Alexander Grant Ruthven
Encyclopedia
Alexander Grant Ruthven (1882-1971) was the President of the University of Michigan
from 1929 to 1951.
from the University of Michigan. He worked as a professor, director of the University Museum, and Dean. He became the President in 1929. As such, he promoted a corporate administrative structure. He also approved of police raids against bootleggers
at fraternities. He retired in 1951, and died in 1971. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery
which is adjacent to the university.
The work of Ruthven on the familiar Garter Snakes, published in 1908, may be regarded as founding an essentially new school of herpetology
in the United States. This was a revision of a genus
, carried out by the examination of large numbers of specimens, and evaluated largely in geographic terms. Ruthven attracted many students of reptiles to the University of Michigan
, his most brilliant pupils being Frank N. Blanchard
and Helen T. Gaige.
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1929 to 1951.
Biography
Alexander Grant Ruthven was born in 1882. In 1906, he received a Ph.D. in zoologyZoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
from the University of Michigan. He worked as a professor, director of the University Museum, and Dean. He became the President in 1929. As such, he promoted a corporate administrative structure. He also approved of police raids against bootleggers
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
at fraternities. He retired in 1951, and died in 1971. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery
Forest Hill Cemetery (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor, Michigan is a cemetery founded in 1857. A civil engineer named James L. Glenn designed the cemetery in the rural or garden style popular in the second half of the 19th century. The cemetery's main gate was designed by James Morwick in the Gothic Revival style....
which is adjacent to the university.
The work of Ruthven on the familiar Garter Snakes, published in 1908, may be regarded as founding an essentially new school of herpetology
Herpetology
Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles...
in the United States. This was a revision of a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, carried out by the examination of large numbers of specimens, and evaluated largely in geographic terms. Ruthven attracted many students of reptiles to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, his most brilliant pupils being Frank N. Blanchard
Frank N. Blanchard
Frank Nelson Blanchard was an American herpetologist, and professor of zoology at the University of Michigan. He is credited with identifying several new species, including the Broad-banded Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata confluens, and the Florida King Snake, Lampropeltis getula floridana...
and Helen T. Gaige.
Primary sources
- Miscellaneous Papers on the Zoology of Michigan, W.H. Crawford Co., 1916
- A Naturalist in a University Museum, 1931
- Laboratory Directions in Principles of Animal Biology, by Aaron Franklin Shull, George Roger Larue, Alexander Grant Ruthven, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc, 1942
- Naturalist in Two Worlds. Random Recollections of a University President, 1963
- The Herpetology of Michigan
- Description of a New Salamander from Iowa
- Variations and Genetic Relationships of the Garter-Snakes
- The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Columbia, etc. With map
Secondary sources
- Alexander Grant Ruthven of Michigan: Biography of a University President, by Peter E. Van de Water, Grand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
: Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1977