Charles Valentine Riley
Encyclopedia
Charles Valentine Riley was a British-born American entomologist and artist
.
minister, Charles Valentine Riley was born on 19 September, 1843 in London’s Chelsea
district. When he was around eleven his parents, the Rev. Charles and Mary (née Valentine) Riley, chose to further his education in Europe
. There he excelled at art
and natural history
attending private schools in Dieppe, France and later Bonn, Germany. After the death of his father he was brought home to Britain to enroll in a public school there. Sometime later his mother remarried which may have played a part in his decision, taken at the age of seventeen, to cross the Atlantic Ocean
to America
with scant resources.
Riley's journey west ended in the U.S. state
of Illinois
where was employed as a laborer
on a farm in Aroma
, a small community in Kankakee County some fifty miles south of Chicago. Riley had become acquainted with the farm’s owner, a British expatriate
named George Edwards, sometime earlier when the latter was visiting London. Around 1864 he left the Edwards’ farm to work for the Chicago based Prairie Farmer, a leading agricultural journal as reporter, artist, and editor of the entomological department. A few months later he joined the 134th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
, mustering out before the end of 1864 after fulfilling his one-hundred day enlistment commitment.
. He collaborated on the annual reports from Missouri, work which established him as one of the leading entomologists in the United States.
Riley studied the plague
of grasshoppers
that invaded many Western States between 1873 to 1877. He convinced the United States Congress
to establish the United States Entomological Commission
, which included a Grasshopper Commission, to which Riley was appointed chairman.
In 1878, he was appointed to the post of entomologist to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but he resigned after only a year because of a disagreement with the Commissioner. He was reappointed in 1881 and remained in the top post until 1894. He was also appointed the first curator of insects for the Smithsonian Institution
in 1885.
He was one of the first to practice Biological pest control
, introducing a beetle that was the natural enemy to a scale that was damaging the California
citrus
industry. Because this method successfully reduced the scale, Riley is sometimes known as the "Father of Biological Control." He invented the “cyclone” or eddy chamber in nozzles for spraying purposes.
He was among the first to notice that the American grapes, Vitis labrusca
were resistant to grape Phylloxera
. His work with J. E. Planchon
led to the use of grafting French grape on V. labrusca root stock. This effort helped save the French wine industry and for his efforts, Riley received the French Grand Gold Medal and was named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1884.
A prolific writer and artist, Riley authored over 2,400 publications. He also published two journals, the American Entomologist (1868–80) and Insect Life (1889–94). Riley received many honors during his lifetime. He was decorated by the French Government for his work on the grapevine Phylloxera. He received honorary degrees from Kansas State University and the University of Missouri. He was an honorary member of the Entomological Society of London and founder and first president of the Entomological Society of Washington. He and Dr. L. O. Howard, Riley's assistant in the Federal Entomological Service, were among the founders of the American Association of Economic Entomologists, which became part of Entomological Society of America in 1953.
Emilie Conzelman, who was born and raised in that city. Her father, Gotleib Conzelman, came from Germany and supported his family employed as a wallpaper
hanger. Emilie's mother, Georgina, was Danish and most likely passed away sometime between 1860 and 1870. Charles and Emilie went on to have five girls and a boy. Their first, Alice was born in 1879 and Cathryn, their youngest, came in 1891. William, Mary, Helen and Flora were all born in the 1880s. Emilie Conzelman Riley passed away at Washington D. C. on 10 December 1947, nearly a month shy of her 98th birthday (29 January, 1948).
accident that occurred not far from his Washington D. C. residence. As he was riding rapidly down a hill, the bicycle wheel struck a granite paving block dropped by a wagon. He catapulted to the pavement and fractured his skull. He was carried home on a wagon and never regained consciousness. He died at his home the same day at the age of 52, leaving his wife with six children.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Early Life
The son of a Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
minister, Charles Valentine Riley was born on 19 September, 1843 in London’s Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
district. When he was around eleven his parents, the Rev. Charles and Mary (née Valentine) Riley, chose to further his education in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. There he excelled at art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
attending private schools in Dieppe, France and later Bonn, Germany. After the death of his father he was brought home to Britain to enroll in a public school there. Sometime later his mother remarried which may have played a part in his decision, taken at the age of seventeen, to cross the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with scant resources.
