11/mode/2up |title=Handbook of Frogs and Toads of the United States and Canada |last2=Wright |first2=Anna Allen |date=1995 |publisher=Ithaca, NY : Comstock Pub. Associates |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8014-8232-8}}</ref> It was dedicated to "four American women who, in addition to serving the public and science generously, have in the last half-century contributed most notably to the study of this group".<ref name=":3" /> They were Mary Hewes Hinckley (1845–1944), Mary Cynthia Dickerson (1866–1923), Helen Dean King (1869–1955), and Helen Thompson Gaige (1890–1976).<ref name=":3" /> This unusual dedication in a scientific work of the period has been speculated to have been largely thanks to Anna.<ref name=":3" />
The ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada'' (in two volumes) followed in 1957.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Albert Hazen |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofsnakes0000wrig/mode/2up |title=Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada |date=1994 |publisher=Ithaca : Comstock Pub. Associates |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8014-8214-4}}</ref>
The Wrights traveled extensively in order to compile their handbooks, working to observe every species of snake in North America, gathering data and live specimens.<ref name=":2" /> The ''Handbook of Snakes'' contained more than 300 species and subspecies, with photographs, drawings, and distribution maps.<ref name=":2" /> These were accompanied by excerpts from the Wrights' field journals.<ref name=":2" /> Anna Allen Wright provided illustrations.<ref name=":3" /> The couple have been described as "constant companions in and out of science."<ref name=":3" />
Wright also contributed 500 of her pictures to the ''Handbook of Turtles'' and the ''Handbook of Lizards''.<ref name=":4" /> She was known as a capable botanist and floriculturist, as well as a versatile naturalist.<ref name=":4" />
Anna Allen Wright died at home in Ithaca, New York on 5 December 1964.<ref name=":4" />
== Legacy == Following her death, a memorial fund for the Cornell University Library was established in Wright's name.<ref name=":4" />
In his foreword to the 1995 edition of the ''Handbook of Frogs and Toads'', Roy McDiarmid wrote:<blockquote>I would guess that no North American scientist in the first half of this century had a more profound effect on students interested in the ecological aspects of the natural history of frogs than Anna Allen and Albert Hazen Wright.<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>He also noted that although "Albert Hazen Wright received numerous accolades during his distinguished career", he was "unaware of any bestowed on Anna, even though she likely deserved many".<ref name=":3" />
In 2019, the ''Handbook of Frogs and Toads'' was selected as one of Cornell University Press' 150 most notable books.<ref name=":1" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Anna Allen}} Category:1882 births Category:1964 deaths Category:20th-century American women scientists Category:Scientists from Buffalo, New York Category:Cornell University alumni