- Herbert Huntingdon Smith
Herbert Huntingdon Smith (1851, Manlius,
New York - 1919, Tuscaloosa,Alabama ) was an Americannaturalist who worked on theflora andfauna ofBrazil . He wrote "Brazil, the Amazons and the coast" (C. Scribner's Sons, 1879) and "Do Rio de Janeiro a Cuyabá: Notas de um naturalista" (1922).He first went to Brazil in 1870 on the Morgan expedition led by
Charles Frederick Hartt . He returned to stay in Santarem from 1874 to 1876, and then spent a year exploring the Amazon andTapajós Rivers.Back in the United States, he began working for
Scribner's Magazine , writing on Brazil and frequently returning, once with the artistJames Wells Champney . In 1880 he married Amelia Woolwirth, also a naturalist. They lived in Brazil until 1886, travelling widely and visitingParaguay but spending most time atChapada dos Guimarães , where intensive collecting (especially of insects) resulted in the discovery of many new species. After a few months inRio de Janeiro , they returned to the United States.The insect collections were purchased by
William Jacob Holland andFrederick DuCane Godman . In 1889 Smith collected inMexico for Godman, the results appearing in "Biologia Centrali-Americanum". [ [http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/bca/explore.cfm Electronic Biologia Centrali-Americana ] at www.sil.si.edu] He was then commissioned by theRoyal Society to collect in the West Indies (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ,Trinidad and theWindward Islands , 1889-1895). He then became Curator at theCarnegie Museum .In 1898-1902 he collected in
Colombia for theAmerican Museum of Natural History , resuming curatorship of the Carnegie Museum on his return.The very many new
species collected by Herbert and Amelia Huntingdon Smith were described byFrederick DuCane Godman andHerbert Druce (Lepidoptera );Samuel Wendell Williston (Diptera );William Harris Ashmead andEzra Townsend Cresson (Hymenoptera );George Charles Champion (Coleoptera );Philip Reese Uhler andWilliam Lucas Distant (Hemiptera ).Smith's death was tragic. Collecting snails along a railway, the deaf naturalist was hit by a train.
Amelia
Herbert Huntingdon collections were, following his marriage, made jointly with Amelia, an expert collector, specimen preparator; and taxidermist.
References
*Osborn, H. 1937 "Fragments of Entomological History Including Some Personal Recollections of Men and Events". Columbus, Ohio, Published by the Author.
*Osborn, H. 1952 "A Brief History of Entomology Including Time of Demosthenes and Aristotle to Modern Times with over Five Hundred Portraits". Columbus, Ohio, The Spahr & Glenn Company.External links
*http://www.ecologia.edu.mx/azm/documentos/88/88f-Papavero.PDF
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