Martha Maxwell (1831–1881) was a self-educated naturalist and artist born in Pennsylvania.[1][2] who traveled to the Colorado Territory with the first wave of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush in 1860. She helped found modern taxidermy. Martha was the first woman to collect and prepare her own skins and mounts. She discovered Otus asio maxwelliae (the Maxwell Owl) as well as a number of other species not previously known to live in the Colorado Territory. She represented Colorado at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.[2] Martha Maxwell was also a vegetarian throughout her life.[3]