Jacob Boll
Encyclopedia
Jacob Boll was a Swiss
naturalist
and entomologist especially noted for his exploration of Texas
.
Boll was born 1828 in Würenlos
, Switzerland
, and educated in Switzerland and Germany
. Established as a naturalist he turned his attention to microlepidoptera
and established contact with Philipp Christoph Zeller
. Around 1860 the Boll family travelled to Texas and joined the La Réunion
socialist utopian community.They returned to Switzerland after a few years.
In 1869 he met with Louis Agassiz
at Harvard, proceeding to Texas to collect animals for the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. Returning to Switzerland he became a professional collector, working for Eduard Dämle
and the Swiss government. Similar arrangements were made with Agassiz and in 1870 he collected insects in New England
.
Boll settled permanently in the U.S.A. after his wife Henriette (Humbel)s' death in 1873. He lived in Dallas.
In 1878 he collected Permian
vertebrate fossils in northwest Texas for Edward Drinker Cope
of Philadelphia.
These collections are now in the American Museum of Natural History
.
Boll published a number of papers in botany, entomology, and geology.
He was a Member of the Boston Society of Natural History
and the Academia Caesarea Leopoldino-Carolina Naturae Curiosorum.
In 1880, Boll died in Wilbarger County, Texas
, United States.
He is not to be confused with Ernst Friedrich August Boll (1817–1868) also an entomologist and also specialising in Lepidoptera
.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and entomologist especially noted for his exploration of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Boll was born 1828 in Würenlos
Würenlos
Würenlos is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It lies north of the river Limmat, next to the canton of Zürich, located in the Limmat Valley .-Geography:...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and educated in Switzerland and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Established as a naturalist he turned his attention to microlepidoptera
Microlepidoptera
Microlepidoptera is an artificial grouping of moth families, commonly known as the 'smaller moths' . These generally have a wingspan of under 20 mm, and are thus harder to identify by external phenotypic markings than macrolepidoptera...
and established contact with Philipp Christoph Zeller
Philipp Christoph Zeller
Philipp Christoph Zeller was a German entomologist.Zeller was born at Steinheim Württemberg, two miles from Marbach, the birthplace of Schiller. The family moved to Frankfurt where Philip went to the gymnasium where natural history was not taught. Instead, helped by Alois Metzner, he taught...
. Around 1860 the Boll family travelled to Texas and joined the La Réunion
La Reunion (Dallas)
La Réunion was a socialist utopian community formed in 1855 by French, Belgian, and Swiss colonists near the forks of the Trinity River in Texas, USA. The Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas is about three miles east of the colony site. The founders of the community were inspired by the utopian...
socialist utopian community.They returned to Switzerland after a few years.
In 1869 he met with Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
at Harvard, proceeding to Texas to collect animals for the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. Returning to Switzerland he became a professional collector, working for Eduard Dämle
Eduard Dämle
Eduard C. F. Dämle also Damel , Daemel was a German entomologist.Dämel was an insect dealer in HamburgHe spent the years 1867-1874 in Queensland, Australia where he collected insects and other natural history material Eduard C. F. Dämle also Damel , Daemel (1821 - 3 September 1900) was a German...
and the Swiss government. Similar arrangements were made with Agassiz and in 1870 he collected insects in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
Boll settled permanently in the U.S.A. after his wife Henriette (Humbel)s' death in 1873. He lived in Dallas.
In 1878 he collected Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
vertebrate fossils in northwest Texas for Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
of Philadelphia.
These collections are now in the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
.
Boll published a number of papers in botany, entomology, and geology.
He was a Member of the Boston Society of Natural History
Boston Society of Natural History
The Boston Society of Natural History in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the society occupied several successive locations in Boston's Financial...
and the Academia Caesarea Leopoldino-Carolina Naturae Curiosorum.
In 1880, Boll died in Wilbarger County, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States.
He is not to be confused with Ernst Friedrich August Boll (1817–1868) also an entomologist and also specialising in Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
.