Stephen Alfred Forbes

Stephen Alfred Forbes

Stephen Alfred Forbes (born May 29, 1844 in Silver Creek , Illinois , † March 13, 1930 in Urbana , Illinois) was an American biologist and is considered one of the founders of limnology .

Life and scientific work

As the fifth of six children, Stephen grew up in a family that placed high value on a good education, patriotism and loyalty. At the beginning of the American Civil War, he joined the army at the age of 17. After numerous battles and imprisonment, he returned to civilian life.

Civil life after the civil war was difficult at first. He first studied medicine, helped out in agriculture and taught in a general school. However, he was dissatisfied with these lives. His real passion was natural history. The publication of his first article in 1870, the representation of plants in southern Illinois, gave him access to the community of botanists and entomologists. Gradually he made contact with the training centers in North America and Europe.

Although Forbes was self-taught, he impressed the professors at the University of Illinois at Normal with his expertise, so that he was appointed curator of the natural history museum there in 1872 at the age of 28.

In addition to his work as a curator, he took on two other projects: the first came from the fishing industry and the second from agriculture. Both projects required intensive field research. His modus operandi was to acquire the practical knowledge of fishermen and farmers and to use it for his own research.

After a few years, the natural history museum was converted into a biological laboratory at his suggestion. In 1882 he was drafted into the State Entomology Authority.

In 1884 Forbes moved to the University of Illinois and became Professor of Zoology and Entomology. A few years later he was appointed dean of the University of Natural Sciences.

After more than a decade of intensive research into the ecosystems of lakes, Forbes wrote an article in 1887 with the title "The Lake as a Microcosm" (translated: "The Lake as a Microcosm"). Here he describes the lake as a small world in itself, which is in dynamic equilibrium with the organisms living in it. Forbes included humans in its deliberations by studying the effect that the human factor has on the dynamic balance in the lake.

Forbes research was strikingly diverse and numerous: in his 60-year career, he published more than 400 scientific articles on entomology, ornithology, freshwater biology, and natural resource management. Though economic and agricultural interests brought entomology into large numbers of skilled scientists, Forbes stood practically alone as an advocate of ecology. His ecological studies also included topics related to modern ecology such as reproduction, competition, exclusion, coexistence and population dynamics.

Forbes held numerous titles and honorary degrees at the end of his career: He was President of the American Association of Economic Entomologists, the Entomological Society of America and the Ecological Society of America. In 1918 he was accepted into the National Academy of Sciences and in 1919 the American Philosophical Society .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/forbes-stephen.pdf
2. ^ Member History: Stephen A. Forbes. American Philosophical Society, accessed August 8, 2018 . 

literature

• Croker, RA: Stephen Forbes and the Rise of American Ecology. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 2001
• Forbes, SA: The lake as a microcosm. In: Bull. Sci. Assoc. , Peoria, Illinois, 1887, pp. 77-87, republished in: Illinois Nat. Hist. Survey Bulletin. 15/9 / year ?, pp. 537-550