Francisca A. Wieser was born on in
Washington, D.C., in the United States. She was the daughter of
German immigrants, her mother was Sophia Ailer (née Seitz), and her father was a war veteran (
1st Maryland Cavalry in the
Union Army during the
American Civil War) and a visual artist, Louis Wieser (1836–1904). Her younger sister Florence Wieser (1877–1949) also worked as an illustrator and artist at the United States Geological Survey. From early childhood she had a love of creating art. Wieser used a combination of a microscope and drawing,
camera lucida, to record fossils that were millions of years old, and was recognized for her ability to capture details of fossils by drawing rather than relying on photography.
Death and legacy Wieser died on January 15, 1949, in Washington, D.C., In 1904, the
Cythere francisca or
C. francisca fossil was named in her honor by the
Maryland Geological Survey. In 1911, Ray S. Bassler named the
Sceptropora francisca or
S. francisca fossil in her honor. == Publications ==