- John Lawrence LeConte
John Lawrence LeConte (
May 13 ,1825 -November 15 ,1883 ) was the most important American entomologist of the 19th century, responsible for naming and describing approximately half of the insect taxa known in theUnited States during his lifetime [http://www.uiowa.edu/~nathist/Site/whatsinanamebios3.html Bird Name Biographies] - URL retrievedSeptember 14 ,2006 ] , including some 5,000 species of beetles. He was recognized as the foremost authority on North Americanbeetle s during his lifetime, and has been described as the "father of American beetle study."Evans, Arthur V. and James N. Hogue. 2004. Chapter 1: A Brief History of Beetle Study in California. "Introduction to California Beetles". University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24034-0, as excerpted at [http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10132/10132.sample.pdf#search=%22%22John%20Lawrence%20LeConte%22%22] - URL retrievedSeptember 16 ,2006 ]A member of the scientifically-inclined
LeConte family, John Lawrence was born inNew York City , the son of naturalistJohn Eatton Le Conte . His mother died when John Lawrence was only a few months old, and he was raised by his father. Based on samples of his signature, John Lawrence used the surname variant "LeConte" without the space that his father used (as "Le Conte"). John Lawrence graduated fromMount Saint Mary College in 1842, and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1846. While still in medical college, in 1844, John Lawrence traveled with his cousinJoseph LeConte to theGreat Lakes . Starting atNiagara Falls , they visited Detroit andChicago and traversedMichigan ,Wisconsin ,Iowa andIllinois before returning up theOhio River to Pittsburgh and on to New York. [ [http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:csxwLM7jPCYJ:www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/p2258.xml+%22John+Lawrence+LeConte%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=28 Reminiscences of Joseph Le Conte at the Minnesota Historical Society] - URL retrievedSeptember 16 ,2006 ] John Lawrence published his first three papers on beetles that year.After graduating from medical college John Lawrence LeConte made several trips west, including to
California viaPanama in 1849. While in San Francisco, he sent 10,000 beetles preserved inalcohol back to his father. Another 20,000 beetle specimens were lost in a fire in 1852. LeConte also traveled toEurope ,Egypt andAlgiers . [Scudder, Samuel H. A Biographical Sketch of Dr. John Lawrence LeConte. 1884. "Transactions of the American Entomological Society": Volume 11, Number 3-4. Found at [http://chla.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=chla;cc=chla;sid=e3fdf2e96ce07b72d8a8970e64f2ec3c;rgn=full%20text;idno=5077659_170_003;view=image;seq=0096] - URL retrievedSeptember 14 ,2006 ] He spent two years exploring theColorado River , and was inHonduras for the building of theHonduras Interoceanic Railway , and inColorado andNew Mexico with the party surveying for theKansas Pacific Railroad . [ [http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/stanton/3644.htm American Scientific Exploration, 1803-1860] - URL retrievedSeptember 16 ,2006 ] He moved to Philadelphia in 1852, residing there for the rest of his life. During theAmerican Civil War he worked as a surgeon with the California volunteers, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1878 he became the chief clerk (assistant director) of theUnited States Mint in Philadelphia. He retained that position until his death in 1883.LeConte was active in the scientific societies of his time, with stints as vice-president of the
American Philosophical Society (1880-1883) and president of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (1873). He was a founder of theAmerican Entomological Society , and a charter member of the National Academy of Sciences [ [http://www7.nationalacademies.org/archives/NAS_Incorporators.html Incorporators of the NAS] - URL retrievedSeptember 14 ] , 2006] .Le Conte's Thrasher was discovered by LeConte while on a beetle-collecting trip toArizona , and named after him byGeorge Newbold Lawrence . LeConte communicated with and collected birds forSpencer Fullerton Baird , a distant cousin and Assistant Director and then Director of theSmithsonian Institution for a total of 39 years. In turn Baird asked other naturalists to collect beetles for LeConte.Works
* "Catalogue of the Coleoptera of the United States." (1853)
Frederick E. Melsheimer , revised bySamuel Stehman Haldeman and John Lawrence LeConte
* "Classification of the Coleoptera of North America" (1861, 1873)
* "New Species of North American Coleoptera" (1866, 1873)
* "Classification of the Coleoptera of North America. Part II" (1883) - withGeorge Henry Horne References
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