John Lawrence LeConte
Encyclopedia
John Lawrence LeConte was the most important American
entomologist
of the 19th century, responsible for naming and describing approximately half of the insect taxa
known in the United States
during his lifetime, including some 5,000 species of beetles. He was recognized as the foremost authority on North American beetle
s during his lifetime, and has been described as "the father of American beetle study."
A member of the scientifically inclined LeConte
family, John Lawrence was born in New York City
, the son of naturalist John Eatton Le Conte
. His mother died when John Lawrence was only a few months old, and he was raised by his father. Based on samples of his signature, John Lawrence used the surname variant "LeConte" without the space that his father used (as "Le Conte"). John Lawrence graduated from Mount Saint Mary College (now known as Mount St. Mary's University) in 1842, and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1846. While still in medical college, in 1844, John Lawrence traveled with his cousin Joseph LeConte
to the Great Lakes
. Starting at Niagara Falls
, they visited Detroit
and Chicago
and traversed Michigan
, Wisconsin
, Iowa
and Illinois
before returning up the Ohio River
to Pittsburgh
and on to New York. John Lawrence published his first three papers on beetles that year.
After graduating from medical college John Lawrence LeConte made several trips west, including to California
via Panama
in 1849. While in San Francisco
, he sent 10,000 beetles preserved in alcohol
back to his father. Another 20,000 beetle specimens were lost in a fire in 1852. LeConte also traveled to Europe
, Egypt
and Algiers
. He spent two years exploring the Colorado River
, and was in Honduras
for the building of the Honduras Interoceanic Railway, and in Colorado
and New Mexico
with the party surveying for the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
He moved to Philadelphia
in 1852, residing there for the rest of his life. During the American Civil War
he worked as a surgeon
with the California volunteers, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel
. In 1878 he became the chief clerk (assistant director) of the United States Mint
in Philadelphia. He retained that position until his death in 1883.
LeConte was active in the scientific societies of his time, with stints as vice-president of the American Philosophical Society
(1880–1883) and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(1873). He was a founder of the American Entomological Society
, and a charter member of the National Academy of Sciences
.
Le Conte's Thrasher
was discovered by LeConte while on a beetle-collecting trip to Arizona
, and named after him by George Newbold Lawrence
. LeConte communicated with and collected birds for Spencer Fullerton Baird
, a distant cousin and Assistant Director and then Director of the Smithsonian Institution
for a total of 39 years. In turn Baird asked other naturalists to collect beetles for LeConte.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
of the 19th century, responsible for naming and describing approximately half of the insect taxa
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
known in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during his lifetime, including some 5,000 species of beetles. He was recognized as the foremost authority on North American beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s during his lifetime, and has been described as "the father of American beetle study."
A member of the scientifically inclined LeConte
LeConte
-People:* John Le Conte , scientist and first president of UC Berkeley* John Eatton Le Conte , naturalist* John Lawrence Le Conte , entomologist...
family, John Lawrence was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of naturalist John Eatton Le Conte
John Eatton Le Conte
John Eatton Le Conte, Jr. was an American naturalist. He was born near Shrewsbury, New Jersey, the son of John Eatton Le Conte and Jane Sloane Le Conte...
. His mother died when John Lawrence was only a few months old, and he was raised by his father. Based on samples of his signature, John Lawrence used the surname variant "LeConte" without the space that his father used (as "Le Conte"). John Lawrence graduated from Mount Saint Mary College (now known as Mount St. Mary's University) in 1842, and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1846. While still in medical college, in 1844, John Lawrence traveled with his cousin Joseph LeConte
Joseph LeConte
Joseph Le Conte was an American geologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley.-Biography:...
to the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. Starting at Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
, they visited Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and traversed Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and 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,...
before returning up the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and on to New York. John Lawrence published his first three papers on beetles that year.
After graduating from medical college John Lawrence LeConte made several trips west, including to 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...
via Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
in 1849. While in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, he sent 10,000 beetles preserved in alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
back to his father. Another 20,000 beetle specimens were lost in a fire in 1852. LeConte also traveled to 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...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. He spent two years exploring the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
, and was in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
for the building of the Honduras Interoceanic Railway, and in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
with the party surveying for the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
He moved to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in 1852, residing there for the rest of his life. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
he worked as a surgeon
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
with the California volunteers, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. In 1878 he became the chief clerk (assistant director) of the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
in Philadelphia. He retained that position until his death in 1883.
LeConte was active in the scientific societies of his time, with stints as vice-president of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
(1880–1883) and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
(1873). He was a founder of the American Entomological Society
American Entomological Society
The American Entomological Society was founded on March 1, 1859. It is the oldest continuously-operating entomological society in the Western Hemisphere, and one the oldest scientific societies in the United States. It is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, and a charter member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
.
Le Conte's Thrasher
Le Conte's Thrasher
The Le Conte's Thrasher is a pale bird found in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It prefers to live in deserts with very little vegetation, where it blends in with the sandy soils...
was discovered by LeConte while on a beetle-collecting trip to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and named after him by George Newbold Lawrence
George Newbold Lawrence
George Newbold Lawrence was an American businessman and amateur ornithologist.Lawrence conducted Pacific bird surveys for Spencer Fullerton Baird and John Cassin, and the three men co-authored Birds of North America in 1858.Lawrence left his collection of 8,000 bird skins to the American Museum of...
. LeConte communicated with and collected birds for Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
, a distant cousin and Assistant Director and then Director of 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...
for a total of 39 years. In turn Baird asked other naturalists to collect beetles for LeConte.
Works
- Catalogue of the Coleoptera of the United States. (1853) Frederick Ernst MelsheimerFrederick Ernst MelsheimerFrederick Ernst Melsheimer, M.D. was an American entomologist noted for his work on Coleoptera. He was President of the American Entomological Society in 1853. Frederick Ernest Melsheimer's most important work was Catalogue of the described Coleoptera of the United States...
, revised by Samuel Stehman HaldemanSamuel Stehman HaldemanSamuel Stehman Haldeman , American naturalist and philologist, was born at Locust Grove, Pennsylvania.Haldeman was educated at Dickinson College. He visited Texas in 1851 to investigate the presidency of an institution there, but declined the position...
and John Lawrence LeConte - Classification of the Coleoptera of North America (1861, 1873)
- New Species of North American Coleoptera (1866, 1873)
- Classification of the Coleoptera of North America. Part II (1883) - with George Henry HornGeorge Henry HornGeorge Henry Horn was a U.S. entomologist who specialized in the study of beetles.Born in Philadelphia, Horn attended the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with a degree in medicine in 1861...
External links
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/41125#0 Samuel Henshaw (1878) The entomological writings of John L. Leconte.:Dimmock's special bibliography. no. 1 Cambridge, Mass.,The editor (George Dimmock),1878.