(From a history (herstory) web page):
As flames engulfed San Francisco in 1906, one woman risked her life to save a treasure trove of botanical specimens. 
That woman was Alice Eastwood, the self-taught curator of botany for the California Academy of Sciences.
On April 18, 1906, a massive earthquake followed by devastating fires threatened to destroy the entire city, including the Academy's priceless collection.
With the building in ruins and fires closing in, Eastwood knew what was at stake. She entered the unstable structure to rescue the most valuable items.
The main staircase had collapsed. Eastwood and her colleagues had to climb the ruined marble steps by clinging to the thin iron railing that remained.
From an upper floor, they managed to lower over 1,400 of the most important plant specimens, including many that were the very first of their kind ever discovered. They used whatever cords and ropes they could find to lower the collection to safety. 
Among the rescued items was the definitive sample of the Franciscan manzanita, a species that would have been lost to science.
Alice Eastwood lost her home and all her personal belongings in the disaster, saving only a small lens and the clothes she was wearing. But she had saved the work of a lifetime.
She would go on to rebuild the herbarium and continued her work at the Academy until she retired at the age of 90, leaving an incredible legacy of dedication and courage.
Sources: Science, San Francisco Chronicle, Bay Nature #WomenInScience #AliceEastwood #CaliforniaHistory #fblifestyle
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