Bibliotheca Herpetologica 18(7)

Dodd, C. K. Jr. 2024. Women in Herpetology — A Short Biography of Mary Hewes Hinckley. Bibliotheca Herpetologica 18(7):74–80.

In the introduction to all three editions of Anna and Albert Wright’s Handbook of Frogs and Toads of the United States and Canada, the authors dedicate the book to four women who “…have in the last half-century contributed most notably to the study of this group.” Among them was Mary Hewes Hinckley (6 April 1845 – 5 June 1944), who would have been 88 when the first edition of Frogs was published. Relatively little information is available on this remarkable woman, despite the recognition she was accorded by the Wrights. She was honored by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) at the recommendation of Albert H. Wright when the Society unanimously passed a resolution to “send our greetings to two great herpetologists—Mary H. Hinckley and Leonhard Stejneger” at the annual meeting in 1940 in Toronto. Here, I present some background information on Mary, discuss the importance of her observations on frogs in the late 19^th Century, and identify the potential location of her one named study site.