Blanche Evans Dean

Blanche Evans Dean (June 12, 1892 – May 31, 1974) was an American naturalist, conservationist and schoolteacher.

Early life and education Dean was born Viola Blanche Evans in 1892 to John James and Catherine Evans, the youngest of their twelve children. She was raised on her parents' farm in Clay County, Alabama, where she first developed an interest in wildlife. She attended Lineville High School and, after graduating in 1908, began teaching at Hatchett Creek Presbyterian Church.

After deciding to become a teacher, Dean studied education at Jacksonville State University and later at Valparaiso University. In 1924, following her graduation from the University of Alabama with a degree in chemistry, She married William Dean in 1939, but they divorced less than a year later; Dean decided to keep her husband's surname. Additionally, she was involved in the Birmingham Audubon Society, the Alabama Academy of Science, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the American Fern Society, and Delta Kappa Gamma.

Legacy In 1975, Dean won the Alabama Library Association's first posthumous Annual Author Award for her non-fiction books. The Alabama Wildflower Society later established the Blanche E. Dean Scholarship Fund and named its Birmingham chapter after Dean. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1985.