Anna Lee Brosius Korn

Class of
1961
Anna Lee Brosius Korn

Anna Lee Brosius Korn

“She has unselfishly devoted these years of her life to worthy causes in civic work and above all, has accomplished much in preserving the history of Oklahoma and in giving statewide recognition to persons whose achievements have been outstanding in various fields of endeavor.”
Oklahoma Governor W. J. Holloway

Biography

Anna Lee Brosius was born in Missouri and, at age 22, married Frank N. Korn and moved to El Reno, Oklahoma. She established a remarkable record in club and association activities, organizing several devoted wholly to heritage pursuits. Mrs. Korn was a writer and much of her press and poetry was published. In 1921, the Oklahoma Legislature passed an act authored by Mrs. Korn to establish November 16th as “Oklahoma Day.” Her greatest accomplishment was the creation of the Oklahoma Memorial Association and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1927 (the Oklahoma Memorial Association changed its name to the Oklahoma Heritage Association in 1971, and since 2015 is simply known as the Oklahoma Hall of Fame). The purpose of creating the Oklahoma Hall of Fame was to show appreciation and honor people who had given outstanding service to Oklahoma during their lifetime and to provide educational programming to Oklahoma students. She served on the board for over forty years. The Oklahoma Heritage House was opened in the former Hefner Mansion in 1972, it was the first home for the organization and included the offices, its related collections, artifacts, and research, until the Edward L. Gaylord - T. Boone Pickens Museum, home of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame opened in 2007.

Fun fact

In 1933, at the sixth anniversary of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, inductees received not only a certificate recognizing their induction, but also a memento of beaded flowers, laboriously beaded by Mrs. Korn herself, during the months prior to the event.

Oklahoma connections

Korn moved to El Reno, Oklahoma, in 1891 with her husband.

Hometown

El Reno

Profession

Founder, Civic Leader

Presenter

Born

1869

Died

1965

Relevant Exhibits

Beyond the Portraits: Artists and Their Subjects

Beyond the Portraits: Artists and Their Subjects

This exhibition is an exploration of the diverse range of portrait artists featured within the Gaylord-Pickens Museum’s collection of portraits and busts. The eight artworks selected were created between 1924-2004 and showcase a wide range of artistic styles.
Culture on the Prairie

Culture on the Prairie

This exhibit features ten Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductees whose civic contributions defined Oklahoma’s early cultural community and helped establish many of Oklahoma’s museums during the twentieth century.