Augusta Thekla Hasslock Kemp: Woman of “Accomplishment” and the Pre-glamour Geologist

Augusta Kemp represented a transition point in geology, from the woman of accomplishment in the Victorian era to the working woman geologist in World Wars I and II. Women’s education in the Victorian period included scientific disciplines like geology and math, as they made a woman more accomplished and feminine. Kemp was educated in preparation for a career as a science teacher, but she expanded her knowledge with graduate studies in geology. Kemp moved West and continued to research and publish in geology. Later in her career she was recruited to help the United States find petroleum in World Wars I and II. During World War II, she mentored a new generation of women seeking to make careers in geology. In addition to her work as a geologist, she wrote creative fiction and poetry about her experiences, both good and bad, as a female geologist.