Grace Fern Berlin (March 3, 1897 – August 29, 1982) was an American
ecologist
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
,
ornithologist and historian. She was one of the first women in Ohio to receive a degree in ecology.
The daughter of Sanford Matthew Cowling and Ruth Richardson, she was born Grace Fern Cowling in
Monclova, Ohio
Monclova is an unincorporated community in central Monclova Township, Lucas County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and p ...
. She studied animal ecology at
Oberlin College, graduating in 1923. She then returned to farming. Two years later, she married Herbert Berlin. Berlin held offices in the
National Audubon Society, the Toledo Naturalists Association, the Ohio
Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...
, the National Wildlife Association and the historical societies of Ohio, Whitehouse, Maumee Valley and Waterville. She also published several papers on early Ohio architecture. Berlin was inducted into the
Ohio Women's Hall of Fame
The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives and online records were transferred to the ...
in 1980.
She died at
St. Luke's Hospital at the age of 85.
[
]
Education and career
Grace Berlin had always been interested in farming. As she grew older, she changed her plan and decided she wanted to study and work in ecology and ornithology. She attended Oberlin College and was one of the first women to receive a degree in ecology there. She graduated in 1923. She published many papers and the content was often about coursework in college including ecology field trips to the western United States. She was a scientists and fell under multiple titles. Berlin was an ecologist, ornithologist, naturalist, and historian. In 1980 she was inducted into the Ohio women's hall of fame.
Personal life
Grace Berlin was born Grace Cowling on March 3, 1897, in Monclova, Lucas County, Ohio, She was the daughter of Ruth Cowling and Sanford Cowling. She was married to Herbert Berlin. She became a widow when he died in 1975. She had no children. She lived for 85 years and eventually died in 1982 at St. Luke's Hospital in Maumee, Ohio.
She spent much of her life focused on her career but apart from her career, Berlin was interested in the antique market. She became a guide at the Log House in Whitehouse, a village in the Toledo Metropolitan Area
The Toledo Metropolitan Area, or Greater Toledo, or Northwest Ohio is a metropolitan area centered on the United States, American city of Toledo, Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the four-county metropolitan statistical ar ...
in Ohio. She was also a part of many different groups that were focused on nature and history. She was heavily involved in these groups that were in or near her town. She held a position in almost all of them at on point or another.
Achievements
Grace Berlin was involved in many different groups and held many different positions. She was mostly interested in nature and historical groups. Below is a list of Berlin's different positions and achievements:
* Inducted into Ohio Women's Hall of Fame
The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives and online records were transferred to the ...
* President of Monclova Women's Republican Club
* Office holder in the National Audubon Society
* Office holder in Toledo Naturalists Association
* Office holder in the Naturalists Camera Club
* Office holder in the Ohio Audubon Society
* Office holder in the National Wildlife Association
* Office holder in the Ohio Historical Society
Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...
* Office holder in the Muamee Valley Historical Society
* Office holder in the Waterville Historical Society
* Office holder in the Whitehouse Historical Society
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin, Grace F
1897 births
1982 deaths
American ecologists
American women ecologists
American ornithologists
Women ornithologists
20th-century American historians
Oberlin College alumni
20th-century American women scientists
20th-century American zoologists
American women historians