William Stimpson and the Golden Age of American Natural History

William Stimpson and the Golden Age of American Natural History PDF Author: Ronald Scott Vasile
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1609092406
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
William Stimpson was at the forefront of the American natural history community in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Stimpson displayed an early affinity for the sea and natural history, and after completing an apprenticeship with famed naturalist Louis Agassiz, he became one of the first professionally trained naturalists in the United States. In 1852, twenty-year-old Stimpson was appointed naturalist of the United States North Pacific Exploring Expedition, where he collected and classified hundreds of marine animals. Upon his return, he joined renowned naturalist Spencer F. Baird at the Smithsonian Institution to create its department of invertebrate zoology. He also founded and led the irreverent and fun-loving Megatherium Club, which included many notable naturalists. In 1865, Stimpson focused on turning the Chicago Academy of Sciences into one of the largest and most important museums in the country. Tragically, the museum was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and Stimpson died of tuberculosis soon after, before he could restore his scientific legacy. This first-ever biography of William Stimpson situates his work in the context of his time. As one of few to collaborate with both Agassiz and Baird, Stimpson's life provides insight into the men who shaped a generation of naturalists—the last before intense specialization caused naturalists to give way to biologists. Historians of science and general readers interested in biographies, science, and history will enjoy this compelling biography.

William Stimpson and the Golden Age of American Natural History

William Stimpson and the Golden Age of American Natural History PDF Author: Ronald Scott Vasile
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1609092406
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Get Book Here

Book Description
William Stimpson was at the forefront of the American natural history community in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Stimpson displayed an early affinity for the sea and natural history, and after completing an apprenticeship with famed naturalist Louis Agassiz, he became one of the first professionally trained naturalists in the United States. In 1852, twenty-year-old Stimpson was appointed naturalist of the United States North Pacific Exploring Expedition, where he collected and classified hundreds of marine animals. Upon his return, he joined renowned naturalist Spencer F. Baird at the Smithsonian Institution to create its department of invertebrate zoology. He also founded and led the irreverent and fun-loving Megatherium Club, which included many notable naturalists. In 1865, Stimpson focused on turning the Chicago Academy of Sciences into one of the largest and most important museums in the country. Tragically, the museum was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and Stimpson died of tuberculosis soon after, before he could restore his scientific legacy. This first-ever biography of William Stimpson situates his work in the context of his time. As one of few to collaborate with both Agassiz and Baird, Stimpson's life provides insight into the men who shaped a generation of naturalists—the last before intense specialization caused naturalists to give way to biologists. Historians of science and general readers interested in biographies, science, and history will enjoy this compelling biography.

A Man of Salt and Trees

A Man of Salt and Trees PDF Author: James Ballowe
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
A Man of Salt and Trees is the first full-length biography of Joy Morton (1855-1934), founder of The Morton Arboretum--an internationally acclaimed outdoor museum of woody plants--and Morton Salt--the brand that for over a century has been a household name in the United States. Joy Morton's story begins in pre-Civil War Nebraska Territory and concludes in the midst of the Great Depression in Chicago, the city in which he lived for over a half century. Using the voluminous correspondence of the Morton family, Ballowe tells the story of the Nebraska farm boy who grew up to be a small town banker who became a leading citizen of Chicago and Illinois and a major figure in the nation's economic and technological development during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Morton left his mark in several areas, from business and city planning to transportation and environmental preservation. He was a contributor to the development of Daniel H. Burnham and Edward Bennett's 1909 Plan of Chicago, which continues to affect the way Chicagoans protect the Lakefront and approach transportation and park issues throughout the region. During the last three decades of his life, Morton served on the Chicago Plan Commission. His interest in transportation led him to become an investor and a director in railroad transportation and a champion of inland waterway traffic. He also single-handedly financed early advancements of the teletype, a technology that advanced the economic and cultural development of the 20th century. Toward the end of his life, Morton funded the University of Chicago's explorations of Mississippian Indian culture in central Illinois and traveled throughout the world visiting ancient as well as modern cultures and gardens. The Morton Arboretum stands today as a natural expression of a desire Joy Morton had from childhood, when he learned from his father, the founder of Arbor Day, and his mother, a dedicated gardener, that a necessary complement to a good life is the cultivation and preservation of the environment.

The Well of Loneliness

The Well of Loneliness PDF Author: Radclyffe Hall
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Lesbians
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description


Goldfish in the Parlour

Goldfish in the Parlour PDF Author: John Simons
Publisher: Sydney University Press
ISBN: 1743328745
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
“For the first time, fish became our companions and a corner of many a Victorian parlour was given over to housing tiny fragments of their world enclosed in glass.” The experience of seeing a fish swimming in a glass tank is one we take for granted now but in Victorian England this was a remarkable sight. People had simply not been able to see fish as they now could with the invention of the aquarium and everything that went with it. Goldfish in the Parlour looks at the boom in the building of public aquariums, as well as the craze for home aquariums and visiting the seaside, during the reign of Queen Victoria. Furthermore, this book considers how people see and meet animals and, importantly, in what institutions and in what contexts these encounters happen. John Simons uncovers the sweeping consequences of the Victorian obsession with marine animals by looking at naturalist Frank Buckland’s Museum of Economic Fish Culture and the role of fish in the Victorian economy, the development of angling as a sport divided along class lines, the seeding of Empire with British fish and comparisons with aquarium building in Europe, USA and Australia. Goldfish in the Parlour interrogates the craze that took over Victorian England when aquariums “introduced” fish to parks, zoos and parlours.

