John Henry Comstock

See also: Comstock

John Henry Comstock is a American Entomologiste , born the February 24th 1849 with Janesville in the Wisconsin and dead the March 20th 1931 with Ithaca.

He is the son of Ebenezer and Susan Allen Comstock which settle after their marriage in a small farm with Janesville in Wisconsin. Little time after its birth, his/her father leaves for California at the time of the gold rush and dies of the Choléra in the area of the Rivière Platte. His/her mother, who learns the news from her death only a few years later, must give up the family exploitation then and leaves to New York where it becomes good.

The Comstock young person is placed in an orphanage towards the four years age then in several families of which that of an uncle. He is then adopted at eleven years by a couple with Oswego, the father is captain of navy and his three sons marine. Comstock starts to work at sixteen years as cook aboard ships sailing on the Big lakes.

It is initiated with botany thanks to a book of Alphonso Wood (1810-1881), Class-Book off Botany , but what will transform its life is the discovery of the Entomologie following the reading of the book of Thaddeus William Harris (1795-1856), Treatise one Insects Injurious to Vegetation . John Comstock between with the University Cornell in 1869, but an attack of Paludisme obliges it to stop its studies. It is registered again the following year. Of 1872 with 1873, he is assistant in Entomologie; he writes then with his mother, food part in California: This will Be has fine position for me. It will not interferes with my studies, so I shall Be whitebait to keep one with my classes ace before. My work will consist off has race off readings in the spring term, private instruction in my laboratory, and care off has collection off insects. I shall spend the summer vacation in the field making collections and studying the clothes off insects. Five My salary will Be for the first year hundred dollars, which is enough to support me nicely here. It will be a good situation for me. It will not interfere with my studies, thus I will be able to preserve my classes like front. My work will be composed of a cycle of conferences at the end of spring, courses deprived in my laboratory and the maintenance of a collection of insects. I will spend the summer holidays on the ground to make collections and to study manners of the insects. My wages will be during the first year of five hundred dollars, which is enough to enable me to live correctly.

Parallel to these activities, he off studies with the Museum Comparative Zoology during the summer 1872. Comstock obtains its Bachelor off Sciences in 1874, the only diploma which it will take down during its life. Of 1873 with 1876, he is instructor in entomology while studying near Addison Emery Verrill (1839-1926) with the Université of Yale in 1875 - 1876. Of 1876 with 1879, he is professor-assistant in entomology with Cornell. In 1877, it gives courses to Vassar College.

Comstock meets in 1875, one of its young coeds Anna Botsford (1854-1930), who will become his wife in 1878 and which will take part in its research all its life. In 1878, at the request of Charles Valentine Riley (1843-1895), it leaves in the south to study Alabama argillacea (Hübner, 1823), a butterfly of Noctuidae, which devastates then the plantations of Coton. Of 1879 with 1882, he is entomologist chief with the ministry for agriculture and makes appear in 1880 Report one Knitting machine Insects and in 1881 Report off the Entomologist off the United States Department off Agriculture for the Year . His wife comes to assist it in these functions, initially like voluntary then as assistant.

Suffering John of a lung disease, Comstock leave in Florida during the winter 1879 - 1880 and start to be interested in the insects of the lemon trees. John then begins his studies from the cochineal S. In July 1880, Comstock go to California to study the cochineals which devastate the plantations of lemon trees then. John then meets his mother, whom it had not re-examined for his thirteen years. He then discovers the Pou of San-Jose, Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Comstock, 1881) able not only to damage the fruits but also to kill the tree itself. He determines that it is about one coming from China. Riley replaces it in 1881 with the head of the department.

He teaches 1882 with 1914 entomology and the Zoologie of the Invertébré S in Cornell. During this period, it leaves to Leipzig to study under the direction of Rudolf Leuckart (1822-1898). Of 1891 with 1893, it remains regularly with the Université of Stanford at the request of its president, David Starr Jordan (1851-1931), one of its first students, to organize the teaching of entomology there. It makes appear a book intended for the students ( Manual off the Study off Insects ) in 1894 and which will be republished many times as well as a book intended for the professors of the primary education Insect Life (1897). His wife assists it for these two works. Manual off the Study off Insects , which contains 701 pages and nearly 800 illustrations, costs only 3,25 dollars. The success of these handbooks is such, that they lead to the creation of a publisher, Comstock Publishing Company, devoted to the publication of many handbooks of zoology.

In 1899, Comstock makes appear off The Wings Insects (republished in 1918) and Wings off the Sesiidae (1901). The Insecte S are not the only animals which interest it and Comstock studies the Araignée S of the south of the the United States of America. It thus makes appear in 1912 The Spiders Book .

With his wife, it makes appear a work of initiation with the study of the butterfly S, How to Know the Butterflies (1904). But its most important work is probably Introduction to Entomology of more than 1.000 pages which appears the first time in 1920 and which will be republished nine times until in 1940.

At the time of its departure to the retirement its students offer the sum of 2.500 dollars to him so that it creates an entomological library with Cornell which will be later baptized the John Henry Comstock Memorial Library off Entomology . It continues its research until in 1926, year when it suffers from a cerebral Hémorragie. He is member of all the principal companies of entomology and natural history of the United States and member of honor of the entomological Société of France, of the entomological Société of London and of the Belgian royal Société of entomology

Although not having never obtained the least diploma, Comstock exerts a considerable influence on the organization of the teaching of entomology and the shape of the very many students (it advances itself the figure of 5.000) among them, some great names of this discipline as Vernon Lyman Kellogg (1867-1937) which takes the direction of the teaching of Standford in 1893 and Leland Ossian Howard (1857-1950) which will become the eminent chief of the department of entomology to the ministry for agriculture, without speaking about Frank Hurlbut Chittenden (1858-1929), of Mark Vernon Slingerland (1864-1909), of William Albert Riley (1876-1963), of Alexander Dyar MacGillivray (1868-1924), of James George Needham (1868-1957), of Royal Norton Chapman (1889-1929), of Ephraim To carry Felt (1868-1943) or of Altus Lacy Quaintance (1870-1958). His wife, Anna Botsford Comstock makes appear, in 1953, the account of their life under the title of The Comstocks off Cornell: John Henry Comstock and Anna Botsford Comstock (Ithaca).

Sources

Arnold Mallis (1971). American Entomologists . Rutgers University Close (New Brunswick): xvii + 549 p.
Keir B. Sterling, Richard P. Harmond, George A. Cevasco & Lorne F. Hammond (to dir.) (1997). Biographical dictionary off American and Canadian naturalists and environmentalists . Greenwood Close (Westport): xix + 937 p.

See too

System Comstock-Needham

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