Jennie Alexander
Jennie Alexander (December 8, 1930 – July 12, 2018) was an American woodworker considered a pioneer in the woodworking world, "Instrumental in designing the now iconic two-slat post-and-rung shaving chair." She also coined the term "greenwoodworking" as a single word in her book, Make a Chair from a Tree: An Introduction to Working Green Wood. Background Jennie Alexander spent her early childhood in Baltimore, Maryland learning to play the piano and later became a Jazz musician. She was introduced to woodworking at the Baltimore polytechnic institute High School and would later go on to open up her own home shop in 1960. Her mother grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, and was part of the educational sloyd system. Because of this Jennie was always encouraged to explore woodworking and learning through doing. Her father was a lawyer, and Jennie also attended law school at the university of Maryland, becoming a divorce lawyer. She embraced greenwoodworking as an avocation. She both practiced greenwoodworking, and studied the history of greenwoodworking by examining furniture at museums, private collections, auction houses, etc. Born as John David Alexander Jr., Alexander was a trans woman who transitioned in 2007, at the age of 77. Alexander's wife, Joyce,