98:. Excavators at the tar pits early in the century had discarded much of the plant material they found, being interested mainly in the bones. But Templeton found records, photographs, and samples of tree trunks, cones, and branches from the pits, and recovered seeds and other plant parts in tar remaining inside animal skulls, the sockets of bones, and even beetle bodies from the tar pits. This included the seeds of many plants that no longer grow in Southern California because it has become too dry, demonstrating a change in climate. Her work showed that the climate and landscape of Southern California during the
70:, and a survey rediscovered the plant still on the dunes. In November 1938 she married Charles Steinhoff, a member of the Los Angeles Police Department, from whom she was taking flying lessons. While flying to Yuma for the ceremony, their plane developed engine trouble and they were forced to set down in the sand dunes near Palm Springs, wrecking the plane. Undeterred, they procured another plane in Palm Springs and flew on to Yuma to be married.
67:. Her designation of the plant as a new species proved controversial and has not been generally accepted. Later development of the dunes led to fears the plant had become extinct from destruction of its habitat. However, in the mid-1980s the area was restored as a preserve for the endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly
46:, where she signed up with an employment agency and worked a number of odd jobs. Among these she was sent to help an amateur botanist classify and mount his large collection of dried plants. Templeton came away from the project with a new-found passion for botany.
73:
While working full-time at the museum, Templeton attended classes at night, earning her bachelor's degree in botany in 1941 from the
University of Southern California. This was followed by her master's degree in 1947, writing her thesis on
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interview, she recalled that the head of the biology department at USC refused to admit her to the doctoral program, telling her that no woman would get a doctorate in botany while he was there. Consequently, she pursued her Ph.D. at
134:. She left the museum in 1970 after 41 years there. Scorning retirement, she founded the California Botanical Science Service, a private consulting business in Glendale, which she operated for another 20 years.
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to support graduate student research and maintenance of the
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology's teaching collection. The Dr. Bonnie C. Templeton Annual Lecture at Oregon State was established in her
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for the Los
Angeles Police Department, consulting on the 1931 homicide of Virginia Brooks and the 1949 Louise Springer case, and the 1953 kidnapping of Baxter Shorter. She gave public lectures on
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was not hotter and drier than today's, as was previously believed based on animal fossils, but both cooler and wetter, with a terrain consisting of meadows, marshes, small streams, and woodland.
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Templeton BC. (1962). A morphological comparison of
Pholisma arenarium Nuttall and Pholisma paniculatum Templeton (Lennoaceae) Contrib. Sci. Los Angeles County Mus., No. 57.
474:
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She proved a quick study, becoming
Assistant Botanist at the California Botanic Garden in Los Angeles in 1928. In 1929, she was named Curator of Botany at the
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Bonnie C. Templeton
Collection. Box 10. Special Collections, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Research Library, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.
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Templeton began her career at a time when there were few women in science, and many graduate programs refused to admit women. In a 1993
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190:
Templeton, Bonnie C. (1953). "A survey of the
Pleistocene flora of California." Research report, University of Southern California.
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398:
Kowsky, Kim, "Botanist's
Belated Reward 61 Years after She Found a Plant on the Dunes, It May Turn Out to Be a Unique Species,"
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Kowsky, Kim. “Botanist's
Belated Reward 61 Years After She Found a Plant on the Dunes, It May Turn Out to Be a Unique Species.”
237:
Kowsky, Kim. “Botanist's
Belated Reward 61 Years After She Found a Plant on the Dunes, It May Turn Out to Be a Unique Species.”
127:
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130:, desert flora, poisonous plants, and gardening, organized plant shows at the museum, and was an active member of the
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As well as working as the Curator of Botany at the County Museum of Natural History, Templeton served as an on-call
78:. On October 17, 1942, Templeton married a second time, to Chester D. Weiche. This marriage lasted until her death.
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and paleoclimatology. She earned her doctorate in 1964 from Oregon State University, writing a dissertation on
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on October 23, 1906, and stumbled onto her vocation by chance. In 1922, at the age of 16, she had moved to
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Templeton died of a heart attack and kidney failure on January 29, 2002, at the age of 95. She left
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Templeton, Bonnie C. (1946). "Nomen conservandum proposal for the genus Aromia in the Compositae."
