Regina Olson Hughes was an American scientific illustrator in botanical Art. Born February 1, 1895 in Herman, Nebraska, she became fascinated with the world of plants and flowers. Her parents were Johana and Gilbert Hughes. At age 10, she contracted scarlet fever and slowly decreased her hearing until she became fully deaf at age 14. In order for her to communicate with her peers, she relied on lip reading and written notes for business work. Hughes retained her speech skills and continued to speak fluently throughout her adulthood. She became proficient in sign language when she enrolled in Gallaudet College.She loved her rural home, rampant with weeds, plants and flowers. An interest in art also dominated her childhood. Her parents provided art tutoring. Plants and flowers were her favorite subjects. In 1923, Hughes married Frederick H. Hughes and lived on…show more content… We were treated like children.” But she never backed down from a challenge. She received her bachelor’s in art in 1918 and her master's degree in 1920. After graduation, Hughes worked at the Veterans Administration for a few weeks before moving on to the state department. In 1930,Hughes worked at the US Department of Agriculture as a research clerk then as a scientific illustrator and translator. She attained stature as an artist and scholar during years of government service. She used her fluency in four languages- French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian- to work as a translator in the State department during World War I. Also at the departments of war and commerce where her most prestigious assignment was translating during the Conference on limitation of armament in Washington, after the armistice. She served as a translator for the US department of State, one of only two non-French women employed by the US office of
