Mary Murtfeldt
Mary Esther Murtfeldt was an American entomologist.Life
Mary Murtfeldt was one of four daughters of Charles W. Murtfeldt, a German-born agricultural writer. Though born in New York City, she grew up in Rockford, Illinois and lived most of her life with her father and sister in Kirkwood, Missouri. Crippled by polio in her youth, she needed crutches throughout her life. She studied at Rockford College from 1858 to 1860. In 1868 her father became editor of Colman's Rural World, and Mary developed an interest in entomology. Encouraged by Missouri state entomologist Charles Valentine Riley, she took a job as a local assistant in the Bureau of Entomology of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Murtfeldt worked at the interface between entomology and botany. She worked out the pollination of the Yucca plant, and formed an important collection of plant species from the St Louis, Missouri area.Works
