Johannsen, Alice E. (Alice Elisabeth), 1911-1992

Alice Elisabeth Johannsen was born in 1911 in Havana, Cuba. She was the daughter of a well-known cross country skier Herman-Smith (Jackrabbit) Johanssen. Educated at McGill University, she earned a B.Sc. with Honours in 1934. In 1935 she was a graduate apprentice, specializing in Outdoor Nature Education in Newark Museum in New Jersey. From 1936 to 1939 Alice Johannsen held Carnegie Fellowship in Museum Training at the Nation Gallery of Canada. In 1962 she was granted a diploma from Canadian Museums Association, of which she was also a Fellow. She was granted an LL.D. from St. Thomas University in New Brunswick in 1975. Alice Johannsen died at Piedmont in 1992.

Between 1939 and 1941, Alice Johannsen worked as a secretary and demonstrator for the Zoology Department at McGill University. From 1942 she held various positions in the McGill Redpath Museum, including Assistant Curator (1942-1949), Assistant Director (1949-1951), Director (1951-1971) and Curator of Ethnology (1949-1962). From 1970 to 1979 Alice Johannsen was Director of the Gault Estate. She established the Mt. St. Hilaire Nature Conservation Centre and was on its Board of Directors from 1970 to 1980. She was also one of the founding members and President of the Canadian Museums Association. Alice Johannsen had a great influence on the development of museums in Canada where she was an active member in numerous professional organizations, and actively participated in her community. She authored the biography of her father, published in 1992.