Riley's journey west ended in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
where was employed as a laborer
Laborer
A Laborer or labourer - see variation in english spelling - is one of the construction trades, traditionally considered unskilled manual labor, as opposed to skilled labor. In the division of labor, laborers have all blasting, hand tools, power tools, air tools, and small heavy equipment, and act...
on a farm in Aroma
Aroma Township, Kankakee County, Illinois
Aroma Township is one of seventeen townships in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 5,835.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Aroma Township covers an area of ; of this, is land and is water.Aroma township includes the Iroquois Woods...
, a small community in Kankakee County some fifty miles south of Chicago. Riley had become acquainted with the farm’s owner, a British expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
named George Edwards, sometime earlier when the latter was visiting London. Around 1864 he left the Edwards’ farm to work for the Chicago based Prairie Farmer, a leading agricultural journal as reporter, artist, and editor of the entomological department. A few months later he joined the 134th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
134th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 134th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was among scores of regiments that were raised in the summer of 1864 and known as Hundred Days Men, an effort to augment existing manpower for an all-out push to...
, mustering out before the end of 1864 after fulfilling his one-hundred day enlistment commitment.
Career
In 1868, he was appointed as the first State Entomologist for the State of MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He collaborated on the annual reports from Missouri, work which established him as one of the leading entomologists in the United States.
Riley studied the plague
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
of grasshoppers
Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are insects of the suborder Caelifera.Grasshoppers may also refer to:* Grasshopper , a Hong Kong-based musical group* Grasshopper Club Zürich, a Swiss football club...
that invaded many Western States between 1873 to 1877. He convinced the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to establish the United States Entomological Commission
United States Entomological Commission
The United States Entomological Commission was established by an Act of Congress in 1877 as a department under the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories headed by Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden. The commission was created to find a solution for the Rocky Mountain...
, which included a Grasshopper Commission, to which Riley was appointed chairman.
In 1878, he was appointed to the post of entomologist to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but he resigned after only a year because of a disagreement with the Commissioner. He was reappointed in 1881 and remained in the top post until 1894. He was also appointed the first curator of insects for the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in 1885.
Biological pest control
Biological control of pests in agriculture is a method of controlling pests that relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms...
, introducing a beetle that was the natural enemy to a scale that was damaging the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
industry. Because this method successfully reduced the scale, Riley is sometimes known as the "Father of Biological Control." He invented the “cyclone” or eddy chamber in nozzles for spraying purposes.
He was among the first to notice that the American grapes, Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
were resistant to grape Phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
. His work with J. E. Planchon
Jules Émile Planchon
Jules Émile Planchon was a French botanist born in Ganges, Hérault.-Biography:After receiving his Doctorate of Science at the University of Montpellier in 1844, he worked for a while at the Royal Botanical Gardens in London, and for a few years was a teacher in Nancy and Ghent...
led to the use of grafting French grape on V. labrusca root stock. This effort helped save the French wine industry and for his efforts, Riley received the French Grand Gold Medal and was named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1884.
A prolific writer and artist, Riley authored over 2,400 publications. He also published two journals, the American Entomologist (1868–80) and Insect Life (1889–94). Riley received many honors during his lifetime. He was decorated by the French Government for his work on the grapevine Phylloxera. He received honorary degrees from Kansas State University and the University of Missouri. He was an honorary member of the Entomological Society of London and founder and first president of the Entomological Society of Washington. He and Dr. L. O. Howard, Riley's assistant in the Federal Entomological Service, were among the founders of the American Association of Economic Entomologists, which became part of Entomological Society of America in 1953.
Marriage
On 20 June, 1878 Riley married in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
Emilie Conzelman, who was born and raised in that city. Her father, Gotleib Conzelman, came from Germany and supported his family employed as a wallpaper
Wallpaper
Wallpaper is a kind of material used to cover and decorate the interior walls of homes, offices, and other buildings; it is one aspect of interior decoration. It is usually sold in rolls and is put onto a wall using wallpaper paste...
hanger. Emilie's mother, Georgina, was Danish and most likely passed away sometime between 1860 and 1870. Charles and Emilie went on to have five girls and a boy. Their first, Alice was born in 1879 and Cathryn, their youngest, came in 1891. William, Mary, Helen and Flora were all born in the 1880s. Emilie Conzelman Riley passed away at Washington D. C. on 10 December 1947, nearly a month shy of her 98th birthday (29 January, 1948).
Death
On 14 September, 1895 Riley died as the result of a bicycleBicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
accident that occurred not far from his Washington D. C. residence. As he was riding rapidly down a hill, the bicycle wheel struck a granite paving block dropped by a wagon. He catapulted to the pavement and fractured his skull. He was carried home on a wagon and never regained consciousness. He died at his home the same day at the age of 52, leaving his wife with six children.