Harrison, Anna J.

Anna Jane Harrison was born on December 23, 1912 in Benton City, Missouri to farmers Albert Harrison and Mary Katherine Jones Harrison. She became interested in science while attending high school in Mexico, Missouri and went to the University of Missouri where she received a B.A. (1933), M.A. (1937), and Ph.D. (1940) in chemistry and a B.S. (1935) in education. While working towards her Master's Degree, she also taught at an elementary school in Andrain County, Missouri. She was a chemistry professor at Sophie Newcomb College from 1940-1945. During World War II she also did research on toxic smoke for the National Defense Research Council, the A.J. Griner Co. in Kansas City, Missouri and Corning Glass Works in Corning, New York. The American Ceramic Society honored her with the Frank Forrest Award for her findings in this research. In 1945 she began teaching at Mount Holyoke College. She became a full professor in 1950, served as chair of the Chemistry Department from 1960-1966, and retired in 1979. She did research concerning the structure of organic molecules, the absorption of organic compounds in ultraviolet and far ultraviolet regions, and photolysis. She was an active member of many scientific societies, including the American Chemical Society (ACS), the National Science Board, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 1978 she became the first woman president of the ACS and she was president of the AAAS in 1983. She served on the editorial boards of the "Journal of College Science Teaching" and "Chemical and Engineering News" and she was on the Board of Directors of Sigma Xi from 1988-1991. In 1989 she co-authored a textbook with her Mount Holyoke College colleague Edwin Weaver entitled "Chemistry: A Search to Understand." She received many honors and awards including twenty honorary degrees. Harrison died in Holyoke, Massachusetts on August 8, 1998 at the age eighty-five.

From the guide to the Harrison papers MS 0763., 1854-1999, 1938-1989, (Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections)