Robert Evans Snodgrass

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Evans Snodgrass (born July 5, 1875 in St. Louis , † September 4, 1962 in Washington, DC ) was an American entomologist and artist . He was particularly known for his excellently illustrated publications on the anatomy , morphology , evolution and metamorphosis of insects and other arthropods .

Drawing from one of the publications by Heller and Snodgrass on the expedition to the Galapagos Islands
One of the illustrations by Snodgrass from his book "Insects, their ways and means of living"

Snodgrass was born to Ohio- born couple James Cathcart Snodgrass and Annie Elizabeth Evans Snodgrass. A sister followed three years later and a brother five years later. In 1883 the Saint-Louis family moved to Wetmore, Kansas , where the father found work in a bank. When Snodgrass was 15 years old, the family moved again, this time to Ontario, California , to a 81,000 square meter ranch that grew oranges, plums and vines.

As a child, Snodgrass began dissecting birds on his own. He attended a Methodist school there, later Chaffey College . There he studied Latin, Greek, French, German, physics, chemistry and drawing. Since there were no biology classes at this school due to religion, Snodgrass supplemented his knowledge in his free time by studying the works of Darwin , Huxley and Spencer himself . His staunch advocacy of their theories of evolution caused him problems both at home and in the community. At the age of 20, Snodgrass began studying zoology at Stanford University . After his initial interest in vertebrates and ornithology, he soon switched to entomology, largely influenced by Vernon Lyman Kellogg (1867–1937). At Kellogg, Snodgrass' first scientific publications on the mouthparts and the anatomy of the jaw lice (Mallophaga) were created. During his time at Stanford, Snodgrass took part in two expeditions: the first led him to the Pribilof Islands under the direction of David Starr Jordan , the second to the Galapagos Islands under the direction of Edmund Heller . Snodgrass received his bachelor's degree (Artium Baccalaureus, AB) in zoology in 1901. He then taught at the State College of Washington in Pullman , went to Stanford for a short time and began his artistic career in San Francisco . In Europe he became particularly well-known for his pragmatic view in the segment theory of the insect's head, according to which this head is composed of only four metamers.

In the following period he often switched between art and science. He worked in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 1906 , traveled to England, drew as a freelance artist and cartoonist in New York , sold paintings to farmers in Indiana , worked as an entomologist in Indiana, and finally went back to Washington to the USDA. From 1924 to 1947 Snodgrass also taught at the University of Maryland . Snodgrass died at his Washington DC home at the age of 87, leaving behind two daughters and his wife, Ruth.

Snodgrass received many honors, especially for his scientific achievements. In addition to receiving an honorary doctorate, he became an honorary member of the Royal Entomological Society of London and a corresponding member of the American Entomological Society . He also received the Joseph Leidy Medal from the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia .

Important scientific work

  • Anatomy and physiology of the honeybee . New York 1925 (further edition as Comstock Book, Cornell 1985, ISBN 978-0-8014-9302-7 )
  • Insects, their ways and means of living . Vol. V, Smithsonian Institution Series, 1930. (Reprinted by Applewood 2006, ISBN 978-1-55709-530-5 )
  • The principles of insect morphology . McGraw-Hill, New York 1935 (further edition as Comstock Book, Cornell 1993, ISBN 978-0-8014-2883-8 )
  • Textbook of arthropod anatomy . Comstock, Ithaca 1952.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Schmitt JB (1963): Robert Evans Snodgrass (1875-1962). Entomological News 74 (6): 141-142.
  2. ^ Thurman EB (1959): Robert Evans Snodgrass, insect anatomist and morphologist. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 137: 1-17.

Web links

Commons : Illustrations from Insects, Their Ways and Means of Living (1930) by Robert Evans Snodgrass  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Snodgrass, Robert Evans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Snodgrass, Robert E.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entomologist and artist
DATE OF BIRTH July 5, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Louis
DATE OF DEATH 4th September 1962
Place of death Washington, DC