Martin Lister and His Remarkable Daughters

Martin Lister and His Remarkable Daughters PDF Author: Anna Marie Roos
Publisher: Bodleian Library
ISBN: 9781851244898
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Abstract: On 17 July 1681, the English naturalist and physician Martin Lister (1639-1712) wrote to his wife Hannah en route from York to France. The good doctor suffered from severe and chronic asthma throughout his life, and he took "the waters" on the Continent periodically to convalesce and rest away from a busy medical practice and growing family responsibilities. Lister was also a fervent Francophile, having studied medicine in Montpellier in the 1660s, and he would go on to write a bestselling travel guide to Paris telling his readers which curiosities to see, which wine to drink, and making perceptive comments about the differences between French habits and those of the English. The work was so popular that it was reprinted for the next three centuries in English and French for a cross-cultural audience. Lister left his wife at home to care for their "sweet Babes," urging her in his absence: " . . . prithee again be merry, and make much of thy self and barnes [children]." He explained to Hannah that he left "to gain my health and ease my spirits, over tired with my calling and thoughts." Hannah, left at home with the children, was apparently not so sanguine; Lister continued, "my deare I admire you can be so hard hearted as not given me a line all this time, this is my fourth Letter. And the second weeke of my journey only." He promised his wife that he would come home by August, but pleaded "doe not let a week or so break any squares with thee and me," and he promised to bring some presents from France

Revision of Sternaspis Otto, 1821 (Polychaeta, Sternaspidae)

Revision of Sternaspis Otto, 1821 (Polychaeta, Sternaspidae) PDF Author: Kelly Sendall
Publisher: PenSoft Publishers LTD
ISBN: 9546426792
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
The peanut-shaped sternaspid polychaetes have been known since 1760 when Plancus named them as Mentula cucurbitacea marina. Sternaspids are common and abundant in soft bottoms. Some authors suggested that only one species should be recognized, whereas others regard a few species very widely distributed and variable depths. Delineating species was problematic; the ventro-caudal shield was disregarded or barely used for identifying species. In this contribution the ventral shield is evaluated and its diagnostic potential is confirmed. The revision of Sternaspis is based upon type or topotype materials. Sternaspid body, introvert hooks and shield show three distinct patterns: two genera have 7 abdominal segments and tapered introvert hooks, and one genus has 8 abdominal segments and spatulate introvert hooks. The ventro-caudal shield has 3 different patterns: stiff with ribs, and sometimes concentric lines, stiff with feebly-defined ribs but no concentric lines, and soft with firmly adhered sediment particles. Sternaspis is restricted to include species with 7 abdominal segments, falcate introvert hooks, and stiff shields, often exhibiting radial ribs, concentric lines or both. Two new genera incorporate the remaining species: Caulleryaspis has falcate introvert hooks, 7 abdominal segments, and soft shields with sediment particles firmly adhered on them. Petersenaspis has spatulate introvert hooks, 8 abdominal segments, and stiff shields with poorly-defined ribs but no concentric line. The geographic range of most species is smaller than previously indicated. Keys to genera and to all species are also included.

The Afflicted Girls

The Afflicted Girls PDF Author: Nicole Cooley
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 9780807129463
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
Twenty individuals were executed and more than 150 imprisoned. The historical body of evidence that remains from the Salem witch trials of 1692 touched the hands, mind, and imagination of poet Nicole Cooley, compelling her to seek entry to an inaccessible past of lies. The Afflicted Girls, so named after the young women who claimed to be victims of witchcraft, spans the centuries to give voice to those both audible and silent on history’s pages—accusers and accused of several kinds: wife and husband, servant and master, congregant and minister, and, not least, bewitched and witch. Piercing, enchanting, Cooley’s poems form a remarkable narrative, one that displays the enormous cultural power the Salem witch trials retain in twenty-first-century America.

Studies in Forensic Biohistory

Studies in Forensic Biohistory PDF Author: Christopher M. Stojanowski
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107073545
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
Highlights the role of anthropologists in revealing the histories and contemporary social facts that are reflected in dead bodies.

Yearning for Yesterday

Yearning for Yesterday PDF Author: Fred Davis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description


American Women and Flight since 1940

American Women and Flight since 1940 PDF Author: Deborah G. Douglas
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813148294
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Women run wind tunnel experiments, direct air traffic, and fabricate airplanes. American women have been involved with flight from the beginning, but until 1940, most people believed women could not fly, that Amelia Earhart was an exception to the rule. World War II changed everything. "It is on the record thatwomen can fly as well as men," stated General Henry H. Arnold, commanding general of the Army Air Forces. The question became "Should women fly?" Deborah G. Douglas tells the story of this ongoing debate and its impact on American history. From Jackie Cochran, whose perseverance led to the formation of the Women's Army Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II to the recent achievements of Jeannie Flynn, the Air Force's first woman fighter pilot and Eileen Collins, NASA's first woman shuttle commander, Douglas introduces a host of determined women who overcame prejudice and became military fliers, airline pilots, and air and space engineers. Not forgotten are stories of flight attendants, air traffic controllers, and mechanics. American Women and Flight since 1940 is a revised and expanded edition of a Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum reference work. Long considered the single best reference work in the field, this new edition contains extensive new illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography.