Name/Title
002 Clara Gould Mark (1905–1906,1912–1913)Entry/Object ID
WOGS_002 Description
Clara Gould Mark was one of the first female geologists to join the staff of the Ohio Geological Survey. She worked for the Survey while completing her bachelor’s degree (1905–1906) and then again in 1912–1913 after teaching for two years at Mount Holyoke College. She received her bachelors in 1906 and her masters in 1910 from The Ohio State University. Her thesis was “The Mercer Limestone and its associated rocks and their faunas.” In 1913, she became the second female geology instructor at The Ohio State University and the only one at the time. She served in that capacity through 1917, then continued her teaching career at Ohio Wesleyan and later at Indiana University. She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for more than 50 years.
While at the Survey she studied various fossil groups and was the author of Chapter 5—The fossils of the Conemaugh Formation in Ohio of Bulletin 17: Conemaugh Formation in Ohio.
She was a woman ahead of her time. In a 1917 interview with The Ohio State University’s student newspaper The Lantern she stated: "All things being equal, women are as capable of doing any kind of educational work as men, for they are naturally exact and give more attention to details. That is why I believe that there should be at least one woman in every department, especially in co-educational schools. What is fit for women to study is also fit for them to teach."Photograph Details
Subject Person or Organization
Ohio Geological SurveyContext
Clara Mark received degrees in geology, was employed as a geologist at the Ohio Geological Survey and instructed at The Ohio State University all before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. The accomplishments of Clara Mark were remarkable at a time when such opportunities were seldom for women.Collection
Women of The Ohio Geological SurveyCataloged By
Molly E. Hunt, Madge Fitak