Charlotte Hill

Charlotte Hill
Homesteader, Charlotte Hill (1849-1930)
BornFebruary 15, 1849
Fulton County, Indiana
DiedApril 11, 1930
Sacramento, California
OccupationSpecimen collector
SpouseAdam Hill
Children7

Charlotte Hill (1849–1930) was a homesteader born in Indiana who contributed to paleontology through finding several significant fossil within the Florissant Fossil Beds. She sold many fossils to other collectors and investigators to earn money on the side.[1] Her most significant discovery was the Persephone butterfly near Florissant, Colorado.[2] Charlotte's discoveries brought attention to Florissant as an important location for fossils, and her findings created an impetus for recognition of the fossil beds as a national monument within the United States of America.[3] Many of her collected fossils now reside in the Harvard University museum and the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History.[4]

The fossil rose Rosa hilliae was named after Charlotte Hill in 1883.[5]

  1. ^ Meyer, Herbert William; Smith, Dena M. (2008-01-01). Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado. Geological Society of America. ISBN 9780813724355.
  2. ^ "Charlotte Hill - Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  3. ^ "Florissant Fossil Beds". National Park Service. February 24, 2014.
  4. ^ Meyer, Herbert William; Smith, Dena M. (2008-01-01). Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado. Geological Society of America. ISBN 9780813724355.
  5. ^ Meyer and Whitmore. "Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument" (PDF).