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Getz, George, "L.A. Dry-Wet Cycles Go Back 15,000 Years." Los Angeles Times, 22 March 1965, p. A1.
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A morphological comparison of Pholoisma arenarium Nutt. and Pholisma paniculatum Templeton
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A Morphological Comparison of Pholoisma Arenarium Nutt, and Pholisma Paniculatum Templeton
22:(October 23, 1906 – January 29, 2002) was an American botanist. She served as curator of
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Templeton, Bonnie C. (1953). A New Record of Pine Cone for the Miocene Epoch.
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Templeton, Bonnie C. (1932). "Methods of Preserving Cacti for Herbarium Use."
254:, 23 November 1938, Proquest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times, p. 13.
228:, 5 February 2002, p. B11. Proquest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times.
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she discovered a possible new species, a rare parasitic plant she named
23:
311:"La Brea Tar Pits Discovery : Clues to Cool Climate Found."
58:. In 1932, while collecting plants in the El Segundo sand dunes,
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Getze, George, "Southland Once Marsh, Prehistoric Bones Show,"
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The Fruits and Seeds of the Rancho La Brea Pleistocene Deposits
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The fruits and seeds of the Rancho La Brea Pleistocene deposits
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The Fruits and Seeds of the Rancho La Brea Pleistocene Deposits
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from 1929 to 1970, a time when women in science were uncommon.
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Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences
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Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences
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Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences
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Templeton, BC. (1938). "A new species of Pholisma."
289:, Thesis, Oregon State University, p. 48-50, 70-82.
187:. Thesis (M.S.),University of Southern California.
365:Bonnie C. Templeton: A Reflection of Her Life
339:Bonnie C. Templeton: A Reflection of Her Life
265:Bonnie C. Templeton: A Reflection of Her Life
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28:Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
207:. Thesis (Ph. D.), Oregon State University.
250:“Along El Camino Real With Ed Ainsworth.”
132:American Association of University Women
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86:Templeton's main research interest was
475:20th-century American women scientists
350:"Pair Questioned in Springer Death,"
7:
367:. Kindle edition, locations 108-24.
341:. Kindle edition, locations 108-24.
267:. Kindle edition, locations 106-20.
485:People from Newman Grove, Nebraska
411:"Mrs. Hanna Rau to be Installed,"
14:
197:, vol. 52, pt. 2, pp. 64–66.
480:20th-century American scientists
56:County Museum of Natural History
94:, based on her research at the
424:Obituaries, Bonnie Templeton,
224:Obituaries, B. Templeton, 95,
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203:Templeton, Bonnie C. (1964).
183:Templeton, Bonnie C. (1947).
426:The San Diego Union-Tribune
173:, vol. 37, pp. 98–100.
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428:, 6 February 2002, p. B-5.
385:"Women's Clubdom Today,"
328:, 20 August 1993, p. B-3.
302:, 20 September 1964, p.A.
241:, 20 August 1993, p. B-3.
180:, vol. 95, p. 37-55.
460:American women botanists
315:, 9 December 1970, p.F1.
20:Bonnie Carolyn Templeton
470:American women curators
389:8 November 1935, p. A7.
148:Oregon State University
117:Oregon State University
96:Rancho La Brea tar pits
402:20 August 1993, p. B3.
128:California wildflowers
40:Newman Grove, Nebraska
285:Templeton, Bonnie C.
157:Selected publications
34:Birth and Adolescence
354:, 21 June 1949, p.2.
64:Pholisma paniculatum
415:1 June 1972, p. 19.
450:American botanists
413:Los Angeles Times,
400:Los Angeles Times,
387:Los Angeles Times,
465:American curators
363:Sharlow, Shanda,
352:Los Angeles Times
337:Sharlow, Shanda,
326:Los Angeles Times
313:Los Angeles Times
300:Los Angeles Times
263:Sharlow, Shanda,
252:Los Angeles Times
239:Los Angeles Times
226:Los Angeles Times
124:forensic botanist
112:Los Angeles Times
16:American botanist
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455:1906 births
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88:paleobotany
44:Los Angeles
439:Categories
212:References
144:endowments
26:for the
151:memory.
164:Desert
24:botany
138:Death
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