October 27, 2018 will mark the 75th
anniversary of Frances Glessner Lee’s appointment as a captain with the New
Hampshire State Police, the first female in the country to achieve the
rank. She is best remembered today for
the creation of her Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of
miniature dioramas depicting death scenes that were used by state police to
hone their skills at observing, interpreting, evaluating, and reporting. Often overlooked, however, are the incredible
contributions she made to professionalizing the fields of forensics and police
science. As Perry Mason author Erle
Stanley Gardner wrote in the foreword to his novel, The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom (dedicated to Lee): “She has
brought into existence the over-all plan of a course in training that is
helping to make the competent state police official as much a professional man
as the doctor or lawyer.”
Following, we reprint the article that appeared
in The Manchester Union on November 20, 1943 regarding her appointment.
“Mrs. Frances Glessner Lee of Littleton
has been appointed a captain of State Police by Col. Ralph W. Caswell, superintendent
of the department, in recognition of her work in promotion of scientific crime
investigation, it was disclosed today as nearly 150 county solicitors, medical
referees, sheriffs and local police chiefs gathered here for the second seminar
on collection and preservation of scientific evidence in cases of violent
death.
“Mrs. Lee, who sponsored the founding
of the department of legal medicine at Harvard Medical school, and whose work
has been recognized by many states and several foreign countries, has been
collaborating with the New Hampshire State Police for about two years and is
one of the sponsors of the annual seminars, the first of which was held in
December 1942.
“A native of Chicago, she is the
daughter of the late John J. Glessner, long time Littleton resident, and a
sister of John G. M. Glessner, who was representative from that town. She has been a legal resident of Littleton
for over 15 years.
“Besides the founding of the department
of legal medicine at Harvard, Mrs. Lee established the George Burgess Magrath
library of legal medicine there in honor of a college classmate of her brother
and long prominent medical examiner.
“From the study and advancement of
legal medicine, Mrs. Lee became interested in and made exhaustive studies of
police work generally, both in the United States and abroad, and for the past
two years has been actively interested in and has cooperated with the New
Hampshire State Police, which, she declared today, she considered to be
unexcelled in the country.
“Colonel Caswell, in disclosing the
appointment of Mrs. Lee to a captaincy, announced that she will serve as a
volunteer consultant. He paid his
tribute to the new officer for her work in the advancement of scientific
investigation and asserted that the department is extremely fortunate to have
her help.
“Speakers at the seminar today, which
was preceded Thursday evening by classes held for members of the state police,
were Dr. Alan R. Moritz and Dr. Joseph T. Walker of the department of legal
medicine of Harvard Medical school, who also are attached to the Massachusetts
Department of Public Safety.
“Lectures and discussions of various
phases of scientific investigation were capped by a demonstration of typical
evidence to be found at the scene of a death, from the reconstruction of past
cases on miniature stage settings arranged by Colonel Caswell and Captain Lee.”
NOTE:
From March 23 to 30, 2019, Glessner House will host a series of special
events honoring Frances Glessner Lee in conjunction with the official opening
of her restored bedroom. Events include
a black-tie gala, a birthday party (Lee was born March 25, 1878), a screening
of the 1950 MGM film Mystery Street
(featuring the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard), a lecture “Anatomy of
a Restoration” focusing on the process of restoring her bedroom, and a
presentation “Murder in a Nutshell” where audience members delve inside for of
her Nutshell Studies to try and determine – was it suicide, accidental death,
or murder? Look for more information on
these events in early 2019 at www.glessnerhouse.org.