Background
Belle Jennings was born in Larned, Kansas in 1882 and moved to San Diego with her family at the age of 5.
Belle Jennings was born in Larned, Kansas in 1882 and moved to San Diego with her family at the age of 5.
She later attended Russian High School (now San Diego High School) and San Diego Normal School (now San Diego State University).
They divorced in 1922. After a stint as a school teacher, she was hired in October 1925 by Doctor Harry M. Wegeforth, the president of the Zoological Society of San Diego, to serve as bookkeeper for the logical Garden. In October 1927 she was promoted to the top position in the zoo, that of executive secretary.
Her title was soon changed to zoo director, in which position she served until her retirement in December 1953.
Foreign most of her career she was the only woman zoo director in the world. She and Wegeforth as a team oversaw the growth of the zoo through extensive animal collecting and innovative design.
The zoo was one of the first to put animals into naturalistic “cageless” exhibits. During her term as director, annual attendance increased more than fourfold, and the budget increased more than sevenfold.
Upon her retirement in 1953, the mayor of San Diego proclaimed “Belle Benchley Day” and a retirement dinner was attended by more than 800 people.
In 2007 she was inducted into the San Diego County Women"s Hall of Fame. She died at the age of 90. She is buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego, where her gravestone features a carving of the head of a smiling gorilla.
She served on committees of the American Zoological Association and was its first woman president She was a member of the International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens.