Mary Elizabeth Titzel  Riefstahl  ( 08.03.1889  -  15.09.1986 )

Mary Elizabeth Titzel Riefstahl was an American anthropologist and archaeologist who specialised in artwork from the ancient Near East. In 1936, She became a librarian at the Wilbour Library of Egyptology, Brooklyn Museum, when she became interested in the pharaonic and Early Christian periods. During World War II, she assumed curatorial duties while John D. Cooney was fighting in the war. After the war, she continued to run the Wilbour library until 1956, when she retired. She was granted the title of Associate Curator Emeritus of the Wilbour Collection. 

Following her retirement from the museum, Elizabeth Riefstahl became the Executive Secretary of the Amercian Research Center in Egypt until 1969. She then opted to continue her professional career, returning to the Brooklyn Museum as the Curator of Ancient Art until her final retirement in 1975.