Home of Anna Botsford Comstock

Entomologist, conservationist, publisher, and one of the first female professors at Cornell, Anna Botsford Comstock (1854-1930) is regarded, even during her lifetime, as one of the most influential women of the twentieth century. She helped develop the Nature Study Movement through her book, Handbook of Nature Study. She and her husband, Professor John Comstock (1849-1931), founded the Comstock Publishing Company, which circulated many of their pioneering ideas on the study of nature.

The publishing company operated in 124 Roberts Place. It was the only commercial-use building erected when Cornell Heights was established. Their former residence is located across the street at 123 Roberts Place. Many sites and buildings on Cornell’s campus bear the namesake "Comstock" for the couple’s contributions to the institution’s environmental studies.

Source: Historic Ithaca & History Center in Tompkins County

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