From its establishment in 1908 until she died in 1950 she financed the museum's collections and supported a series of paleontological expeditions throughout the western United States.

Alexander herself took part in many of these expeditions, accumulating a significant collection of fossils and exotic game animals that she would later donate to the museum.

In 1888, she traveled with her family to Paris and studied painting, but the detailed work caused vision problems and persistent headaches.

She soon left the program when she found that studying the required medical textbooks brought on another bout of headaches and vision problems.

They were unable to decide on a location until Merriam proposed a trip to Shasta County where they could collect Triassic vertebrate fossils to which Alexander agreed.

[5] Alexander was attended by Herbert Furlong and William Greeley, two of Merriam's students who were chosen to provide assistance and expertise for her.

Other participants included Ernest, an African American wagon driver and cook, and a young boy named Willis.

Shasta County had captured attention from California Paleontologists in 1893 after James Perrin Smith (of Stanford) searched for ammonites.

Participants included Vance Osmont, an assistant and student of John C. Merriam, Eustace Furlong, Waldemar Schaller, and Katherine Jones.

Along with Alexander, the participants were Edna Wemple, Eustace Furlong, Frederick Sylvanus Ray, and Ward Benjamin Esterly.

[10] On this trip, Alexander uncovered her first significant fossil that was new to the scientific world which John C. Merriam named in her honor Thalattosaurus alexandrae.

In personal letters after his death, Alexander expressed a need to find a distraction that would prevent her from thinking about the loss of her father.

[14] In 1910, Alexander embarked on a trip north to British Columbia with Louise Kellogg to expand upon the research they had done in Alaska.

While there, Alexander enlisted the help of a local trapper named Edward Despard who was tasked with finding mink, marten, raccoons, otters, and beavers.

The women returned to California with 137 specimens including a cougar, many minks, and a large black bear that Alexander purchased from a farmer.

Moved by the notion that she needed to preserve the wildlife that she saw as rapidly disappearing from the western United States, Alexander proposed and financed a new museum in California.

[15] The goal of the museum was to provide paleontological material to researchers on campus to further their studies as well as preserve the declining environment around them for posterity as well as cultivating an interest in natural history.

[16] In 1907, Alexander met Joseph Grinnell, a young scientist from Stanford who had already begun to make a name for himself in the field of zoology.

"[3] Among other activities, the two ran a working farm together; they raised cattle but eventually switched to asparagus which was a seasonal crop so it left them more time throughout the year to travel.

[8] Alexander continued to finance expeditions and perform fieldwork throughout her life, celebrating her 80th birthday while in the Sierra de la Laguna mountains.

Alexander was an heiress who experienced vastly more freedom than many women of her time and she used her money to expand public education in the hopes that all could appreciate California's wildlife for generations.

[16] By the time of her death, Alexander, with great help from Kellogg, donated 20,564 specimens to the University of California Museum of Paleontology.

[1] Not only did Alexander establish, finance, and provide specimens for two museums she also helped to bring natural history and its leading scientists into the spotlight.

Alexander hired, funded, and collected specimens for men who are recognized as giants of vertebrate zoology and paleontology such as Joseph Grinnell, Alden H. Miller, E. Raymond Hall, John C. Merriam, and Charles L. Camp.

[20] Annie Alexander's philanthropy and contributions to science and the University of California Berkeley were honored by naming one of the falcons nesting on Sather Tower after her.

For a closer look at Alexander and Kelloggs relationship, the Bancroft Library at University of California, Berkeley also has a collection of archival work that uncovers the hidden history of people affiliated with the campus.