Austin Hobart Clark
Encyclopedia
Austin Hobart Clark was an American
zoologist
. He was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts
and died in Washington, D.C.
His research covered a wide range of topics including oceanography
, marine biology
, ornithology
, and entomology
.
in 1903. He had five children with his first wife Mary Wendell Upham, who he married on March 6, 1906. Mary died in December 1931 and Clark was remarried in 1933 to Leila Gay Forbes.
In 1901, Clark organized a scientific expedition to Isla Margarita
in Venezuela
. From 1903 to 1905, he conducted research in the Antilles
. From 1906 to 1907, he led a scientific team aboard the 1882 USS Albatross
. In 1908, he took a post at the National Museum of Natural History
, which he held until his retirement in 1950.
Clark had important and various roles in a number of learned societies
: to name a few, he was president of the Entomological Society of Washington, vice president of the American Geophysical Union
, and directed the press service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
.
Clark was author to more than 600 publications written in English, French, Italian, German, and Russian. Some of the most well-known include Animals of Land and Sea (1925), Nature Narratives (two volumes, 1929 and 1931), The New Evolution (1930), and Animals Alive (1948).
Several animal species and genera were first scientifically described by Clark, including the Lesser Antillean Macaw
(1905), the Martinique Parrot (1905), the Dominican Green-and-yellow Macaw
(1908), the Mulga Parrot
(1910), the crustacean
genus Laomenes
(1919) or the starfish species Copidaster lymani (1948).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
zoologist
Zoology
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...
. He was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
and died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
His research covered a wide range of topics including oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
, marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
, ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
, and entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
.
Biography
The son of Theodore Minot Clark and Jeannette French Clark, Clark obtained his Bachelor of Arts at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1903. He had five children with his first wife Mary Wendell Upham, who he married on March 6, 1906. Mary died in December 1931 and Clark was remarried in 1933 to Leila Gay Forbes.
In 1901, Clark organized a scientific expedition to Isla Margarita
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...
in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. From 1903 to 1905, he conducted research in the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
. From 1906 to 1907, he led a scientific team aboard the 1882 USS Albatross
USS Albatross (1882)
The second USS Albatross, often seen as USFC Albatross in scientific literature citations, was an iron-hulled, twin-screw steamer in the United States Navy and reputedly the first vessel ever built especially for marine research....
. In 1908, he took a post at the National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
, which he held until his retirement in 1950.
Clark had important and various roles in a number of learned societies
Learned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...
: to name a few, he was president of the Entomological Society of Washington, vice president of the American Geophysical Union
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
, and directed the press service 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...
.
Clark was author to more than 600 publications written in English, French, Italian, German, and Russian. Some of the most well-known include Animals of Land and Sea (1925), Nature Narratives (two volumes, 1929 and 1931), The New Evolution (1930), and Animals Alive (1948).
Several animal species and genera were first scientifically described by Clark, including the Lesser Antillean Macaw
Lesser Antillean Macaw
The Lesser Antillean Macaw also known as Guadeloupe Macaw is a hypothetical extinct species of macaw species from the Antilles island of Guadeloupe. It was first described in detail by Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre in 1654 and 1657 and later in 1742 by Jean Baptiste Labat...
(1905), the Martinique Parrot (1905), the Dominican Green-and-yellow Macaw
Dominican Green-and-yellow Macaw
The Dominican Green-and-Yellow Macaw or Atwood's Macaw, also called the Dominican Macaw, is extinct, and only known through the writings of zoologist Thomas Atwood in 1791...
(1908), the Mulga Parrot
Mulga Parrot
The Mulga Parrot , also known as the Many-coloured Parrot, is endemic in arid scrublands and lightly timbered grasslands in the interior of southern Australia.-Taxonomy:...
(1910), the crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
genus Laomenes
Laomenes
Laomenes is a genus of shrimp comprising the following species:*Laomenes amboinensis *Laomenes ceratophthalmus *Laomenes clarki Marin, 2009*Laomenes cornutus...
(1919) or the starfish species Copidaster lymani (1948).