47 Frances Glessner Lee

INTRODUCTION

Frances Glessner Lee is a notable figure known for her contributions to forensic science in legal medicine and crime scene investigation. Despite barriers on attaining higher education due to her gender, Lee played a pivotal role in developing advanced forensic techniques and training. Her work, Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, revolutionized crime scene analysis and remains relevant today.

Early Life

Frances Glessner Lee was born in 1878 into a wealthy Chicago family. Her father, John Glessner, emphasized education and hired private tutors for Frances and her brother. Lee developed a passion for medicine, but was denied the opportunity to go to college due to societal norms of the time. At the age of 19, she married Blewett Harrison Lee, a lawyer, and had three children before divorcing in the 1930s. (“Glessner House”, n.d.).

The Start of Her Career

Unable to attend medical school, Lee remained determined to educate herself in forensic science. She formed a close friendship with her brother’s friend Dr. George Burgess Magrath, a Harvard medical examiner and leading figure in legal medicine. Inspired by his work, she dedicated herself to the advancement of forensic education (“Glessner House”, n.d.).

In 1936, Frances Glessner Lee donated $250,000 to the Harvard School of legal medicine to develop “The George Burgess Magrath Endowment for legal medicine” (“Ms.Frances G. Lee Gives”, 1936) This was a collection of rare books and sources accessible to Harvard students to encourage their pursuit of knowledge in legal medicine. Some rare pieces included a 15th-century manuscript of Petrus de Abano’s De Venenis and a collection of pieces on  Charles J. Guiteau, President Garfield’s assassin (“The George Burgess”, n.d.).

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

In the 1940s, Frances Glessner Lee merged her passion for craftsmanship and forensic science to create the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death—a series of meticulously detailed miniature crime scene dioramas designed to train law enforcement officers. Each model replicated real-life murder scenes with remarkable accuracy, incorporating forensic clues such as blood spatter patterns, corpse discoloration, and window latches to challenge investigators’ observational skills (“Murder is Her Hobby”, 2017). This innovative blend of forensic analysis and model-making provided a new approach to crime scene investigation. In recognition of her groundbreaking contributions, Lee became the first female police captain in the United States and maintained a close working relationship with law enforcement (Mrs. Frances Lee, Rich, 1962).

Impact AND LEGACY

Though the Harvard College of Legal Medicine was eventually dissolved, Frances Glessner Lee’s impact on forensic science endures. Her Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death remain a vital training tool and are still used in seminars at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore (“Murder is Her Hobby”, 2017). The extensive legal medicine library she curated was donated to Harvard’s Countway Library, where it continues to serve as a valuable resource for forensic scholars (The George Burgess, n.d.).

As one of the first women to make a mark in the male-dominated field of forensic science, Lee broke significant gender barriers and introduced a fresh perspective to criminal investigations. Her meticulous approach to crime scene reconstruction laid the foundation for modern forensic techniques, ensuring that her legacy continues to shape contemporary law enforcement practices.

Challenges AND barriers faced

As a woman in the early 20th century, Frances Glessner Lee faced significant gender barriers in both education and professional spaces. Denied the opportunity to pursue formal medical training, she instead educated herself through independent study and used her resources to advance the field of forensic science (Goldfarb, 2005; Glessner House, n.d.). Despite her novel contributions, she often lacked recognition in a discipline dominated by men, challenging societal expectations and paving the way for future generations of women in forensic investigations (Ramsland, 2007; Burrell, 2022).

REcognition and influence on modern forensics

Frances Glessner Lee’s contributions to forensic science fundamentally shaped crime scene investigation, establishing methods that remain relevant and in use today. The Nutshell Studies set a new standard for analysis, emphasizing the importance of initial observations, attention to detail, and deductive reasoning, introducing law enforcement officers to forensic principles, connecting on-scene response to forensic investigation.

Even after her passing, Lee’s influence continues to be recognized through honors, application in forensic training programs (Murder is Her Hobby, 2017), and the collection of rare forensic science material at Harvard’s Countway Library, preserving her legacy as a scholar, inventor, and advocate in forensic education (The George Burgess, n.d.). Referred to as the “Mother of Forensic Science”, Lee’s efforts not only helped shape modern forensic techniques but also paved the way for increased inclusion and recognition of women in male-dominated fields.

Work Cited

1. Besson, P. (2018). Brazen: Rebel ladies who rocked the world (S. Siegel, Trans.). First Second. https://pascal-clemson.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PASCAL_CLEM/g45dlb/alma991012523729705612Biber, K. (2013). In crime’s archive: The cultural afterlife of criminal evidence. The British Journal of Criminology, 53(6), 1033–1049. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azt032Boston Medical Library. (n.d.). The George Burgess Magrath Library of Legal Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine at Countway Library. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/exhibits/show/corpus-delicti/endowment-for-legal-medicine/magrath-library

   Burrell, S. (2022, October 27). The woman who built miniature crime scenes to revolutionize forensics. BBC Future. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221026-frances-glessner-lee-the-mother-of-forensics

   Goldfarb, B. (2005, October 1). Perfect crimes: Miniature forensics. Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/perfect-crimes-miniature-forensics

   Glessner Lee, F. (1952). Legal medicine at Harvard University. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, 42(5), 674–678. https://pascal-clemson.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PASCAL_CLEM/1k59mp4/cdi_proquest_journals_1290439651

   Glessner House. (n.d.). Frances Glessner Lee. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.glessnerhouse.org/

   National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Frances Glessner Lee biography. Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/visibleproofs/galleries/biographies/lee.html

   Kmietowicz, Z. (2015). The mother of CSI in a nutshell. BMJ, 350, h1324. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h1324

   Library of legal medicine will be opened tomorrow. (1934, May 23). The Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1934/5/23/library-of-legal-medicine-will-be/

   Ramsland, K. (2007). The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. Crime Library/TruTV. https://web.archive.org/web/20130703110618/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/forensics/nutshell_studies/index.html

   Smithsonian American Art Museum. (2017, October 17). Murder is her hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/nutshells

   The New York Times. (1936, September 21). Endows chair at Harvard: Mrs. Frances G. Lee gives $250,000 for teaching legal medicine. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://libproxy.clemson.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/endows-chair-at-harvard/docview/101737034/se-2

   The New York Times. (1962, January 28). Mrs. Frances Lee, rich widow who became criminologist, dies. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://libproxy.clemson.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/mrs-frances-lee-rich-widow-who-became/docview/115931217/se-2